See how to make Traeger smoked turkey legs on the pellet grill with this easy recipe guide. They’re kinda like a Disney smoked turkey legs copycat, but even better because you make ‘em in your own backyard! Let’s smoke ‘em…
No smoker? You can bake turkey legs…
It’s simple math, there’s never enough smoked turkey legs to go around the Thanksgiving table when you smoke a whole turkey…
They’re also great for a BBQ game day main dish.
Why Smoked Turkey Legs are nice to make…
- The smoky flavor! Turkey legs pick up a ton of smoke flavor which you’ll enjoy for sure. In this smoked turkey leg recipe, I used hickory pellets (wood chips or wood chunks work too).
- Quick prep work! Whether you decide to brine your turkey legs or not, you can have the turkey legs prepped and seasoned within 30 minutes with no problem.
- Use your favorite BBQ rub or this Traeger Fin And Feather Rub.
- It’s simple! If you just want some dark meat turkey, this is a great alternative to smoking an entire turkey.
- Copycat Disney recipe! If you’ve had the famous Disney turkey leg, you can easily use this recipe to copycat Disney foodie vibes. My recommendation is to wrap smoked turkey legs in foil and keep warm prior to serving. This helps steam the turkey leg a bit which is how Disney does it.
If you are new to smoked food recipes and Traeger recipes?
Also see the Sip Bite Go recipe for smoked turkey wings...
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make Smoked Turkey Legs.
- turkey legs
- BBQ or Poultry rub seasoning
- olive oil
- melted butter
Try making this cranberry BBQ sauce…
Get my easy smoked food recipes for Thanksgiving, game day, and more on Instagram and TikTok
These are like a copycat Disney turkey leg recipe
On social you’ll also see us eating those famous Disney smoked BBQ turkey legs at Disneyland / Disney World.
I’ll have more Disney copycat recipes coming soon!
If you’re a Disney food fan, or just love theme parks, follow me on Instagram @jennalovesmagic
How to smoke turkey legs
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Quick look at Smoked Turkey Legs recipe
- Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees F and prepare turkey legs by patting them dry and covering them with seasoning.
- Smoke turkey legs at 250 degrees for 90 minutes until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees F.
- Finish smoking turkey legs by basting with melted butter and increasing the smoker temp to 450 degrees F for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Remove turkey legs once the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F and enjoy.
See the best game day smoker recipes…
Detailed recipe steps
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F.
- Prep turkey legs for smoking by patting them dry with a paper towel and brushing with olive oil.
- Season turkey legs with BBQ or poultry rub of your choice and place in the refrigerator up to overnight if you have the time.
- Smoke room temperature turkey legs for 90 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 150 – 155 degrees F.
- Baste turkey legs with melted butter.
- Increase smoker temperature to 450 degrees F and continue smoking turkey legs until done at an internal temperature of 165 – 175 degrees F
- Let turkey legs rest and enjoy!
For a smoked side dish, try these smoked jalapeno poppers, smoked mac and cheese or smoked mashed potatoes.
See more on smoked foods for the holidays
1 – See the Sip Bite Go review of Traeger Turkey pellets.
2 – See what’s in the turkey brine kit.
3 – Check out these tasty holiday dishes to smoke on the pellet grill…
- Smoked ham
- Smoked turkey breast
- Smoked turkey legs
- Smoked turkey wings
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked mashed potatoes
- Smoked asparagus
- Smoked apple pie
- See more turkey recipes
- Check out the best smoked foods for a Traeger Thanksgiving dinner
FAQs
In this recipe, it took almost two hours to smoke one pound turkey legs directly on the grill grates. You are cooking to temperature, so timing will differ based on the size of your turkey legs and the temperature that you hold your smoker.
Smoked turkey legs are done when they reach an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F measured in the thickest part. Since turkey legs are dark meat, you can smoke them up to 175 degrees F internally. At this temperature the meat breaks down further making it fall off the bone.
If you’re planning to reheat a smoked turkey leg, you should do so using the oven. Set the oven to 350 degrees F and place it on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until it’s warm throughout.
Brining turkey legs is up to you. In this Sip Bite Go recipe, I did a NO brine method. Just a dry rub which I allowed it to adhere for several hours in the fridge before smoking.
If you are going to brine your turkey legs, you’ll need kosher salt, cold water, sugar, peppercorns, and some sort of acid like lemon for example. Mix all of these ingredients together to combine then place your turkey legs into the brine mixture using a container that you can close the lid or using a resealable plastic bag.
After 12 – 24 hours in the fridge, remove the turkey legs from the brine, pat dry, and season before you smoke the turkey legs.
You can smoke them as you’ll see in this recipe. Alternatively, you could sous vide turkey legs. Another option is to grill turkey legs using a gas or charcoal grill or finally you can bake turkey legs in the oven. If you want to differentiate, try air frying turkey legs.
More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked cream cheese
- Smoked brisket flat
- 321 ribs
- Beer can chicken on the smoker
- Smoked wings
- Smoked tomahawk steak
- Traeger tri tip
- Smoked turkey breast
- Smoked turkey legs
- Whole smoked turkey
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Smoked onion rings
- Traeger smoked ham
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked jalapeno poppers
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Traeger beef ribs
- Smoked leg of lamb
- Smoked shrimp
- Grilled chicken wings
- Grilled skirt steak
- Flank steak marinade
- Grilled potato wedges
- Smoked pulled pork
- Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes
See this Traeger Flatrock grill review.
See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about Smoked Turkey Legs.
See how to get more smoke flavor from your favorite Traeger dishes…
Connect…
- Instagram / TikTok / YouTube
- Browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection
BEST Traeger Smoked Turkey Legs Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
- 3 LB turkey legs about 1 LB each
- 3 tbsp BBQ rub or any or poultry seasoning
- 3 tsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F.
- Prep turkey legs for smoking by patting them dry with a paper towel and brushing them with olive oil.
- Season turkey legs with BBQ or poultry rub of your choice and place in the refrigerator up to overnight if you have the time.
- Smoke room temperature turkey legs for 90 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 150 – 155 degrees F.
- Baste turkey legs with melted butter.
- Increase smoker temperature to 450 degrees F and continue smoking turkey legs until done at an internal temperature of 165 – 175 degrees F
- Let smoked turkey legs rest and enjoy!
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