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Learn how to make smoked turkey legs at home with this easy brined turkey leg recipe! Juicy, fall-off-the-bone meat with crispy, smoky skin – better than the fair.
If you’ve ever walked through a state fair and caught a whiff of those giant, glistening turkey legs turning on the smoker, you know exactly the craving I’m talking about. Good news – you don’t need a fairground to get that flavor. With an overnight brine, a solid rub, and a few hours of low-and-slow smoke, you can make turkey legs at home that taste every bit as good (dare I say better) than the ones you’d wait in line for.
I brined these in a simple mix of salt, brown sugar, garlic, dijon, bay leaves, whole cloves, and fresh lemon juice, then rubbed them down and smoked them low and slow until the skin turned deep golden-brown and the meat pulled right off the bone.
And the best thing, it’s easy enough for a weeknight cookout, but impressive enough for a holiday spread, and a great turkey legs recipe to add to your Thanksgiving table, especially to go alongside your whole smoked turkey or even a smoked stuffed turkey breast!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fair-food flavor at home. Big, meaty turkey legs with that classic smoky, salty-sweet flavor you remember from the fair – no lines required.
- The brine does the heavy lifting. A 12+ hour soak in a salt, sugar, garlic, and clove brine keeps the meat juicy all the way through and seasons it from the inside out.
- Crispy skin, tender meat. Patting the legs dry before seasoning is the trick to getting that crackly, crispy skin while the inside stays fall-off-the-bone tender.
- Simple ingredients, big payoff. Nothing fancy here – pantry staples for the brine and a good poultry rub is all it takes.
- Great for a crowd. Turkey legs are practically made for sharing, and they’re a great addition to your Thanksgiving table.
Ingredient Notes
For the turkey:
- Turkey legs – Look for legs that are similar in size so they finish cooking around the same time. This recipe makes 4 legs, but you can easily scale the brine up if you’re smoking more.
- Olive oil – Helps the rub stick and gives the skin a head start on browning.
- Homemade turkey rub (or your favorite dry rub) – Any good poultry seasoning will work here. If you want to make your own custom blend, that works great too.
For the brine:
- Water – The base of the brine.
- Salt – This is what actually brines the meat, drawing in moisture and seasoning it through and through. Don’t skip it or skimp on it.
- Black peppercorns & whole cloves – These add warmth and a little bite to the brine. Whole spices infuse more gently than ground, so don’t worry about straining every last one out before you use it.
- Brown sugar – Balances the salt with a little sweetness and helps the skin caramelize as it smokes.
- Garlic – Fresh minced garlic adds a savory backbone to the brine.
- Dijon mustard – This might sound like an odd brine ingredient, but it adds a subtle tang and helps season the meat.
- Bay leaves – A classic brine aromatic that rounds out the flavor.
- Lemon juice – Fresh lemon juice brightens up the whole brine and cuts through the richness of the turkey.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Make the brine
In a large stockpot, combine the water, salt, black peppercorns, brown sugar, garlic, dijon, bay leaves, whole cloves, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let the brine cool completely before using it – you don’t want to add hot brine to raw turkey.
2. Brine the turkey legs
Since you’re not brining a whole turkey, gallon-sized ziplock bags make this easy. Place two turkey legs in one bag and pour in half of the cooled brine. Press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Repeat with the remaining two legs and the rest of the brine. Set the bags in a large bowl (just in case of leaks) and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
3. Prep the legs for smoking
When you’re ready to cook, preheat your pellet grill or smoker to 225°F.
Remove the turkey legs from the brine and pat them completely dry with paper towels. This step matters more than you’d think – dry skin is the secret to crispy skin once they hit the smoker.
Next, coat each leg with olive oil, then generously rub with your poultry seasoning of choice, making sure to get an even coat all over.
4. Smoke the turkey legs
Place the legs directly on the smoker grates and insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of one of the legs. Close the lid and smoke until the internal temperature hits 170°F. Plan on roughly 1.5 hours, though smaller legs may finish a bit sooner and larger ones may need an extra 15 minutes or so. Always go by temperature, not time – a good meat thermometer is non-negotiable here.
*NOTE – Turkey legs are dark meat, so they benefit from being cooked a bit past the normal 165°F that you would do for breasts. I like to pull mine at 170°F to allow for a bit of carryover cooking. The meat will be more fall-off-the-bone this way.
5. Rest and serve
Once they hit temp, pull the legs off the smoker and let them rest for a few minutes before digging in. Then get ready for that fair-food nostalgia.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The brine is what gives these turkey legs that juicy, seasoned-through-and-through bite. If you’re short on time, even a few hours in the brine is better than none, but for the best results, plan for the full 12 hours.
*We have tested SO many smoked turkeys on our YouTube channel, Pellets and Pits, and the wet-brined turkeys win every time. If you’ve never tried a wet brine, I highly encourage you to try it out!
We used a competition blend for these, but hickory, applewood, or cherry all pair beautifully with turkey. Go with something on the milder side if you want the brine and rub flavors to shine through, or if you want more smoke flavor, we recommend Smokin’ Pecan pellets – made from 100% pecan shells instead of wood. These will give you fantastic smoky flavor, and they’re one of our favorite pellets we’ve ever used.
Yes – don’t skip this. Turkey legs can look done on the outside well before they’ve actually hit a safe internal temperature. Insert your probe into the thickest part of the leg, away from the bone, and pull them once they read 170°F.
This is our favorite wireless meat thermometer – we use it for all types of smoked meats, not just smoked turkey.
Turkey legs are best fresh off the smoker, but you can smoke them ahead and reheat gently in a low oven (around 300°F) with a splash of broth to keep them from drying out.
The biggest culprit is moisture. Make sure you pat the legs completely dry after brining and before seasoning. A drier surface browns and crisps much better in the smoker. You can also bump the grill temperature up to about 300°F for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking to help crisp up the skin.
More Smoked Turkey Recipes You’ll Love
If turkey is your thing, don’t stop here – check out a few of our other favorite smoked turkey recipes:
- Apple Cider Brined Smoked Turkey
- Orange Glazed Smoked Turkey with Orange Juice Brine
- Cajun Smoked Turkey on a Pellet Grill
- Smoked Stuffed Turkey Breast
- Smoked and Sous Vide Turkey Breast
Smoked Turkey Legs
Ingredients
- 4 turkey legs
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 tablespoons homemade turkey rub, or your favorite poultry seasoning
For the Brine:
- 8 cups water
- ½ cup salt
- 3 tablespoons black peppercorns
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon whole cloves
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Make the brine. Add all of the brine ingredients to a large stockpot. Bring the mix to a boil, and then turn it down to low to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the stove and allow the brine to cool completely.
- Brine the legs. Place two legs in a gallon bag. Pour half of the brine into the bag. Remove most of the air and seal the bag shut. Repeat these steps for the next two legs. Place the bags in a large bowl (so they don’t leak) and place them in the fridge for at least 12 hours. *Since it’s not an entire turkey, you can brine the legs in a couple of gallon-sized zip top bags.
- Prep the grill. After brining, preheat your pellet grill or smoker to 225℉ with your choice of pellets or wood.
- Prepare the legs for smoking. Remove the legs from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Then coat each leg with a bit of olive oil, and rub with the seasoning.
- Smoke the legs. Place the legs directly on the grill grates of your pellet grill or smoker. Close the lid. Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 170°F, as measured by an instant read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each leg. *These are dark meat, so you want the finish temperature to be a bit higher.
- Rest and serve. Remove the legs from the grill and allow to rest about 10 minutes. Then serve.
Notes
- Cooking times – The cook times in this recipe are provided as a guide only. Cooking times will vary based on size of your turkey legs, temperature of your grill, what grill you are using, etc. Some of my turkey legs were smaller than others and finished cooking at about 1.5 hours. The others needed about 15 minutes longer to reach temp. Always cook to proper internal temperature, not a specific time.
- For the seasoning – I used my homemade turkey rub here – https://pelletsandpits.com/turkey-rub-recipe/ – but you can substitute your favorite poultry dry rub. I have also tested this recipe with Fire & Smoke Society Super Bird Poultry Seasoning.
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