Beer-Braised Turkey Legs
This simple turkey dinner takes about 20 minutes of preparation and then time does the rest. The beer or cider-flavored braising sauce becomes a rich and delicious gravy-- drizzle on top of the turkey pieces, some salad and maybe some roasted vegetables.
Bring the turkey up to temperature on the countertop while you heat up the oil in a large oven-safe heavy-bottomed pot like a 5-6 qt Dutch oven. Set your oven to 275.
Brown the turkey leg (thigh and drum) on both sides, about 6-8 minutes per, and leave skin side up in the pot.
While you're browning the turkey, heat up your stock or water in another small pot.
Scatter the onion, carrot, garlic and oven-roasted tomatoes around the turkey and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring a bit. Add the mustard seed and thyme and cook another minute or so, and add the salt.
Pour the stock and beer into the pot with the turkey, making sure not to cover it all the way-- the skin of the turkey should be exposed. Add in the two bay leaves, and put the pot into the oven. Cook for about 2 hours*, until the center of the thigh reads 160-165.
Remove the pot from the oven and then lift the turkey out and set it on a platter, and wrap extremely tightly in tinfoil to keep it warm while you make the gravy.
Set the pot oven high heat, and boil off some of the water for about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool enough to pour into a fat separator. These are really helpful for making pan sauces and gravy of any kind and not very expensive, so it's a great addition to your kitchen. However you can also pour the juices/drippings/stock into a glass container and allow the fat to rise to the top for a few minutes and spoon it off.
While the fat is collecting on the top of your separator, melt the two tablespoons of butter in the pot where you heated up the stock. Add in the flour, and whisk for two minutes to remove the bitter-floury taste. Slowly whisk in the juices/drippings/stock (fat removed), adding just enough to get the gravy consistency you want. Keep whisking for a few minutes to thicken.
Carve your turkey (it basically falls off the bone, so you can even use your fingers) and serve it with a green salad and some gravy. Tip: the turkey re-heats perfectly in the leftover gravy.
* We used a really large turkey leg so we left it in 2.5 hours, and the internal temperature was almost 200 degrees. Even though I was worried it was going to be a dried out mess, when I carved the turkey it was totally delicious and still really moist. So if you cook it a little too long, don't worry, it'll likely still be great!
Ingredients
Directions
Bring the turkey up to temperature on the countertop while you heat up the oil in a large oven-safe heavy-bottomed pot like a 5-6 qt Dutch oven. Set your oven to 275.
Brown the turkey leg (thigh and drum) on both sides, about 6-8 minutes per, and leave skin side up in the pot.
While you're browning the turkey, heat up your stock or water in another small pot.
Scatter the onion, carrot, garlic and oven-roasted tomatoes around the turkey and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring a bit. Add the mustard seed and thyme and cook another minute or so, and add the salt.
Pour the stock and beer into the pot with the turkey, making sure not to cover it all the way-- the skin of the turkey should be exposed. Add in the two bay leaves, and put the pot into the oven. Cook for about 2 hours*, until the center of the thigh reads 160-165.
Remove the pot from the oven and then lift the turkey out and set it on a platter, and wrap extremely tightly in tinfoil to keep it warm while you make the gravy.
Set the pot oven high heat, and boil off some of the water for about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool enough to pour into a fat separator. These are really helpful for making pan sauces and gravy of any kind and not very expensive, so it's a great addition to your kitchen. However you can also pour the juices/drippings/stock into a glass container and allow the fat to rise to the top for a few minutes and spoon it off.
While the fat is collecting on the top of your separator, melt the two tablespoons of butter in the pot where you heated up the stock. Add in the flour, and whisk for two minutes to remove the bitter-floury taste. Slowly whisk in the juices/drippings/stock (fat removed), adding just enough to get the gravy consistency you want. Keep whisking for a few minutes to thicken.
Carve your turkey (it basically falls off the bone, so you can even use your fingers) and serve it with a green salad and some gravy. Tip: the turkey re-heats perfectly in the leftover gravy.