Turkey Leg cook question

[bgaviator]

Ok, so I am going to do turkey legs for Thanksgiving this year. I am in general not a turkey fan, but i LOVE Disney/renaissance fair style smoked turkey legs. I have some questions I want to run by you all before I do this so it doesn't get messed up.

1. I found Pop's brine on here, and I'm pretty sure I've used it before the one time I made these before....but it was a loooong time ago. Just to make sure, it is 1 Tablespoon of #1 pink cure to 1 gallon of water, correct? Also, his cure says sea salt....is that like Morton fine sea salt? I normally use Kosher salt in brines but I'm not sure how to convert it. I have these two gallon, food safe buckets I bought from Lowes, so that's what I'm going to brine them in.

2. These turkey legs are massive....will 3 full days in cure be good? And after they have been brine cured, do i need to air dry the legs in the fridge for any length of time before I smoke them?

3. I am going to need to do these things the day before Thanksgiving actually since I work midnight shifts....so no time to cook them the day of. What will be the best method for reheating these legs?

Thanks everyone!

 

[dirtsailor2003]

1. Yes 1 tablespoon per gallon. I use Kosher with Pop's and use 1/3 cup. Your buckets are fine as long as you can fit them in your fridge or a cold cooler.

2. 3 days will be fine since you will be hot smoking them. You're only curing for flavor, You could go longer if you want but it's probably not required.

Yes air dry in the fridge for better skin. 8-24 hours

3. I'd reheat them on a sheet pan or a rack above a sheet pan in the a 200° oven.