Rckcrwlr is surrounded by beautiful legs..

Rckcrwlr · April 26, 2012, 04:12:15 PM

So by request of one of my foodie buddies, we decided that some legs were in our future. And being that he knows me well, all he has to do is plant the idea in my head and I run with it...

Introducing 30# of Good old fashion Turkey Legs...

I decided to pull 9 out (3 per smoker shelf) and get them brining.

I went with a brine that was suggested for these to make them taste like the Disney Fair Turkey Legs

First thing I did was gather the ingredients and then realized that I didn't have Tender Quick Salt.

Talking with my Butcher, he hooked me up with some of their Ham Brine and then told me to add all the other stuff excluding the Salt & Sugar. So that is what I did...

Put them in a Food Safe Bucket:

Then the issue came up about them floating. I needed to keep them submerged. So I wrapped a brick in foil and vacuum sealed it so it could be easily cleaned and reused.

Now I need to wait 2 days and start the smoke rolling.

I can't wait to try them....

mikecorn.1 · April 26, 2012, 05:26:05 PM

Looking forward to the pics! :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

viper125 · April 26, 2012, 06:11:54 PM

I also like to "work" mine 2 times a day when brining any thing. Stir or massage the bag if in one just to keep brine mixed up well. A
Not laying on bottom.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Rckcrwlr · April 27, 2012, 02:10:27 AM

Quote from: viper125 on April 26, 2012, 06:11:54 PM
I also like to "work" mine 2 times a day when brining any thing. Stir or massage the bag if in one just to keep brine mixed up well. A
Not laying on bottom.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

I will do that today. Good thinking.

Rckcrwlr · April 28, 2012, 05:26:33 AM

So I got up this morning and took the legs out of the brine. Rinsed them off and patted them dry. At the same time I got the smoker up to 220.

Sprinkled them with some Paprika and let them warm up a bit.

Threw them in the smoker for 3 hours of Hickory...and about 7 hours of 220.

When done, they will get FTC (Foil, Towel, Cooler) for about two hours then delivered to the "customer".

STAY TUNED!!!!

Rckcrwlr · April 28, 2012, 01:27:52 PM

So I pulled these out when IT was between 167-175 (due to size). They are currently in FTC. The skin seems like it isn't crispy. Is this normal, should I have kept them in longer?

Here are pictures of them:

mikecorn.1 · April 28, 2012, 03:42:12 PM

I've never had crispy skin on poultry smoking in the Bradley. You got to hit the poultry on a grill.
So what's the verdict? Taste?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

viper125 · April 28, 2012, 04:34:50 PM

Normal, Need high heat of a oven or grill to get crispy. I dont think its worth effort to me. I dont eat much of the skin any way as even cooking in oven till crisp its still tough. I eat a little and share the rest with my dogs. But the inside it's to die for!

So have you tasted them yet and what is the verdict?

Rckcrwlr · April 28, 2012, 05:17:08 PM

That is great to hear guys. I was concerned that I did something wrong. And being that 8 of the 9 were going to a friend of mine...I was worried.

I talked to my buddy to get his thoughts being that I only had smoked turkey legs once.

The consensus is:

The skin was too tough.
The flavor was spot on.
It was a little on the salty side (Probably the Ham Cure)
Meat seemed a little tough...
Will do them again.

Have you guys tried to do them without the skin on?

ghost9mm · April 28, 2012, 05:31:17 PM

I tried several time to do chicken in the bradley and never had much luck unless I finished them in the house broiler to crisp them up, I gave up and now use the big easy or the traeger or the mak...

Rckcrwlr · April 28, 2012, 05:40:25 PM

Quote from: ghost9mm on April 28, 2012, 05:31:17 PM
I tried several time to do chicken in the bradley and never had much luck unless I finished them in the house broiler to crisp them up, I gave up and now use the big easy or the traeger or the mak...

Yeah...think I will smoke a turkey next time and finish it in the Big Easy...

muebe · April 28, 2012, 05:53:01 PM

Rock crawler it is normal to get tough skin on bird from the Bradley and other smokers. The problem is that the temp needs to be at least 300F so the skin gets hot enough to "fry" itself otherwise you end up with leather.

You can avoid eating the skin entirely, remove it before smoking, or pull the bird after smoking to finish in a oven, grill, or big easy.

I just made chicken legs in the Bradley where I removed all the skin and replaced with bacon. I think it was a nice trade off and they tasted fantastic ;) I did pop them in the broiler for 10 minutes to crisp up the bacon some.

I am sure that if you smoke chicken at 225F without the skin it will still be moist because of the low cooking temp.

SiFumar · April 28, 2012, 06:35:37 PM

They do look good that's for sure. To tell you the truth I don't think when I've bought one of those "fair" legs, it didn't have crispy skin. Unless they were heating them on a grill.

Smokin Soon · April 28, 2012, 07:00:34 PM

Did some a while back in the Bradley and finished in The Big Easy. Very good.