Home › The Waldorf Kitchen › Broiled Turkey's Legs
Broiled Turkey's Legs
Cut off the legs of a cold roasted turkey, sprinkle them over with salt, pepper and cayenne, and cut them slightly across with a sharp knife. Squeeze some lemon juice over, place them on a well-greased gridiron and broil until nicely browned on both sides over a clear fire. When finished place the legs on a hot dish, baste them with warmed butter, and serve.
A leftovers dish: cooked turkey legs seasoned hard and given a second cooking over fire. The meat is already done, so the only goal is browning and heating through.
- Gridiron and clear fireA gridiron is a grate set over coals; a "clear fire" means the flames have died and the coals glow without smoke. A charcoal grill after the coals have ashed over, or a ridged cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat, both work. A broiler element also does the job, about 4 inches from the heat.
- Score, do not carve"Cut them slightly across" means shallow slashes through the skin and into the meat at intervals, so the seasoning penetrates and the heat reaches the interior without drying the outside. Roughly quarter-inch deep, an inch apart.
- TimeCold cooked legs need only 4 to 6 minutes a side, enough to brown the skin and warm the center. Turkey leg meat reheated much beyond that tends to dry and turn stringy.
- Cayenne quantityThe original gives no amount. Cayenne alongside salt, pepper and lemon points to a sharply seasoned dish in the manner of devilled leftovers; a scant quarter teaspoon per leg is a reasonable starting point, with black pepper on top of it.
- Warmed butterMelt the butter gently and baste the legs with it once they are on the hot dish, rather than clarifying it. Cold butter dropped on hot skin sets in patches; the point of warming is that it coats.
- YieldTwo legs from one bird serve two as a hot lunch or supper dish, or four if the drumstick and thigh are separated at the joint before broiling, which also helps them cook evenly.
- Food safety on the leftoversThe turkey should have been refrigerated promptly after the original roast and used within three to four days. Broiling browns the surface but does not rescue meat that sat out.
Broiling or devilling the legs of a roast bird was standard Victorian and Edwardian practice on both sides of the Atlantic, and it survives in British cookery as "devilled turkey" served the day after Christmas. Legs and thighs were considered inferior to breast at a formal table, so they came off the carcass and reappeared at breakfast, luncheon or after the theatre, sharpened with cayenne, mustard or lemon to carry cold meat.