Image by Liza Schoenfein

By Liza Schoenfein November 23, 2020

You can read more about this recipe here.

Ingredients:

4 turkey legs
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 dry bay leaves, crushed or 5 fresh
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon pepper
Enough duck fat or olive oil, or a combination of olive and canola oil to cover the legs (4-6 cups, which can be strained and kept in the refrigerator to re-use for cooking)

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How to make:

Several hours to one day before you plan to cook, combine salt and spices in a small bowl. Place turkey legs on a sheet pan or baking dish lined with paper towels and rub the mixture all over the legs. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least three hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Brush excess salt mixture off the legs with a paper towel. Choose a heavy lidded pot, ideally one that’s wide enough to hold all the legs. If using duck fat, melt it in the pot over medium-low heat. Otherwise, arrange the turkey legs in the pot and add enough oil to just cover. (If duck fat doesn’t cover the legs, add more.) Cover the pot, put it in the oven, and cook 1½ hours. The oil should be bubbling gently; lower the heat to 275 if it’s boiling rapidly.

Remove pot from oven, turn legs carefully with tongs, and return to the oven to cook for 1–1½ hours more, until legs are very tender but the meat is not falling off the bone.

Remove from oven, uncover, and (if not serving right away) let turkey come to room temperature. Refrigerate in the oil, covered, for up to one week.

To serve, remove legs from oil and pat dry. Heat a large, preferably nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot and add ¼ cup of the reserved oil. (If not using a nonstick pan, consider removing the skin from the legs. It will probably stick and come off anyway.) Sear legs on all sides, in batches if necessary, until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes total. Make sure to get a good sear on one side before moving onto the next, which will help prevent sticking.

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