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In recent years past, Michigan has struggled the week before the Ohio State game. Since 2013, Michigan was just 4-3 that week and their four wins were by an average of just 14.5 points against inferior competition.

This year, that changed. Michigan dominated an overmatched Maryland team, showing off in all three phases of the game, and winning 59-18.

That win set up a win-or-go-home showdown with rival Ohio State this Saturday. Both teams enter with a 10-1 record, but Ohio State holds the advantage with an unblemished conference record. If Michigan wins they’ll represent the Big Ten East in the championship game.

That’s a tall task, given Michigan’s performance against the Buckeyes over the past two decades, coupled with the way Ohio State is currently playing.

For this week’s, Tailgate Tuesday, we’re not featuring anything Ohio-related. It’s Thanksgiving week, so we went with the old Renaissance Fair (and Disney World) favorite — turkey legs!

The smoked turkey legs recipe

Whether you’re doing turkey legs or a whole turkey, you’re going to want to plan ahead because no one wants dry turkey. If you take the time to plan ahead, you can produce amazing results.

You can use whatever turkey brine you want, but my favorite is Thunderbird Wings’ Early Bird. My buddy Trace has a great how-to video on his Instagram. It shows the proportions of seasoning to water to ice and how to blend it together to create the brine based on how much poultry you are brining.

In this case, we did six large turkey legs, so we used half a bottle of Early Bird. Mix that in a saucepan on the stove with 1.5 quarts of water until the salt and sugars have dissolved. Pour the brine into a large pot or food safe bucket over 3 quarts of ice. This may seem like a lot, but it’s part of the solution to help cool down the brine and also provide the right flavor.

Now, place your turkey legs in, cover with a lid, and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

When you are ready to cook, fire up your smoker to 275 degrees. I like to use pecan or cherry wood for turkey, but any other fruit would will do.

Remove the turkey legs from the brine. Peel back the skin and season the meat with your Song Bird rub. Pull the skin back over and season it as well.

Set your turkey legs on the grate and cook for about an hour and a half to two hours until they reach 150 degrees internal. Crank up the temperature to 400 and let go until the meat reaches 160. The increased temperature will help crisp the skin so it’s not rubbery. Set in a foil pan or on a platter and let rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Smoked Turkey Legs

Smoked turkey legs are popular at the Renaissance Fair and Disney World, but ours are brined with Early Bird and smoked over pecan wood.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 2

Total Time: 1 2

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: early bird, early bird brine, smoked turkey, smoked turkey legs, thanksgiving, thanksgiving turkey, thunderbird wings, turkey, turkey legs

Servings: people

Calories: 241kcal

Cost: $20

Ingredients

6 Turkey legs
½ bottle Early Bird Brine
1 ½ quarts Water
3 quarts Ice
Song Bird chicken seasoning

Instructions

The day before you want to eat, brine your turkey.
Mix together ½ the bottle of Early Bird brine and 1 ½ quarts of water in a saucepan on the stove until the salt and sugar dissolves.
Pour it into a pot or food save bucket filled with 3 quarts of ice.
Place your turkey legs in, cover, and place in the fridge for 24 hours.
When you are ready to cook, fire up your smoker to 275 degrees using pecan, cherry, or other fruit wood.
Remove the turkey legs from the brine. Peel back the skin and season the meat with Song Bird rub. Pull the skin back into position and season it with Song Bird.
Once your smoker has stabilized at temp, place your turkey legs in and smoke for 1 ½ to 2 hours until they have reached 150 degrees internal.
Crank up the heat to 400 degrees and cook until they reach 160 degrees.
Remove from the smoker and place in a foil pan or on a platter and let rest for 15-20 minutes before eating. The carryover heat will rise to 165.