Barbecued Turkey Legs

Turkey legs are built for the slow cooker. All that connective tissue that makes drumsticks tough when roasted too fast breaks down over hours of low heat, leaving you with meat that slides right off the bone.

The barbecue sauce here is a simple mix of ketchup, molasses, vinegar, and Worcestershire. Molasses gives it a dark, bittersweet depth that bottled barbecue sauce rarely matches. Hickory smoke salt adds that outdoor-grill flavor without ever firing up the charcoal.

Just season the drums, lay them in the crockpot, pour the sauce over, and forget about them for most of the day. No searing, no basting, no babysitting. The slow cooker does all the work.

After cooking, the sauce in the pot will be thin from the turkey’s rendered juices. You can serve it as is or pour it into a saucepan and simmer it down until thick and glossy for spooning over the legs.

Kitchen Tips

• Make sure the turkey legs are fully thawed before cooking. Frozen drumsticks won’t cook evenly and the center may not reach a safe temperature.
• Arrange the legs so the thickest parts face the outside of the crockpot, where the heat is strongest.
• Don’t lift the lid during cooking. Every peek adds 20 to 30 minutes to the cook time.
• For crispier skin, finish the legs under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes after slow cooking.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of hot sauce or chipotle in adobo to the sauce for a spicier kick.
• Swap molasses for maple syrup for a lighter, sweeter glaze.
• Use chicken drumsticks instead for a smaller portion that cooks in 4 to 5 hours on low.