Slow Roasted Turkey Legs with Gravy
Turkey legs are much cheaper than whole turkeys and ‘white meat’ joints like turkey crowns and breast joints – making them a great option if you are watching the pennies. The best way to cook your turkey leg is to slow roast it – this will give you a much better flavour and texture. (Plus this easy peasy Slow Roast Turkey Leg recipe creates the most amazing turkey gravy).
2 large onions, peeled and each one cut into 8 wedges
2 large carrots, chopped into large chunks (no need to peel)
1 rib celery, chopped into large chunks
1 bulb garlic, halved horizontally
3 dried bay leaves
chicken stock (300 mL)
2.2 lbs turkey leg (1 kg)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. water, cold
Preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3).
Place the chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic in a roasting pan (~ 30x25cm).
Add the bay leaves and chicken stock to the roasting tin.
Remove the turkey leg from the packaging and gently pat dry with kitchen roll. Drizzle over the olive oil, and sprinkle over some salt and pepper. Use your hands to spread this all over the turkey leg.
Place the turkey leg on top of the vegetables in the roasting tin and cover the whole thing completely with tin foil. (You may have to use 2 sheets sideways, unless you have very wide tin foil.)
Place the roasting tin in your preheated oven and roast for 2 hours.
After the 2 hours, turn the heat up to 425°F (220°C/200°C fan, Gas Mark 7). Then take the roasting tin out of the oven and remove the foil.
Return the roasting tin to the oven and cook for a further 30 minutes to crisp up the skin. (Make sure the liquid does not completely dry out).
After the 30 minutes take the roasting tin out of the oven and place the turkey on a board or plate to rest for 10-15 minutes while you make the gravy.
To Make the Gravy:
Place a sieve over a medium-sized saucepan and tip the vegetables and liquid from the roasting tin into the sieve. Using a large spoon, press down on the vegetables to get all the liquid out of them and into the saucepan. Remove the sieve from the pan.
Mix together 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch with 2 Tbsp. of cold water to make a thin paste (it should be roughly the consistency of single cream – add more cold water if necessary to achieve this consistency.)
Pour the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan and stir to combine with the strained roasting liquid.
Gently heat the gravy until bubbling, stirring frequently to ensure a smooth consistency. If too thick for your tastes, thin out with some boiling water from the kettle. (If too thin, add another Tbsp. of cornstarch, mixed first with cold water as above.)
Tip into a gravy boat or jug and serve with your turkey leg.
Makes 4 servings.
Cook's Notes:
- You can also use turkey stock if you prefer.
- A 1 kg turkey leg joint will typically serve 3-4 people, depending on appetite and accompaniments. If you are catering for more people or for people with larger appetites, simply roast 2 turkey leg joints on the same bed of vegetables. (Ensure the 2 turkey legs are not touching for best results.)
- I recommend being quite sparing with the salt as too much will make the gravy too salty – I use just a tiny pinch.
- If you wrap with foil well, you shouldn’t need to add any more liquid, but if your foil was a bit loose you may find most of the liquid has evaporated – in which case add a splash more (But not too much or your gravy will be too thin and not as flavoursome).
- If you are worried your turkey leg will get cold, you can wrap it in tin foil and cover it with a couple of tea towels – the problem with this is that the skin will no longer be crispy. If your kitchen is quite warm, the turkey should not cool down too much during its 10-15 minutes resting time, so I generally leave it uncovered so the skin stays crispy.
- You have two options here, you can either press lightly, so the vegetables stay whole and then tip the veggies into a serving dish to serve up alongside the turkey or you can press really hard so that the veggies turn into mush. This second option will give you a better tasting gravy – you can then use the ‘mush’ as the basis for a lovely soup the next day – just pop it into an airtight container in the fridge.
- Suitable for freezing.