Asian-Style Grilled Turkey Legs

Votes: 2

Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Complexity: easily
Servings: 2

The principle of cooking these drumsticks isn't much different from any other barbecue: you rub them with a spice mixture, marinate them, then grill them, brushing them with mop sauce. What gives them their incredible Asian flavor is the combination of spices and herbs used in the marinade and sauce. Set some of the mop sauce aside for serving. You can eat the drumsticks plain with the sauce, or use the meat in sandwiches on a bun (for a healthier option, serve them on a lettuce leaf).

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

Mop sauce

6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
4 cm ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
3/4 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
4 tsp Asian chili sauce, such as Sriracha
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Spice mix

2 tablespoons five-spice seasoning
0.5 tsp granulated garlic
0.5 tsp onion powder
4 turkey legs, without thighs (about 2 kg)
3/4 cup soaked wood chips

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Spice mix:

Combine five-spice powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, granulated garlic, and onion powder in a bowl. Rub the mixture into the turkey legs. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Preheat the outdoor grill, preparing the direct and indirect heat zones. Place a drip pan under the grate on the cooler side. Add 1/2 cup of soaked wood chips to the coals.

Place the turkey legs on the grate over the drip tray. Cover the grill with the lid, positioning the lid vents directly over the meat. Once the coals have burned down, about 45 minutes, add 6 pieces of cold charcoal and the remaining wood chips to maintain a medium smoke level.
Meanwhile, prepare the mop sauce.:

In a bowl, combine garlic, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin, chili sauce and green onions.
Set aside half the sauce for serving. After about 1 hour, brush the legs with some of the mop sauce and turn over.
Baste and turn them every 10 minutes until the skin is golden brown and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the drumstick registers 170°F (77°C), another 30 to 40 minutes. Serve the drumsticks with the reserved sauce.

Turkey sandwich:

You can remove all the meat from the cooked legs from the bones, mix with the sauce and place on a split bun or wrap in an iceberg lettuce leaf.