steer clear of the "turkey" leg

anyone ever try one of those "turkey" legs...those huge drumsticks that they sell from a vendor at disneyworld, or at events (i've even seen them for sale randomly on the streets of new orleans).they look so deceptively yummy....like a big drumstick from a cartoon.

anyway, it's NOT turkey!!! it tastes like ham hock!!! does anyone know what this is or what they do to it to make it taste so....hammy?

i don't recommend this freakish meat.

aim

I've never had one of those, but I do use smoked turkey legs in lieu of ham hocks in my splitpea soup. It does taste remarkably like ham when smoked, (and presumably brined). It may very well be turkey.

yeah, i agree...this would be fine IN recipes....but not to gnaw on exclusively.

amy

These are the most strange of snack foods! The throngs of folks casually strolling through Walt Disney World while simultaneously gnawing on an oversixe turkey leg is bizarre.

Either Henry VIII would be proud or his European ancestors are simply continuing to laugh at us "ugly Americans."

I have to respectfully disagree. I love to eat smoked turkey legs. I live in Indianapolis, and every August I make at least one trip to the Indiana State Fair, mostly for the wonderful aforementioned treat.
I've smoked fresh turkey legs in my water smoker a couple of times also. Haven't turned out as well as the ones at the fair, but I'm working on it. When eating regular roasted turkey, I definitely prefer the legs and thighs.

Try brining them, I suspect those giant drums came off some tough old birds. Lots of salt is probably the secret...then Mickey can sell you a 64 oz. Bladder Buster Coke(tm.) for $5.95. :)

Every St Patricks Day here in Savannah (and if you've never been here for it, you really should check it out at least once) I see those things. It's kinda funny to watch the folks stumble down the road with a go cup in one hand and a flintstonesque bird leg in the other.I kind of wonder though, they limited the size of go cups, yet the mammoth poultry remains. I mean really, which would you rather have a drunk wielding, an empty cup, or a large bone?

Being a vetern of many Ren fairs , Turkey legs are a ren fair standard, Most of the ones Ive had over the years have been awful , Raw on the inside. Burned on the outside, An altogther unpleasnt excperince, The only good ones I have found were many years ago , When I was working at the Penn ren fair At MT Hope , Ther was a vendor Who boiled them before cooking , Then smoked the legs, Quite good . At the end of the day He would bring us a Trash bag Full of Leftovers , The fair was at a winery and gave us bottles of wine, Not a bad way to end the day.

The super Walmart in Knoxville has started selling roasted turkey leggs beside the area where they sell rotisserie chicken. $1.99 and very good.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

They do taste "like" hamhock--if the hamhocks are Smoked. I like em too!-In Muskogee )Ok,Smokehouse Bobs BBQ does a great one---slow cooked and done to perfection---he caters the blues fest we do here every year and sell alot of them.

You know, I would never claim to be a "lady", but I can't imagine walking around gnawing on something like that in public.

I don't know ...... there's something sensual and kind of neanderthalic about a woman knawing on a big ole turkey leg !!!

E T- Scheeeech, There goes my double fantasy of you in theFlashDance AND Tom Jones Dining Out scenes.

quote:

Originally posted by Argent

Being a vetern of many Ren fairs. . . .

What's a ren fair?

I think it may be a Renaissance Fair?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Yes that is it a ren fair is short for Renaissance Fair. There is one I have been to in Sterling forest N.Y. they have turkey legs and I think they are smoked with hickory wood. They are not bad except for the big tendons.

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

E T- Scheeeech, There goes my double fantasy of you in the FlashDance AND Tom Jones Dining Out scenes.

Well, in the privacy of my own home, it's more like Daryl Hannah eating lobster in SPLASH!

- Elise, who daintily breaks off bites with her fingers when eating a banana in public

Yes indeed, I meant Renaissance Fair. I worked at way too many of them

quote:

Originally posted by alesrus

Yes that is it a ren fair is short for Renaissance Fair. There is one I have been to in Sterling forest N.Y. they have turkey legs and I think they are smoked with hickory wood. They are not bad except for the big tendons.

My oldest son worked the Ren Faire at Sterling Forest, NY when he was a senior in High School. He was assigned to be a beggar and was required to devise his own costume. He did a great job and left home for the drive down to Tuxedo arrayed in rags held together with more rags. To his surprise, patrons of the Faire gave him "alms" in real hard money - he came home with about $150 - some of it in fives and tens. Generous folks - those ren faire people!

Few meals beat an OVEN-ROASTED turkey drumstick served with mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and cranberry sauce. I don't like the smoked ones.

I have never had this,but it will be on my list of things to do before death,,,,,,,,,,

People (at leats in the south) deep fry Turkeys. Put the whole damned holiday bird in a pot of boiling oil and let loose. people have told me the outcome is absolutley heavenly. I don't know, but it cannot be too bad.

"Fat gives food flavor"-Julia Child

SENOR

Ahhh the smoked turkey legs!! If you ever make it to Alaska in August there is the Alaska State Fair, where there are not one but two vendors of smoked turkey legs -- try the ones from the log cabin -- they are better that the Hawaiian guy.

Look out, clothier, another Alaskan.......and one that actually WENT to the State Fair????? Now THAT is a scary thought. And gnawed on turkey legs........hmmmmm.....presumably while riding one of the WONDERFUL amusement park rides like Tilt'o'Whirl. Right out of the 60's.
Other than eating turkey legs and riding antique rides that barely twirl, the other BIG attraction is.....are you ready?.....The Rat Race. This is hosted by the VFW and is essentially a betting game (no more than 25 cents, y'all hear?) about which hole the mouse will go in to. Oh yes, we have TONS of fun up here at the Fair.
Back to turkey legs........

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

Heck, I was impressed that he remembered which of the two legs was better.

And what's wrong with the tilt-o-whirl?

some rides are classic and timeless.

After a couple of those turkey legs and a few beers, maybe the tilt'o'whirl or the ferris wheel could become fun.....only after you've viewed the 90 pound cabbages.

the record is 110 lbs. I believe. Not the turkey leg, the cabbage.

check it out: www.alaskastatefair.org
you'll see for yourself.....rules and regulations for The Giant Cabbage Weigh-In Contest, the Spam (food, not email junk) Cooking Contest, on and on, oh we amuse ourselves up here in ways you folks that live Outside couldn't even imagine.

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

yet another reason to visit.

I'll take you on the Tilt'o'Whirl.....

bring your roll of quarters and hold onto your hat!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by clothier

quote:

Originally posted by AdrianDube

Ahhh the smoked turkey legs!! If you ever make it to Alaska in August there is the Alaska State Fair, where there are not one but two vendors of smoked turkey legs -- try the ones from the log cabin -- they are better that the Hawaiian guy.

You live in Alaska?

Where?

I live in the quaint and colorful neighborhood of Spenard, a part of the great metropolis of Anchorage

hey, I've lost a few quarters to the rats in my day . . .

And yes, I will give you that the AK State Fair is best discribed as "quaint" - especially compaired to fairs in the Midwest, but it still provides the required sights and smells of the fair experience -- just in a smaller package (except of course for the giant veggies -- my favorite of which was the giant blueberry which was about the size of a kumquat).

I usually go each year (recently overnighting in my RV) and refer to my time there as "eating my way through the state fair". Favorites include the afore mentioned turkey legs, Friar Tucks grilled corn on the cob, the cheeseburgers at the Slippery Gulch, and of course the cream puffs.

Hmmm.... is Fair Food a subset of Road Food?