Smoked Turkey Legs and Mashed Potatoes!

    Hi, I hope everybody is doing well. I recently smoked some turkey legs and potatoes. I had been wanting to smoke turkey legs and found some on sale one day. I froze them until I had time to smoke them  and then thawed them in the fridge. The seasonings were kept simple, salt, pepper, and paprika. The legs were smoked for about 2 and a half to 3 hours at 300 degrees. The ends were foiled about half way through cooking to keep them from getting burnt. 

      We have come to love smoked mashed potatoes lately. This time I made the potatoes in two batches. I have made them again since all in one batch. When I made them with the turkey legs, I did them 4 at a time on the BBQ Vegetable Rack. Then half way through, I wrapped the first batch in foil to stay warm and soften more. Once they were nice and soft and dinner was almost ready it was time to mash. All the potatoes went in a bowl with butter, salt, and pepper. I mashed them a little before adding a splash of milk. I mashed them until they were a consistency I liked. The butter and milk amounts are really personal preference. I kept all the skins on, but you could certainly peel them after smoking if you like.  

Turkey legs and potatoes smoking.

After foiling the legs

Finished product

     The whole meal was great. The turkey legs had the right balance of spice, smoke, and turkey flavor. The skin was crispy and the meat tender. I dipped some of my turkey in Big Butz Cranberry BBQ sauce. The potatoes had nice mild smokey flavor and were very tasty. I gave my bone to my daughter when I was done with it. She enjoyed posing for pictures with it. 

Isabella posing with the turkey leg.

      We loved the turkey legs so much that we already have more in the freezer ready to smoke. We definitely will be making them again. Have you ever enjoyed a smoked turkey leg? Feel free to leave me a comment and share this post with your friends. Have a great week and happy grillin'. 

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Wings and Sauce!

       I know it has been awhile. I hope everybody is doing well. Is everybody looking forward to the Super Bowl? I look forward to the food and commercials. Speaking of food, I recently took a class at one of the local shops called NonEssentials about cooking wings. I have never done wings before and was excited to get some first hand experience. The class was taught by a local guy named OB who makes various sauces at his place in Eagle River, Alaska. He showed us his technique for wings and we tried his various sauces. Everything was fantastic. The wings were super crispy and full of robust flavor. The sauce wasn't too vinegary or too spicy like a lot of buffalo sauces can be. It was the right balance of flavor. The only thing I was slightly disappointed with was the fact that the wings are fried. To get that incredible crunch they almost have to be fried. Steven Raichlen suggests in his latest Barbecue Bible post to grill wings indirect with a little wood for smoke flavor. The skin is supposed to stay crispy that way. The temp needs to be in the 350 range. I am planning on trying OB's method and indirect grilling the wings. I'll let you know what happens.
         You can see all of OB's products on his website OB's Sauce and Spice Company. His recipe is there also. He uses a dry mixture for his wings. The wings are coated then left in the fridge for at least an hour and up to overnight. Then they get rolled in the mixture again and then fried. He said the dry mixture works well for other foods you want a nice coating on, like chicken fried steak, pork chops, or just plain fried chicken. The time and temp of the chicken is important too. The oil needs to be at 375 degrees and the chicken in the oil for 13 minutes.
      Here is his recipe on his website:

Printable Recipe

OB's Crispy Buffalo Wings
2 hours : 1/2 hours prep time

1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp white pepper
20 chicken wings1 Jar of OB's Alaskan Wing Sauce

1. Combine flour, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, and white pepper in bowl.
2. Coat chicken wings in dry mixture
3. Reserve leftover mixture. Will be used for a second coating.
4. Refrigerate coated chicken wings at least 1 hour. Coating should be pasty.
5. Preheat oil to 375 degrees to fry chicken wings.
6. Prepare OB's Alaskan Wing Sauce per directions on jar.
7. Coat chicken wings in remaining dry mixture.
8. Deep fry chicken wings (10 pieces at a time) for 13 mins.
9. Drain chicken wings on paper towels then place in a bowl.
10. Pour a portion of OB's Alaskan Wing Sauce over chicken wings and toss till covered.
11. Repeat steps 6-9 with second batch.
Note: Wings can be frozen and reheated in 400 degree oven for 10 min.

Sauces that I bought.

        I purchased a few of the sauces that OB had available.  I bought the wing sauce of course, to go with wings I hope to make soon. The white sauce had good flavor and pairs well with fish, chicken, and other meats. People even use it as a salad dressing. The bbq sauce is the first sauce that OB started with.  It has a nice flavor of various spices, but none of it is overpowering. It won't outshine the meat, instead it adds a complementing flavor profile. I also tasted his hot bbq sauce, however I couldn't buy them all. The hot bbq sauce wasn't overpowering either. It had a spicy, but not mouth burning flavor on the back of your tongue. I am looking forward to trying these sauces on various foods.
       So what are you looking forward to eating Super Bowl Sunday? What is your favorite way to have wings? Have you found a local bbq sauce that you are excited about? Feel free to leave me a comment.
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