Baked turkey drumsticks make a delicious and family-friendly dinner that’s also great for special occasions. These turkey legs are slowly roasted until the meat falls off the bone, the skin is crispy, meat flavorful and perfectly spiced. They make a great alternative to whole turkey legs or a whole turkey!
Ingredients
Below you will find information about the ingredients and how to prepare the recipe. For the measurements and detailed instructions scroll down to the printable recipe card.
Here’s what you need to make this easy recipe:
- Turkey drumsticks – mine we large, 1 pound (450g) each. You can also use bone-in skin-on chicken drumsticks or thighs (I tested this – just bake them for 2 hours in total, not 2 1/2, they come out amazing).
- Olive oil.
- Maple syrup – a touch of sweetness goes so well with turkey meat and helps brown the skin nicely. Don’t substitute for honey (burns very quickly). You can omit it.
- Spices: Dijon mustard, paprika, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper (just a little bit, add more or omit it).
- Orange – zest and a small amount of juice. A must for me for turkey meat! It goes so well together.
Feel free to just follow the recipe and use your favorite spice mixes and seasonings.
You could also follow this recipe for a whole roasted turkey leg and use the orange herb butter to season the meat.
How to make it step-by-step
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In a medium bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the rub until well combined.
Pat dry turkey drumsticks with paper towels. Place them in a large casserole dish (9×13 inches or 23×33 cm or similar).
Loosen the skin from the meat without totally detaching it. Rub the legs thoroughly with the spice mixture all over the meat, under the skin, and a little bit between the muscles (detach the skin without totally removing it, just to get as much of the seasoning under the skin as possible). Try to cover the meat again with skin as much as you can.
Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Reduce the temperature to 325°F (160°C) and bake for 1 hour. If the drumsticks are getting too brown for your liking, cover the dish loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
Baking time – IMPORTANT NOTE: we are baking the meat longer than it’s necessary to reach the safe temperature of 165°F/74°C. This will result in fall-off-the-bone meat. You can do that with just bone-in legs, not breasts! You can certainly bake your turkey leg until it reaches 165°F, it will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours instead of 2 1/2 hours. The meat will be good but it needs to be cut off the bone with a knife and it’s just not that tender. If you follow this recipe, the meat is so tender, you can easily tear it apart with your hands.
Take out of the oven and let stand for at least 15-20 minutes for the juices to redistribute (you can leave the legs in the liquid in the baking dish, they will still be very warm after this time). Pour some of the baking liquid over the meat.
Enjoy!
If you’d like to make gravy, follow the instructions in this recipe for the whole roasted turkey leg.
Storage
You can store these turkey drumsticks for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. Reheat in a 325°F (160°C) oven, in a microwave, or gently steam it.
What I like to do is to take all the meat off the bones (while it’s still warm) and then warm it up with butter in a pan the next day.
How to make it ahead: you can rub the meat with the spice mixture and leave it in the fridge for up to 1-2 days. The meat will be even more tender and flavorful. Take it out of the fridge about 30-60 minutes before baking it – the meat will bake more evenly.
You can freeze the meat for up to 6 months.
Servings suggestions
- baked parmesan zucchini
- honey glazed carrots
- cranberry orange sauce
- sour cream mashed potatoes
- green beans almondine
- green bean casserole
Recipe FAQ’s
The safe-to-eat temperature is 165°F (74°C), but the secret to the best turkey legs, with fall-off-the-bone meat is to overcook them! Really, the longer you bake them, the better they get.
They have probably not been cooked long enough! (see above).
No, they are not. A whole turkey leg consists of a thigh and a drumstick. This recipe calls for turkey drumsticks, which are the lower part of turkey legs.
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Baked Turkey Drumsticks (fall-off-the-bone meat!)
Ingredients
- 4 large turkey drumsticks 4 1/2 pounds or 2 kg
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt to taste I used about 5 teaspoons, season to your taste
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a medium bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the rub until well combined.
- Pat dry turkey drumsticks with paper towels. Place them in a large casserole dish (9×13 inches or 23×33 cm or similar).
- Loosen the skin from the meat without totally detaching it. Rub the legs thoroughly with the spice mixture all over the meat, under the skin, and a little bit between the muscles (detach the skin without totally removing it, just to get as much of the seasoning under the skin as possible). Try to cover the meat again with skin as much as you can.
- Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Reduce the temperature to 325°F (160°C) and bake for 1 hour. If the drumsticks are getting too brown for your liking, cover the dish loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. If you have smaller turkey drumsticks, the baking time stays the same, it does not need to be shortened (I'm even using this method for chicken drumsticks which I bake for 2 hours and they are perfect).
- Take out of the oven and let stand for at least 15-20 minutes for the juices to redistribute (you can leave the legs in the liquid in the baking dish, they will still be very warm after this time). Pour some of the baking liquid over the meat.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Baking time – IMPORTANT NOTE: we are baking the meat longer than it’s necessary to reach the safe temperature of 165°F (74°C). This will result in fall-off-the-bone meat. You can do that with just bone-in legs, not breasts! You can certainly bake your turkey leg until it reaches 165°F, it will take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours instead of 2 1/2 hours. The meat will be good but it needs to be cut off the bone with a knife and it’s just not that tender. If you follow this recipe, the meat is so tender, you can easily tear it apart with your hands.
- You can also use bone-in skin-on chicken drumsticks or thighs (I tested this). Just bake them for 2 hours in total, not 2 1/2, they come out amazing.
- You can rub the legs with the spice mixture and leave them in the fridge for 24 hours or at least overnight for even better results. Take out of the fridge 1 hour before you plan on cooking them (the meat will bake more evenly).
- Calories = 1 serving (1/6 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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