Guess what? Turkey doesn’t have to be just for Thanksgiving dinner. With my beer brined turkey legs, you can enjoy a freakin’ delicious, juicy turkey dinner without having to cook a whole bird. Plus, a turkey leg gives you a chance to embrace your inner cave(wo)man. We’re not going to pass up that opportunity. These beer brined turkey legs also feature an Alabama white sauce for BBQ perfection.
To get the best results for turkey legs, you’ll want to brine them overnight. Instead of using gallons of water like you would in a simple brine, we’re kicking the flavor up a notch in this recipe with a Samuel Adams Winter Lager beer brine! The Winter Lager is a spiced wheat bock, which perfectly complements the rich and smoky flavor of our turkey legs. Bonus: you can enjoy a beverage yourself while you’re grilling and eating!
Post sponsored by Samuel Adams
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Beer Brined Turkey Legs
- Beer Brined Turkey Legs Ingredients
- Best Turkey BBQ Seasoning
- How to Make Beer Brined Turkey Legs
- Brining the Turkey Legs
- Grilling the Turkey Legs
- Mixing the Alabama White Sauce
- Serving Beer Brined Turkey Legs
- What to Serve with Beer Brined Turkey Legs
- For More Turkey
- Leftovers and Reheating
- FAQs
- Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
- Beer Brined Turkey Legs Recipe
Why You’ll Love Beer Brined Turkey Legs
The key for juicy turkey legs is brining overnight in a salt and sugar water mixture. Because turkey can sometimes be very dry, brining helps to retain moisture in both white meat and dark meat.
In this turkey recipe, we change up the brining technique by using beer instead of cold water for a unique flavor. We also cook the turkey legs longer and slower so the fat breaks down for a freakin’ delicious flavor and texture.
Cooking to 175 degrees F internal temperature, which you can check with your instant-read thermometer or keep track of with a probe style thermometer, might seem like overcooking them. However, the juicy meat will fall off the bone! Finally, we’ll pair our beer brined turkey legs with an Alabama white sauce, a mayonnaise-based BBQ sauce that brings out the best in this turkey recipe.
Want to learn more about the benefits of brining? Read my post on this cooking technique, and try my Whisky Brined Chicken Wings too!
Beer Brined Turkey Legs Ingredients
- Turkey: No whole turkey here. We keep things simple with bone-in turkey legs and BBQ seasoning.
- Beer Brine: That delicious Samuel Adams Winter Lager anchors our turkey brine. But since we can’t brine with beer alone, we’ll add a couple cups of water, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and dried thyme.
- Alabama White Sauce: Mayonnaise forms the base of our BBQ sauce. Then, we round it out with apple cider vinegar, prepared horseradish, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, cayenne powder, black pepper and more kosher salt.
Best Turkey BBQ Seasoning
If you don’t have a go-to BBQ seasoning for your beer brined turkey legs, give this recipe a spin! Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon mustard powder, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons of black pepper and 2 teaspoons garlic powder in a small bowl. Then, rub the seasoning all over the turkey legs and start your grill! If you want to increase the amounts so you have enough for the next time you make beer brined turkey legs, you can store the mixture in an airtight container in a cool, dry pantry for up to 2 months.
Alternatively, my Maple Bourbon, Big Bad BBQ Ale, Tennessee Smoke or Cowboy Butter are perfect, easy seasoning options!
Add flavor to everything you’re cooking
shop over the fire spice lines
How to Make Beer Brined Turkey Legs
Brining the Turkey Legs
In a food safe bowl, a very large pot or brining bag, pour in 24 ounces Samuel Adams Winter Lager, 2 cups of water (room temperature or warm), 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons kosher salt, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1.5 tablespoons onion powder and 1.5 tablespoons dried thyme. Stir the mixture for a couple minute until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
Once that happens, add your four bone-in turkey legs to the brine, seal the container and place it in the fridge. You’ll want to let the turkey brine for at least four hours, but ideally those beer brined turkey legs will sit overnight to fully absorb the flavors of the brine.
Grilling the Turkey Legs
Once the turkey legs have finished brining, remove them from the bowl or brining bag and completely pat dry with paper towels. Discard the used turkey brine. Slather the outside of the turkey legs with canola or vegetable oil and then generously season with 1 cup of your favorite BBQ rub.
Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees F for indirect cooking. For extra smoke flavor, add wood chips or wood chunks. Hickory, pecan, cherry wood or applewood all work well for turkey.
When your fire is ready, place your turkey legs in the smoker and cook until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F, which should take 2-2.5 hours (use your meat thermometer to check). Once they’re reached temp, pull them off and let the turkey rest for five minutes.
Mixing the Alabama White Sauce
While the beer brined turkey cooks, mix together your ingredients for the Alabama white sauce. We’ll use 3 cups mayonnaise, 1.25 cups apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 2.5 tablespoons Dijon mustard, juice of 1 lemon, 2.5 teaspoons cayenne powder, 2 teaspoons black pepper and kosher salt to taste. Store the sauce in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Serving Beer Brined Turkey Legs
Now you’re ready to enjoy this turkey feast! Before plating, I dipped the cooked beer brined turkey legs into the Alabama White Sauce. You can do this too, or simply serve the sauce on the side. No wrong answers here, just delicious food. Grab yourself a Samual Adams Winter Lager and let’s dive in. Cheers!
What to Serve with Beer Brined Turkey Legs
This beer brined turkey legs recipe has great smoky flavor, perfect crispy skin and juicy meat. Because of that, you can treat it as a mash-up of backyard BBQ main course and a Thanksgiving feast. Serve with potato salad, roasted sweet potatoes, a hearty kale salad, cranberry sauce or cornbread sausage stuffing. Make sure to enjoy a Winter Lager with your turkey dinner too!
If you’re thinking about the Holidays, make sure to check out my Best Holiday Recipes!
For More Turkey
Leftovers and Reheating
Once the turkey legs are cool, place them in an airtight container or wrap them tightly in plastic or foil. Then, store in the fridge. They will keep for 3-4 days. To reheat, the easiest way is to place them in aluminum foil over a grill and gently warm them up on the grill grates. You could also use a 350-degree F oven. If you have extra Alabama white sauce, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
FAQs
Sure! Because chicken is smaller, you won’t need to brine the meat as long or cook them as long as the beer brined turkey legs. I’d recommend using bone-in, skin-on chicken parts, like drumsticks or thighs. If you’re looking for more chicken recipes, check out this chicken legs roundup!
Robert Lee Gibson, also known as “Big Bob” Gibson, invented the sauce in the 1920s at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. Gibson, who used to be a railway worker, was the founder and pitmaster of the restaurant. No one’s quite sure what possessed Big Bob to use mayonnaise in his BBQ sauce. If you’re interested in taking a deep dive on Alabama white sauce history while you eat your beer brined turkey legs, check out this article!
Check out the company’s store locator! There are plenty of places to find Samuel Adams all over the country. So, you’ll likely find it at your local grocery store or liquor store. Or, as they call it in Samuel Adams’s home state of Massachusetts, the packie. The Holiday Ale is calling my name too…
Get The Cookbooks!
Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
All the major tastes—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami—are explored in depth, along with an investigation of other components you should consider when it comes to flavor, such as aroma, heat, and texture.
Beer Brined Turkey Legs
Ingredients
Turkey:
- 4 Bone In Turkey Legs
- 1 cup Cowboy Butter Rub or Your Favorite BBQ Seasoning
- Canola Oil as needed
Brine:
- 24 oz Sam Adams Winter Lager
- 2 Cups Warm Water
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 3 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 2 tbsp Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1.5 tbsp Onion Powder
- 1.5 tbsp Dried Thyme
Alabama White Sauce:
- 3 cups Mayonnaise
- 1.25 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 tbsp Prepared Horseradish
- 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2.5 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 2.5 tsp Cayenne Powder
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- Kosher Salt to taste
Instructions
Brine:
- Add to a food safe bowl or bag your Sam Adams Winter Lager and the rest of the brining ingredients. Stir for a couple of minutes until the sugar and salt has dissolved.
- Add your raw turkey legs to the brine, seal the container and place in the fridge.
- Let brine for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.
Turkey Legs:
- Pull out the turkey legs from the brine and completely pat dry. Discard the used brine.
- Slather the turkey legs with oil and generously season with your favorite BBQ Rub.
- Preheat the smoker for 250F cooking indirectly. Add wood chips or wood chunks for added smoke flavor.
- Add the turkey legs to cook indirectly for about 2-2.5 hours until 175F internal. When the turkey legs are done, pull them off and let cool for 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, mix together the ingredients for the Alabama White Sauce.
- Dip your cooked turkey legs into the white sauce before plating. Serve and enjoy!
