It's almost my air fryer anniversary and let me say, it's been one heck of a year with them. From cookies and biscuits to even lobster, we've been through a lot together since I found it wrapped up in a bow underneath the Christmas tree. I must admit, most days we pull her out of the cupboard when a crispy frozen food craving hits. They looked lonely, so I figured I'd try making something a little festive to cheer them up. A few weeks ago I air-fried turkey breast, so I thought, "Why not air fry the legs?" And thus, we began our air fryer turkey legs journey together.
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I was pretty excited the second I saw the cellophane package in the grocery store. The sight of turkey drumsticks instantly transported me to Disneyland, where my family once visited on Thanksgiving thinking we would beat the crowds. We were wrong, but that didn't stop us from having a bad time. We decided our Thanksgiving meal would consist of smoked turkey legs served near Big Thunder Ranch (which closed down in '16 to make way for Star Wars).
Juicy, smoky, and crispy skin that fell off with every bite, our dinner than night required more paper towels than what the Disney employees could give us.
It was the turkey I was inspired to make at home in my air fryer basket, and by god, I came pretty darn close minus the Mickey Mouse ears.
How To Make Air Fryer Turkey Legs
Lyndsay Cordell
Like most air fryer recipes, this one has an almost non-existent prep time. While you preheat your air fryer, remove the turkey legs from the packaging and rub them with seasoning. I opted to use Franklin Barbecue steak spice rub (which contains salt, onion, spices, garlic powder, shiitake mushroom powder, chili peppers, and brown sugar), paprika, salt, and black pepper. This seasoning mix would be great on chicken wings, chicken legs, or even a whole turkey!
Lyndsay Cordell
Once spiced place the turkey legs in the air fryer, spray with oil, then air fry for 20 minutes. Flip the air-fried turkey legs and cook an additional 20 minutes then check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. If the turkey leg is over 165 degrees F.
Lyndsay Cordell
Let rest for 5 minutes then serve! This easy air fryer turkey leg recipe was on the table in less than an hour. How's that for a weeknight meal?
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Easy Air Fryer Turkey Legs in Less Than an Hour
Ingredients
- 2 turkey legs
- 2 tsp Spice rub (I used Franklin Barbecue)
- Coarse salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pat turkey legs dry and rub with spice rub, salt, and pepper.
- Preheat air fryer to 400F. Add turkey legs to the air fryer and spray with oil. Cook 20 minutes, flip, and cook an additional 20 minutes.
- Remove when the internal temperature is above 165F. Rest and enjoy.
