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Whole roasted turkey leg on a white plate served with glazed carrots and potatoes.
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5 from 4 votes

Roasted turkey leg with gravy (fall-off-the bone meat!)

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Aleksandra

Ingredients

for the turkey leg:

  • 1 large turkey leg thigh+drumstick, bone-in and skin-on, 4.3 lbs / 2 kg
  • 3/4 tablespoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 5 tablespoons soft butter 70g
  • 3 tablespoons chopped herbs I used thyme, rosemary and sage
  • zest grated from 1 large orange
  • 2 cloves garlic pressed

for the gravy:

  • 2 small/medium onions
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 stick celery + leaves
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 sprigs rosemary or thyme
  • 1/2 orange cut into 4 parts
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (or 180°C/Gas Mark 4), no fan.
  • You will need a large roasting pan with a rack or a regular, 9x13-inch (22x32 cm) casserole baking dish for this recipe. The meat should be placed on the rack or on top of the vegetables.
  • Combine soft butter with finely chopped fresh herbs (or dried herbs), orange zest, and pressed garlic cloves.
  • Place the turkey leg in the baking dish (the meat should be placed on the rack or on top of the vegetables). Clean it with wet paper towels then pat it dry with dry paper towels.
  • Loosen the skin from the meat without totally detaching it. Rub the meat thoroughly with salt and pepper, also under the skin. Spread the herb butter mixture all over the meat, also under the skin.
  • Prepare the vegetables for the gravy: pell the carrots and onions. Cut all the vegetables into large chunks and place in the baking dish. Add some herbs, half an orange, garlic cloves, pour in the wine.
  • Place the dish in the oven and bake the turkey for about 1h 45 minutes (or until it's nicely golden brown), then reduce the temperature to 325°F/160°C/Gas Mark 3 and bake for 1h 15 minutes (there is no need to baste the meat, 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).
  • Take the meat out of the oven. Transfer it to a large plate and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
  • Make the gravy: Strain the liquid from the baking dish, discard the vegetables. Add the liquid to a medium pot, remove with a tablespoon about 1/4 cup of fat that will gather at the top of the liquid (you can discard it). Brown liquid at the bottom of the pot is what you want. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with 2 tablespoons of cold water, add it to the gravy. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Cook for a couple of minutes over medium heat, whisking from time to time until the gravy is thickened. Season the gravy with pepper if necessary (it should be already salty enough).
  • Cut the turkey leg into servings and serve with the gravy.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • Reheating: I like to take the leftover meat off the bones are warm it up with butter in a pan the next day.
  • The recipe yields 4 generous servings or 5 smaller servings.
  • Calories = 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!

Nutrition

Calories: 577kcal