🔗 Share this article

At our kitchen, frequently slow-cook drumsticks, because the entire process can be done in advance. For the festive season, I often employ for turkey legs – it offers a superb approach to enjoy them. Serve with creamy mashed potatoes with cabbage, though steamed rice, simple boiled potatoes or caramelized carrots are also excellent.

Braised Turkey Legs with A Creamy Herb Sauce, and Colcannon

The recipe is easily doubled for extra guests – simply require a larger pan.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Serves 2

For the Turkey:

• Sunflower oil or a mild cooking oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 bone-in turkey legs or drumsticks
• 1 tbsp butter
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 shallots, peeled and quartered
• 5 slices streaky bacon, chopped
• 8 sage leaves preferably fresh
• 70ml white wine like Sauvignon Blanc
• 60-100ml chicken stock
• ½ tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream

For the Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage:

• 500g large floury potatoes such as Maris Piper, peeled and cut into chunks.
• 100g unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
• ½ savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
• Salt and black pepper
• 100ml milk whole or semi-skimmed

Method

Preheat your oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Add a generous splash of neutral oil in a oven-safe skillet. Pat the turkey legs dry and season, then lay them in the pan and brown, turning once, until beautifully seared on both sides. Transfer the legs to a plate, then pour out and discard the cooking fat.

Melt the butter in the pan, then add the aromatics and bacon. Fry for until fragrant, until the shallots and bacon take on some colour. Pour in the wine, then lay the turkey legs on top of the vegetables. Add enough chicken stock so the turkey legs are partially submerged, then gently mix in the dijon and creamy element. Place a foil lid on the pan and bake for about 60 minutes, or until the turkey legs are fall-off-the-bone tender.

Key Point: Meanwhile, place the potato chunks in a pot of salted boiling water and cook for around 20 minutes, until soft when tested with a skewer.

In another saucepan, warm a portion of the butter, then add the garlic for two minutes. Add the cabbage and cook on a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until wilted. Adjust the seasoning, then keep warm.

In the meantime, in a pan, heat the milk gently and the rest of the butter. Strain the softened potatoes, then mash them in the same pot. Mash the potatoes with the warm milk and butter until lump-free, then fold in the cooked cabbage and stir it through. Adjust the seasoning once more, and reheat gently before serving.

When the braising is complete, dish up with the creamy potato side and the aromatics and rich sauce from the pan.