For year-round or holiday entertaining, these low-carb, high-protein air fryer turkey legs with dry rub are a fantastic meal option. Made for Thanksgiving, Christmas or year round. If you want more meat than our air fryer whole turkey wings these are a healthy choice.
Air fryer turkey legs are great for a quick protein packed low carb dinner. During the holidays it’s perfect when there are only a few of you at home. Air fryer recipe success tonight. (affiliate links present).
Yo, fellow foodies! Are you ready to dive headfirst into the delicious world of cooking turkey legs in your trusty Ninja Foodi? Buckle up, because this ain’t your grandma’s oven-roasted bird. We’re talking about juicy, flavorful, fall-off-the-bone turkey legs that’ll have your taste buds doing a happy dance.
But before we get started, let’s address the elephant in the room: why cook turkey legs in a Ninja Foodi? Well, my friend, the answer is simple. This magical appliance combines the power of a pressure cooker, air fryer, and slow cooker, allowing you to achieve culinary masterpieces in record time. Plus, it’s super convenient and easy to use, even for the most novice of chefs.
Now, let’s get down to business Here’s your ultimate guide to cooking turkey legs like a Ninja Foodi pro:
Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients
- Turkey legs: The star of the show, naturally. Choose fresh or frozen legs, depending on your preference.
- Seasonings: This is where you can unleash your inner culinary artist. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper – the possibilities are endless!
- Oil: A little olive oil or avocado oil will help your turkey legs achieve that golden-brown perfection.
- Liquid: This is optional, but adding a bit of water, broth, or even wine to the pot will create a delicious sauce and keep your turkey legs moist.
Step 2: Prep Your Ninja Foodi
- Set the pressure cooker function to high. This will ensure your turkey legs cook quickly and evenly.
- Add a trivet to the pot. This will elevate your turkey legs and prevent them from sticking to the bottom.
- Pour in your chosen liquid, if using. This will create a flavorful base for your turkey legs to cook in.
Step 3: Season and Sear Your Turkey Legs
- Pat your turkey legs dry with paper towels. This will help them brown nicely in the Ninja Foodi.
- Season your turkey legs generously with your chosen spices. Don’t be shy – go wild with flavor!
- Heat a drizzle of oil in the Ninja Foodi pot. Use the “sear/sauté” function for this step.
- Once the oil is hot, add your turkey legs and sear them on all sides. This will create a delicious crust and lock in the juices.
Step 4: Pressure Cook Your Turkey Legs
- Carefully transfer your seared turkey legs to the trivet in the Ninja Foodi pot.
- Lock the lid in place and set the pressure cooker to high for 30 minutes. For larger turkey legs, you may need to increase the cooking time to 40 minutes.
- Once the cooking time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. This will ensure your turkey legs are cooked through and tender.
Step 5: Crisp Up Your Turkey Legs (Optional)
- Once the pressure has released, remove the lid and carefully transfer your turkey legs to a wire rack.
- Set the Ninja Foodi to the “air crisp” function and cook for 5-10 minutes. This will give your turkey legs a crispy, golden-brown finish.
Step 6: Serve and Savor
- Let your turkey legs rest for a few minutes before carving and serving. This will allow the juices to redistribute, resulting in a more tender and flavorful bird.
- Pair your turkey legs with your favorite sides, like mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted vegetables, or stuffing.
- Dig in and enjoy the fruits of your culinary labor!
Bonus Tips for Ninja Foodi Turkey Leg Mastery:
- For extra flavor, stuff your turkey legs with your favorite herbs and spices.
- Baste your turkey legs with butter or a flavorful sauce during the last few minutes of cooking.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure your turkey legs are cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment with different seasonings and cooking times to find what works best for you.
Remember, cooking should be fun and experimental! So grab your Ninja Foodi, channel your inner culinary ninja, and get ready to create a masterpiece that’ll have your family and friends begging for seconds.
Air Fry Turkey Leg
Last week we shared how to cook an air fryer turkey breast and we just couldn’t stop there. It came out so delicious that I wanted to share another recipe with you for Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. This is especially great if you only have two people in the home during the holidays.
You might want to serve that traditional dish, but purchasing an entire bird would be way too much. For you guys, just two legs would be ideal, with enough left over to make a leftover dish the following day.
If you love easy air fryer recipes too, here are some resources to start with:
- This is a free printable cooking time chart for air fryers that you can put in your fridge. It has temp. and the best times to prepare frozen meals for air fryers
- After that, like and follow our Facebook page below to share and discover more wonderful ideas.
Okay, so these were staring back at me while I was in the grocery store deciding what to cook next. I hadn’t experimented much with them so I thought “why not”. I kind of couldn’t go wrong at $4 for two large pieces, so I bought two packages to try out.
They turned out perfectly the first time, using this crispy crunchy method and testing it with baked turkey legs, so I only needed this one set. Loved that too.
Unique Ways to Cook Turkey Legs
Enjoy trying new things? One of our favorite ways to smoke turkey is to prepare the entire bird or just the legs.
If you enjoy how easy this 30-minute dinner is to prepare, you’ll love making sheet pan turkey. The whole bird is done in just about an hour!.
Want to make slow cooker chicken legs? Those are great too. BUT our air fryer chicken leg quarters may be our favorite. It cooks similarly, and comes out just as delicious. The recipe card below has nutritional information; depending on the size, calories and saturated fat will change slightly.
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Ninja Foodi Turkey Legs Pressure Cooker/Air fryer Combination Cooking
FAQ
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