These Oven Roasted Turkey Drumsticks are juicy and tender with a garlic herb infused crispy skin. They bake to perfection in under 90 minutes, with no carving required, for a simple but still impressive, Turkey dinner.
Roasted Turkey Legs are a great recipe to make for smaller crowds on Thanksgiving, especially if everyone's a big fan of dark meat. They remind me of Disney World or the Renaissance festival, where everyone carries them around like a Caveman.
My kids were eating them at dinner last night and it cracked me up. It always starts with good table manners, with a fork and knife, but it's not long before people resort to holding the drumstick and using their teeth.
Pair these Turkey Drumsticks with Garlic Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Crack Green Beans, Green Bean Casserole with Cheddar Cheese, or Caramelized Brussels Sprouts.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Little Prep Time. It takes under 15 minutes of prep work.
- Quick. These drumsticks cook in under 90 minutes, which is much less than waiting on a full turkey.
- Low Effort. The garlic herb butter is the most labor intensive part of this recipe, which is still really easy.
- Tasty and Fun to Eat. These are super delicious and come out of the oven juicy and delicious. Everyone gets their own drumstick and can eat it cave man style if they want.
For more oven roasted meats, try this Dutch Oven Pork Tenderloin, Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs and Boneless Short Ribs.
Ingredients:
Turkey Drumsticks: The drumsticks are all dark meat and really high in protein. Buy them fresh or frozen. If they're frozen, just make sure they are completely thawed out before starting the recipe. Try to find drumsticks between ¾ lb to 1 lb each in size. It's also important to have the drumsticks similar in size to each other, so they cook about the same time in the oven. I purchased these at Publix and there were two in each package.
Salt and Pepper: Generously added all over the outside of the drumstick skin for seasoning.
Butter: I highly recommend a grass fed butter, like Kerrigold brand, for it's richer flavors from higher fat content. My second choice is salted butter. It's softened in this recipe and blended with minced garlic, rosemary and thyme for the best rub.
See the recipe card below for ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations:
For extra seasonings, sprinkle with poultry seasoning.
One teaspoon of fresh sage could also be added to the garlic butter for that classic Thanksgiving flavor.
Looking for a gravy recipe to make with the drippings? Copy this pork gravy recipe, but use turkey drippings in place of the pork drippings. Note: It's ok if you have less than ½ cup. I made it with closer to ⅓ cup of drippings.
If you love Turkey Recipes, try this Traeger Smoked Turkey, Cranberry Turkey Salad and Cranberry Turkey Sliders.
How To Make Oven Roasted Turkey Drumsticks:
Step 1: Unwrap the drumsticks and place them on a cutting board. Pat dry the skin with paper towels and season all sides of the drumsticks with 1 and ½ teaspoons salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Allow them to sit out at room temperature for a full hour.
Step 2: As the meat comes to room temperature, soften the butter by placing it into a pot or pan on the stovetop for about 10-30 seconds, until it just starts to melt (about ⅛ of the butter should melt with the rest of the butter remaining solid.) Immediately pour it into a bowl.
Step 3: Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon of black pepper into the butter and stir to combine. Note: If it's really runny, add it to the fridge for 10 minutes or until it solidifies.
Step 4: Place the drumsticks on a cookie sheet or roasting pan with baking rack. Rub the garlic herb spread underneath the skin and all over the outside of the skin.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the cookie sheet or roasting pan tightly with foil.
Step 6: Bake for 40 minutes, then remove from the oven and remove foil. Check the internal temperature, then return to oven, until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. It took my drumsticks (of around ¾ lb each) another 20 minutes. Use a turkey baster to capture the drippings from the bottom of the pan and squirt over the meat of the drumsticks. Turn the oven to high broil and cook each side for 4-6 minutes until crispy, but not burnt, basting after flipping. Note: Rely on temperature versus time on meat. The are lots of factors, like size of the drumsticks, actual oven temp, etc. that can effect cook time.
Step 7: Once the skin is crispy, remove the drumsticks from the oven and tent with foil for 10-15 minutes. Serve on a platter and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Pat dry the drumsticks well before adding the salt and pepper. Dried skin will be much easier for the garlic butter to stick to.
- If the garlic butter is really runny and melted, just stick it in the fridge for 10 minutes or until it's easy to rub onto the turkey.
- When rubbing the garlic herb butter on, try and get it way under the skin for extra flavor.
- Don't leave off the tin foil or it may dry out the meat.
- I highly recommend broiling the drumsticks at the end for the best texture, appearance and taste.
Big on High Protein Turkey Recipes? Try this Panera Bread Copycat Turkey Chili, Turkey Lentil Soup and Asian Turkey Meatballs.
Recipe FAQs:
It helps the meat cook more evenly, and keep its flavor.
Turkey is just like chicken and the internal temperature should be 165 degrees before removing from the oven. It's easiest to check the temperature by inserting an instant read thermometer into the center of the turkey. Once it's cooked, I also like to broil the drumsticks for a crispy skin.
Yes, this helps roast them without drying out. However, I like to keep them covered for the first 40 minutes, then unwrap and finish baking to get the outside of the drumsticks browned.
More Thanksgiving Recipes to Try:
If you tried this Turkey Drumstick Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Oven Roasted Turkey Drumsticks
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 4 drumsticks 1x
Description
These Oven Roasted Turkey Drumsticks are juicy and tender with a garlic herb infused crispy skin. They bake to perfection in under 90 minutes, with no carving required, for a simple but still impressive, Turkey dinner.
Ingredients
- 4 turkey drumsticks (legs), between ¾ lb to 1 lb each (make sure they are raw and not smoked already)
- 4 tablespoons grass fed butter, like Kerrigold (or salted butter)
- ½ teaspoon thyme leaves, stems removed and leaves only
- 1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Unwrap the drumsticks and place them on a cutting board. Pat dry the skin with paper towels and season all sides of the drumsticks with 1 and ½ teaspoons salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Allow them to sit out at room temperature for a full hour.
- As the meat comes to room temperature, soften the butter by placing it into a pot or pan on the stovetop for about 10-30 seconds, until it just starts to melt (about ⅛ of the butter should melt with the rest of the butter remaining solid.) Immediately pour it into a bowl.
- Add garlic, rosemary, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon of black pepper into the butter and stir to combine. Note: If it's really runny, add it to the fridge for 10 minutes or until it solidifies.
- Place the drumsticks on a cookie sheet or roasting pan with baking rack. Rub the garlic herb spread underneath the skin and all over the outside of the skin.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the cookie sheet or roasting pan tightly with foil.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then remove from oven and remove foil. Check the internal temperature, then return to oven, until the temperature reaches 165 degrees. It took my drumsticks (of around ¾ lb each) another 20 minutes. Use a turkey baster to capture the drippings from the bottom of the pan and squirt over the meat. Turn the oven to high broil and cook each side for 4-6 minutes until crispy, but not burnt, basting after flipping. Note: Rely on temperature versus time on meat. The are lots of factors, like size of the drumsticks, actual oven temp, etc. that can effect cook time.
- Once the skin is crispy, remove the drumsticks from the oven and tent with foil for 10-15 minutes. Serve on a platter and enjoy!
Notes
- Pat dry the drumsticks well before adding the salt and pepper. Dried skin will be much easier for the garlic butter to stick to.
- If the garlic butter is really runny and melted, just stick it in the fridge for 10 minutes or until it's easy to rub onto the turkey.
- When rubbing the garlic herb butter on, try and get it way under the skin for extra flavor.
- Don't leave off the tin foil or it may dry out the meat.
- I highly recommend broiling the drumsticks at the end for the best texture, appearance and taste.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 75 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Holly
So much easier than a whole turkey and so good! Hoping we have a smaller group this Thanksgiving and I’ll make them again.
Tara Smithson
Totally agree!