Old Timber Outdoors
More wild turkey recipes

Wild turkey legs and thighs, bone-in

Wild Turkey Leg Pot Pie

Braised and pulled wild turkey legs in a creamy vegetable filling, baked in cast iron under a golden crust.

Serves
6
Hands-on
1 hr 10 min
Total
5 hr 5 min
Skill
Confident cook

Cooks on: Stovetop + oven · Dinner

Ingredients

  • 2½ lbWild turkey legs and thighs, bone-in, legs and thighs from one bird
  • 5 tbspButter
  • ⅓ cupFlour
  • 1 cupMilk
  • 1Onions, diced
  • 2Carrots, diced
  • ¾ lbYukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch dice
  • 1Eggs, beaten, for brushing the crust
  • 1½ tspSalt
  • ½ tspBlack pepper, ground
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 celery ribs, diced
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 refrigerated pie crust (half of a 2-crust package)

You'll need

  • Stovetop
  • Oven
  • Dutch oven
  • Large skillet, ideally cast iron
  • Instant-read thermometer

Contains

Dairy, Gluten, Egg. Store-bought pie crust and stock can contain soy, dairy or other allergens. Check the labels.

Method

  1. Pat the turkey legs and thighs dry. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown them well on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the stock, bay leaves and thyme and scrape up the browned bits. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook at a bare simmer until the meat slides off the bones and the thigh meat falls apart at a fork, 2½ to 3½ hours. Tenderness decides, not the clock.
  2. Lift out the turkey and let it cool until you can handle it. Pull the meat, discard the bones, skin and tendons, and chop it into bite-size pieces. Strain the broth, skim off the fat, and measure 2½ cups for the filling; refrigerate the rest for another use.
  3. Heat the oven to 400°F. Wipe out the Dutch oven and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and potatoes and cook, stirring, 8 minutes.
  4. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the 2½ cups broth and the milk. Simmer, stirring, until thick and the potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the turkey, peas, salt and pepper, and heat until the filling reads at least 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. Taste it now: the filling should be well seasoned, because the crust adds no salt.
  5. Pour the filling into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Roll the pie crust out slightly so it covers the skillet, lay it over the filling, crimp the edge against the pan, cut 4 vents, and brush the top with the beaten egg.
  6. Bake until the crust is deep golden and the filling bubbles at the vents, 25 to 30 minutes. Rest 15 minutes before serving.

When it's done: fork-tender: the meat slides off the bone

Wild turkey legs and thighs pass 165°F early in the simmer but stay tough for hours. They are done when the meat pulls away from the bone with a fork and the thigh meat falls apart. If it is still tight, it needs more time at a bare simmer, not more heat.

If it goes wrong

Filling runny
It needs a full simmer after the broth goes in. Cook it until it coats a spoon before topping.
Crust browning too fast
Lay a loose sheet of foil over the top for the last 10 minutes.
Soggy underside of the crust
The filling was cold. Top it while it is still hot so the crust starts cooking at once.

Leftovers. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to 165°F.