By New Year's 2028. Noah made the black-eyed peas for the fifth year. He serves them with his own adaptations now — a little more heat than the original, a smoked turkey leg instead of the ham hock, a garnish of pickled jalapeño he put up in the fall. The recipe has traveled from my grandmother to me to Noah and it is recognizably the same dish and also entirely his. That's the journey recipes are supposed to make.
I'm forty-five and the year ahead has its shape already: the fourth book in serious development, the workshops continuing with Jenny, the speaking engagements ramping up as the third book spreads its reach. Mason's restaurant expected to open by summer. Ethan and Mia at Table, which is thriving. Olivia finishing her fellowship and deciding what comes next. Noah in his junior year, writing and cooking and quietly becoming.
Gary and I took a New Year's Day walk — not the Friday walk, just an extra one, because the day was crisp and clear and we both wanted to be outside in the new year before we were inside in it. We walked to the park and sat on the same swings we sat on years ago in the early marriage recovery work, when the swings felt like a permission to be temporarily unserious. Now the swings just feel like the swings. Things return to themselves when you do enough work on them.
2028. The last year of Noah at home before he's a senior, looking toward whatever comes after. The year is already asking me to be present to it. I'm practicing saying yes to that more cleanly than I used to.
When I think about what Noah actually did to that black-eyed pea recipe — the smoked turkey leg instead of the ham hock, the extra heat, the pickled jalapeño he put up himself — I realize the turkey leg was always the quiet center of the dish, the thing that made it his. These Grilled Turkey Legs are where I go when I want that same depth of smoke and tenderness without waiting for New Year’s Day to justify it. It’s a recipe that holds its shape no matter who’s cooking it, and that feels exactly right for where we are this year.
Grilled Turkey Legs
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 turkey legs (about 1 lb each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- Wood chips for smoking (hickory or applewood), soaked 30 minutes
Instructions
- Prepare the rub. In a small bowl, combine smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme, and cumin. Mix well to combine.
- Season the turkey legs. Pat turkey legs dry with paper towels. Rub each leg all over with olive oil, then apply the spice rub evenly, pressing it into the skin. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes while you heat the grill.
- Set up the grill for indirect heat. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat (about 350°F). For charcoal, bank the coals to one side. Add soaked wood chips directly to coals or to a smoker box for gas grills.
- Grill low and slow. Place turkey legs over indirect heat. Cover and cook for 60–75 minutes, turning every 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F and the skin is deep golden and caramelized.
- Sear to finish. Move turkey legs over direct heat for the last 5 minutes, turning once, to crisp the skin. Watch carefully to avoid burning.
- Rest and serve. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Serve with pickled jalapeños and your favorite sides.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 58g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 620mg