I have made smoked turkey legs for many years. I know the exact recipe used for WDW. Over the years, many different suppliers have had the contract to supply smoked turkey legs to WDW. The current contractor is Cargill Foods. Back in the 1990's, Sunday House Foods had the contract.
Realize that smoking turkey legs is nothing like cooking turkey legs. Cooking is a very quick, high heat and direct process. Smoking is a very long and very slow process. It is similar to making beef jerky (I do that too). So, assuming you desire to smoke those legs just like the ones at WDW, here's how to do it, but a word of caution first.
In handling meat it is always wise to take great care not to spread food-borne illness. To prevent possible tainting of food it is wise to follow the
USDA's guidelines which specify:
- Wash hands and surfaces often.
- Keep different animals separate to avoid cross contamination.
- Cook to the proper temperatures to kill germs.
- When process is complete, refrigerate promptly.
If you make a mistake when smoking meat, the end result can make you very sick or kill you. Therefore, be cautious.
The first place to start when preparing smoked turkey legs is with a basic brine. Brining adds moisture to poultry, keeping it nice and tender through the smoking process. A basic brine begins with about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per cup of water. You need enough brine to cover the legs so how much you need kind of depends on the size of container you are using. An easy way to figure it out is to place the turkey legs in a container and pour in the water a cup at a time until they are covered. This will tell you how much brine to prepare. Put the legs in the brine solution and refrigerate over night (6 to 10 hours).
Contrary to popular belief, soaking the legs in brine does not make the legs salty! The brine causes a chemical reaction to help bacteria and keep the meat moist during the long smoking process.
Remove the legs from the brine and rinse them off under tap water. You may then season if you desire but I recommend against this practice. Proper smoking technique will impart all the flavor you require.
Now we get to the good part, smoking the legs. You need to crank up your smoker and use some good hickory logs or chunks to create the smoke. The temperature must be about 225 ºF. You'll need an accurate thermometer to check the temperature. The thermometers that come built-in on most smokers are worthless. The temperature is determined by the wood used and the airflow. Too much airflow and the fire will get too hot! You need to regulate the airflow with the vents on your smoker. If you get above 250 ºF you'll ruin the legs. Remember, you're smoking these legs, not cooking them! To be honest, it takes a lot of practice and patience to properly smoke meat. You're going to have to stoke the low fire with more hickory about every hour for up to 6 or 8 hours so that you have a continuous flow of dense and flavorful smoke.
After about 4 to 5 hours, use an accurate meat thermometer to check the temperature of the legs. You want the legs to be 175 ºF! Make sure you measure the meat temperature properly. If the thermometer hits the bone when you take a measurement, your reading will be incorrect!
Once the legs reach 175 ºF (and assuming you've done all the other steps correctly) you'll have flavorful turkey legs with moist and tender pink meat that almost falls off the bone!
Erlich Foods International also is a vendor to WDW for smoked turkey legs:
http://www.erlichfoods.com/products.html