How to Air Fry a Whole Turkey Leg

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The best way for How to Air Fry a Whole Turkey Leg is going to depend on how big your air fryer is! Cook it whole with a larger fryer or in two parts like me if needed. With a cooking time of only 45 minutes, whole turkey leg quarters are surprisingly meaty, extremely moist and really very economical. Plus I've included the easiest herb butter to make it extra delicious.

5 from 5 votes

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 45

Resting Time: 10

Total Time: 1 10

Servings

Author Chloe

Equipment

Air Fryer

Chopping Board - Plastic

Measuring Spoons

Measuring Scales

Mixing Bowl - Small

Silicone Spatula - Small

Silicone Tongs

Ingredients

2 kg Whole Turkey Leg - Drumstick & Thigh

For The Flavoured Butter

125 g Salted Butter - soft
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Fresh or Dried Oregano
½ tsp Dried Thyme - double if fresh
½ tsp Dried Parsley - double if fresh
1 tsp Sea Salt Flakes

Instructions

Prepare the Herb Butter

Add 125g Salted Butter, 1 tbsp Olive Oil, 1 tsp Oregano, ½ tsp Thyme, ½ tsp Parsley and 1 tsp Sea Salt Flakes to a small bowl.
Mix to combine everything really thoroughly.

Prepare the Turkey Leg

If your air fryer requires pre-heating, start this setting now.
Take a 2kg Turkey Leg out of its packaging and dry it well with a paper towel.
If you can't fit the whole leg into your air fryer and it isn't already cut into two parts, use a sharp knife to cut through the joint and separate the drumstick and thigh.
Use your hand to separate the skin from the flesh of the thigh. You are looking to create a pocket to put the butter, not remove it so do this gently.
Repeat with the drumstick.
Use a small spatula to put most of the herb butter under the skin of the thigh and drumstick.
Spread the remaining butter over top of the skin and fleshy parts of the turkey leg.
The turkey is now ready to cook. If you need to cook the drumstick and thigh one at a time, place one part back into the fridge until 15 minutes before you need to start cooking.

Cook the Turkey Leg - Scroll for Images

Use tongs to place the leg into the air fryer.
Cook for 30 minutes at 190c/375f.
Use tongs to turn the leg over then continue to cook for a further 15 minutes at 200c/390f.
Check the turkey is cooked through, you can see this by making a cut and checking that the meat is white in the centre of the thickest part. The juices should be clear and not have any sign of blood. Once you see this, its good. You don't need to panic cook it for longer. This is how we end up with dry turkey.
Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Spoon over any juices that have collected in the bottom of the air fryer for extra flavour or add to your gravy.

Cook the Turkey Thigh

Use tongs to place the thigh into the air fryer.
Cook for 30 minutes at 190c/375f.
Use tongs to turn the thigh over.
Continue to cook for a further 15 minutes at 200c/390f.

Cook the Turkey Drumstick

Use tongs to place the drumstick into the fryer.
Cook for 30 minutes at 190c/375f.
Use tongs to turn the drumstick over.
Continue to cook for a further 15 minutes at 200c/390f.

To Cook In Shifts

If you need to cook the thigh and drumstick separately but think you probably have enough room to finish the cooking at the same time once they have shrunk from cooking and spacing them out isn't so much of an issue, try cooking in this order:
Cook the thigh for the initial 30 minutes then remove and keep warm wrapped in foil.
Cook the drumstick for the initial 30 minutes.
Turn over the drumstick and add the thigh back in upside down. You might need to do a little shuffling around to get both pieces in but it doesn't matter if they overlap some.
Continue to cook at the higher temperature for the remaining 15 minutes of cooking time.
Do be extra cautious checking that the thigh is fully cooked and add a further 5 minutes cooking time if needed.
Rest and serve both pieces together.

Notes

The air fryer version of this recipe is tested in a in a 4.7 litre capacity Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501). The drumstick would not fit into my smaller Cosori Lite 3.8L (‎CAF-LI401S) - the square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
I don't recommend cooking turkey legs from frozen. For the centre to be properly cooked, the outside will become overcooked.

Nutrition (Approx)