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At our kitchen, frequently slow-cook chicken and rabbit legs, as all the preparation can be done in advance. For the festive season, this method works wonderfully with turkey drumsticks – it offers a superb approach to eat them. Pair it with creamy mashed potatoes with cabbage, but basmati rice, simple boiled potatoes or roast carrots are also excellent.

Braised Turkey Legs with Herbs, Mustard & Cream, and Creamy Potato & Cabbage

The recipe is easily doubled for a larger gathering – you’ll just need an enlarged cooking vessel.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Serves 2

For the Braised Legs:

• Sunflower oil or another neutral oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 bone-in turkey legs or drumsticks
• 1 tbsp butter
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
• 2 shallots, peeled and quartered
• 5 slices streaky bacon, chopped
• 8 sage leaves fresh is best
• 70ml white wine like Sauvignon Blanc
• 60-100ml chicken stock
• ½ tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream

For the Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage:

• 500g large floury potatoes such as Maris Piper, peeled and cut into chunks.
• 100g unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• ½ savoy cabbage, shredded
• Salt and black pepper
• 100ml milk whole or semi-skimmed

Method

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Heat two tablespoons of neutral oil in a large, deep skillet. Pat the turkey legs dry and season, then lay them in the pan and brown, cooking on both sides, until golden brown on both sides. Take the turkey out to a plate, then remove the fat.

Melt the butter in the pan, then add the garlic, shallots, bacon and sage. Sauté over medium-high heat until fragrant, until the aromatics take on some colour. Deglaze with the wine, then return the turkey on top of the mixture. Add enough chicken stock so the turkey legs are halfway immersed, then gently mix in the dijon and creamy element. Place a foil lid on the pan and roast for one hour, or until the turkey legs can bend in half with ease.

Key Point: At the same time, put the potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water and cook for 20 minutes, until tender when pricked with a skewer.

In another saucepan, melt two tablespoons of the butter, then add the garlic for a couple of minutes. Add the cabbage and cook on a gentle heat, tossing now and then, for until softened, until soft. Adjust the seasoning, then keep warm.

In a third saucepan, warm the milk and the leftover butter. Drain the cooked potatoes, then return them to their pan. Crush the potatoes with the creamy liquid until lump-free, then fold in the cooked cabbage and combine well. Adjust the seasoning once more, and reheat gently before serving.

When the braising is complete, plate alongside the colcannon and the cooking liquid from the pan.