Festive Centerpiece Effortless: An Slow-Cooked Turkey Legs Dish with Creamy Potato & Cabbage

When we cook, regularly slow-cook poultry and game legs, because the entire process is completed beforehand. For Christmas, I often employ for turkey legs – it offers a superb approach to enjoy them. Accompany it with colcannon, though steamed rice, boiled new potatoes or caramelized carrots would also go great.

Slow-Cooked Turkey with A Creamy Herb Sauce, and Colcannon

This can easily be scaled up to feed more people – simply require an enlarged cooking vessel.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Serves 2

For the Main Dish:

• 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 finely chopped
• 2 shallots, peeled and halved
• 5 slices streaky bacon, diced
• 8 sage leaves preferably fresh
• 70ml white wine a dry variety
• 60-100ml chicken stock
• ½ tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream

For the Potato Side:

• 500g large floury potatoes like Russets, 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

Directions

Preheat your oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Warm a couple of spoonfuls of neutral oil in a large, deep skillet. Season the turkey legs, then place them in the hot oil and sear, turning once, until beautifully seared on both sides. Remove the legs to a plate, then remove the cooking fat.

Add the butter in the pan, followed by the aromatics and bacon. Fry for until fragrant, until the aromatics begin to brown. Pour in the wine, then lay the turkey legs on top of the mixture. Pour in the stock so the turkey legs are covered halfway, then whisk in the mustard and creme fraiche. Place a foil lid on the pan and bake for one hour, or until the turkey legs can bend in half with ease.

Pro Tip: Meanwhile, place the potato chunks in a pot of salted boiling water and cook for 20 minutes, until tender when pricked with a skewer.

Using a separate skillet, heat a couple of spoonfuls of the butter, then sauté the garlic for until aromatic. Add the cabbage and cook on a low heat, mixing from time to time, for until softened, until soft. Season, then remove from the heat.

In the meantime, in a pan, warm the milk and the rest of the butter. Once the potatoes are done, drain them, then return them to their pan. Mash the potatoes with the heated dairy mixture until creamy, then add the cabbage and stir it through. Season again to taste, and keep warm before serving.

Once the turkey is cooked, dish up with the colcannon and the aromatics and rich sauce from the pan.