Disney turkey legs - injecting cure?

[jeffpadell]

I was looking at the Meathead recipe for the WDW turkey legs using the Pitmaster Club cure and bringing/curing for up to 24 hours. The question I have is about injecting.
Today I got my Pitmaster Club cure and have 2 legs and want to try one WDW style and the other just normal. Now because I am needing this for lunch I will be using my air fryer rather than the grill or smoker. I will be smoking them on Sunday with a couple racks of ribs but today I thought I would try this bubba way to try them. I am doing both because I have had good luck in the air fryer with legs and am hungry and I figured if I totally destroy the WDW leg I still have the other one to eat.

Pics are from other cooks

Can the sugar/salt/cure mixture be injected into the leg?

[jfmorris]

The entire point of the wet cure is that the cure - specifically in this case the salt and Prague powder - work their way through the meat. The Prague powder is what will give it a red/pink hue, even after just smoking for an hour per the recipe.

So I don't think injecting is needed or desirable, since the recipe actually mentions rinsing the cure liquid off after it cures for a day or so.

I've never used a cure on a turkey leg, but have done it on pork belly (bacon), brisket (pastrami), and tasso (Boston butt in my case). The meat when cut has a pink hue throughout, from the cure. I.e. it penetrates all the way through if you give it the necessary time in the cure liquid. All of those meats needed about 3 days in the cure due to thickness. You just have the thickness from the surface of the turkey leg to the bone.

That said, I suppose if you are trying to shorten the time, injecting at the start could get the cure into all the meat faster maybe, versus waiting a day or so?

[jeffpadell]

Thanks for the response. I normally will plan ahead. Anyhow with putting it in the vacuum sealer brine container which brines very fast when you take all the air out. the meat was pink and moist but because it was an air fryer there was no smoke. Will do it right this weekend

top leg is the "cured" one

[jfmorris]

I can honestly say I've never gone to the grocery store looking for just a turkey leg. My experience is with the whole bird. Are these readily available?

[jeffpadell]

I can honestly say I've never gone to the grocery store looking for just a turkey leg. My experience is with the whole bird. Are these readily available?

Yes, My local market carries drumsticks, thighs, wings.