These tasty turkey taquitos are stuffed with wild turkey legs and baked to crispy golden goodness!
Years ago, I voiced the difficult time that I had trying to make theme park styled smoked turkey legs. In short, they were not good…..at all. I was told,
“If you want to cook wild turkey legs, build a fire and put some big stone bricks on there. Let the bricks get hot, place the turkey legs on there and let them cook for 13-14 hours. When they’re done, toss the legs and eat the bricks.”
I’ll be honest. For years, I would simply remove the breast from the bird and move on. That was a mistake! Not to mention, it was a substantial waste of meat. In terms of taquitos, two turkey legs/thighs can yield two dozen taquitos!
What are Taquitos?
Taquitos (little tacos or rolled tacos) are your choice of filling, usually meat and cheese, tightly rolled in a corn tortilla, and then fried. In this recipe though, we brush the taquitos with avocado oil and bake them! It’s easier and allows you to focus your attention elsewhere in the kitchen.
Ingredients for Turkey Taquitos
- Legs and thighs from 1 Wild Turkey
- 1 onion
- 1 can chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce
- ½ stick of butter (optional)
- Mexican Chili Powder seasoning
- Yellow corn tortillas
- Shredded Mexican Cheese
- Avocado Oil
How to Cook Wild Turkey Legs
Clean and trim your legs and thighs. Separate the legs from the thighs at the joint. Rub them down with your preferred rub. For this recipe, Mexene Original Chili Powder works great. Place the legs and thighs in the crock pot. Cover them with butter (optional), a sliced onion, and can of chipotle peppers. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until fork tender. Pull the meat, discarding all of the tendons and bone. Using your chef knife, give the meat, onion, and peppers a fine dice. Now, your meat is ready for taquitos or tacos!!
Tip: Before chopping the meat, you can spread the pulled turkey across a cookie sheet and place under the oven broiler on high. This will crisp the ends and give a crust similar to being smoked. Be extremely careful not to dry the meat when doing this!
As you can see, my hunting buddy likes turkey legs, too! Haha. We 1, 2, 3’d and boom……got 4 legs!
What Goes with Turkey Taquitos?
If you intend to make a meal out of your taquitos, then the standard sides such as Spanish Rice, Refried Beans, or a fresh Mexican Salad are great. I prefer these as an appetizer, though. As such, dipping sauces such as queso, salsa, and fresh guacamole are delicious! Sour cream and hot sauce work as well. Whichever you choose, make sure to have some lime juices on the side for a fresh squeeze.
Tips for the Best Taquitos
Heat the tortillas before rolling. Wrap the corn tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm. This moistens the tortillas enough to prevent cracking and busting open when you roll.
Use toothpicks. Once rolled, stick a toothpick in the taquito to hold it in place while it cooks.
Bake the taquitos. Traditionally, taquitos are deep fried. But baking them is healthier and easier. Once they are prepared, brush the taquitos with avocado oil and bake at 450 until golden and crisp.
Other Turkey Recipes
Baked Turkey Taquitos
These tasty turkey taquitos are stuffed with wild turkey legs and baked to crispy golden goodness!
Ingredients
- Legs and thighs from 1 Wild Turkey
- 1 onion
- 1 can chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce
- ½ stick of butter (optional)
- Mexican seasoning
- Yellow corn tortillas
- Shredded Mexican Cheese
- Avocado Oil
Instructions
- Clean and trim your legs and thighs. Separate the legs from the thighs at the joint. Rub them down with your preferred rub.
- Place the legs and thighs in the crock pot. Cover them with butter (optional), a sliced onion, and can of chipotle peppers. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until fork tender. Pull the meat from the bones, discarding all of the tendons and bones.
- Using your chef knife, give the meat, onion, and peppers a fine dice. This helps prevent pulling out the meat when you bite.
- Wrap the corn tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 30-60 seconds.
- Place the meat and cheese on the tortillas (approximately 2-3 tbsp of turkey and 1 tbsp cheese per tortilla) and roll them tightly. Insert a toothpick into each taquito to keep them rolled.
- Place taquitos on cookie sheet and brush a light coat of avocado oil over each one.
- Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until crispy and golden. Enjoy!
Notes
* you can freeze the cooked turkey meat by itself for a later meal......like next weeks tacos! OR you can make the taquitos (this recipe makes 24) and freeze what you don't eat to be heated later. Similar to those you by in the local store's freezer section, they can be reheated in the microwave or oven.
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