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There’s something incredibly comforting about the combination of smoked turkey legs and pommes boulangère. The smoky, tender meat pairs beautifully with the buttery, caramelized layers of potatoes, creating a dish that feels both rustic and indulgent. This recipe brings together deep, rich flavors with simple ingredients, making it perfect for a special dinner or a cozy meal on a chilly evening.
Choosing the Right Smoked Turkey Legs
Not all smoked turkey legs are created equal, and one thing to keep in mind is their salt content. Some store-bought smoked turkey legs can be heavily salted, which can overpower the dish. Since we’re seasoning the turkey ourselves with a flavorful herb butter, it’s best to choose turkey legs that aren’t overly salty. This allows the other flavors (sage, rosemary, thyme, and garlic) to shine through while keeping the dish perfectly balanced.
Cooking the Turkey to Your Preferred Tenderness
The beauty of this recipe is that you can control the tenderness of the meat. If you prefer turkey that still holds its structure but is easy to pull apart, cook it for about 2 ½ hours. If you want the ultimate fall-off-the-bone texture, let it go for the full 3 ½ hours. The slow cooking at a low temperature ensures the turkey stays juicy and absorbs all the rich flavors from the herb butter.
What is Pommes Boulangère?
Also known as Boulangère Potatoes or Baker’s Potatoes, this classic French dish is one of the best potato dishes I know. It’s a rustic, layered potato bake that’s deeply flavored with caramelized onions, thyme, and rich beef stock. While it contains a generous amount of butter, it’s such a treat and pairs perfectly with the smoked turkey legs.
To make this dish, you need an oven-safe dish or skillet. I prefer using a skillet because it allows me to caramelize the onions and layer the potatoes in the same pan, reducing cleanup and building deep flavors. A good cast iron skillet like this one works beautifully.
For the best flavor, I use homemade beef stock in my pommes boulangère. It makes a world of difference compared to store-bought versions, adding a rich depth that enhances the potatoes. Homemade stock contains natural gelatin from bones, which gives the dish a luscious texture. If you’d like to learn how to make your own beef stock, check out my video below.
To achieve even layers and ensure the potatoes cook uniformly, I highly recommend using a mandoline slicer. It makes slicing quick and effortless, giving you thin, even pieces that bake to perfection. If you don’t have one, this is a great option.
Caramelized Onions: The Key to Incredible Flavor
One of the essential steps in making pommes boulangère is caramelizing the onions. I like to use clarified butter for this because it has a higher smoke point than regular butter, allowing the onions to cook slowly without burning. However, if you don’t have clarified butter, you can also use cooking oil. If you’d like to learn how to make clarified butter, check out my video below. It’s super easy to make.
Caramelizing onions takes time, usually around 30-40 minutes, but it’s worth it. Adding a bit of water and salt at the beginning helps the onions break down faster, but the slow cooking is what brings out their deep sweetness and rich umami flavor.
Why You Should Use a Cartouche for Pommes Boulangère
A cartouche is a parchment paper circle with a small hole in the center, and it plays an important role in this recipe. When placed over the potatoes during baking, it helps retain moisture and ensures even cooking while preventing the top layer from drying out too soon.
To make a cartouche, start by cutting a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than your pan. Fold it in half, then fold it again into quarters. Keep folding it into a thin triangle. Place the tip at the center of the pot and trim the outer edge to fit. Finally, cut off the tip to create a small hole in the center. This will allow some steam to escape. Once unfolded, you’ll have a perfectly sized parchment paper cover to place over the potatoes.
A Comforting and Flavorful Dish
Smoked turkey legs with pommes boulangère is a comforting, deeply flavorful dish that’s well worth the time it takes to prepare. The tender, juicy turkey pairs beautifully with the buttery, caramelized potato layers, making it an ideal meal for a cozy dinner. Whether you’re making this for a special occasion or just want to treat yourself to something delicious, this recipe is sure to impress. Enjoy!
Smoked turkey legs with boulangère potatoes is a comforting, deeply flavorful dish that’s well worth the time it takes to prepare. The tender, juicy turkey pairs beautifully with the buttery, caramelized potato layers, making it an ideal meal for a cozy dinner. Whether you’re making this for a special occasion or just want to treat yourself to something delicious, this recipe is sure to impress. Enjoy!
Total Time:4 hours
Yield:4 portions 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the Turkey
2 smoked turkey legs
2 sprigs of sage
1 sprig of rosemary
3 sprigs of thyme
4 cloves of garlic
200 g (7 oz) butter, softened
1 tsp black pepper
For the Boulangère Potatoes
1 kg (2.2 lbs) potatoes, sliced
200 g (7 oz) butter, melted
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp clarified butter or cooking oil
3 tbsp water
4 sprigs of thyme, only the leaves
300 ml (1 ¼ cups) beef stock
Black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
Instructions
For the Turkey
Remove the leaves from the sage, rosemary, and thyme. Chop them very finely. Mince the garlic.
Mix the herbs and garlic with the butter and black pepper.
Rub the turkey legs with the seasoned butter, then wrap them tightly in parchment paper followed by aluminum foil.
Place on a rack or in an oven-safe dish and bake at 130°C (265°F) for 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours, depending on how tender you want the meat.
Serve with the boulangère potatoes and enjoy!
For the Boulangère Potatoes
Melt the clarified butter or heat the cooking oil in a frying pan. Add the onions, water, and ½ tsp salt. Cover with a lid and cook until the water evaporates and the onions start to soften.
Cook the onions for 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden brown and caramelized.
Transfer the onions to an oven-safe dish (or use the frying pan if oven-safe).
Pour some beef stock over the onions and add a layer of potatoes. Season with salt, black pepper, and thyme.
Drizzle with melted butter and more beef stock. Repeat for three layers in total, finishing with stock and butter on top.
Cover with a cartouche (a parchment paper circle with a small hole in the center) and place an oven-safe plate on top to press down the potatoes.
Bake at 130°C (265°F) for 1 hour. Remove the plate and bake for another 30 minutes.
Remove the cartouche, increase the temperature to 150°C (300°F), and bake for a final 30 minutes.
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