Yeah, I Ate That: The turkey leg

 

A turkey leg wagon in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom.

 

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Disney Blog Carnival. Head over there to see more great Disney-related posts and articles.

There’s a bargain at Walt Disney World. I don’t know how many people indulge in it. But for $5.75 you can get about 5 pounds of succulent, moist turkey. This isn’t your everyday Thanksgiving turkey. This is a brined, salty-to-goodness bird that drips down your chin and arm, and that will have you in a tryptophan coma in a few hours.

Tucked away in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland (also available at Disney’s Hollywood Studios), you can find turkey leg wagons that churn out these gorgeous appendages of meat all day long. Having been to Disney World more times than I can count on all of my fingers and toes, I have only indulged in the turkey leg once.

On my honeymoon (the Disneymoon as we like to call it), dear hubby and I purchased our turkey leg and munched on it proudly. There’s something about chomping on the juicy turkey leg as you’re sitting outside The Country Bear Jamboree and watching throngs of people stroll merrily on their way to ride Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The turkey leg is monstrous. You see people eating them by him or herself but it must be a hard task to accomplish because the turkey leg is just so huge. You can see that it’s almost the size of my head…and I have quite the big noggin.

Disney soaks their turkey legs in a salty brine making the meat moist, tender and juicy beyond belief. The turkey leg almost has a cult following. Families make a beeline for them on their trips. Others just watch in disbelief, and nearly horror, as small children tackle the behemoth beasts on their own. I’ve heard rumors that Disney uses ostrich legs or other birds, but I don’t think there’s any truth to it.

The truth is: you need to try this, if only once in your life. I think this video from Food Network’s Unwrapped series does a great summary of the turkey leg: