Theme park legs don’t taste like emu, said Andrew Zimmern, the “Bizarre Foods” guy. “The meat would be a little more beefy,” he said. “Emu has the consistency of turkey leg but the flavor of roasted veal. It’s got mild beefiness to it and a little more metallic.”

Emus are large, powerful birds, and their legs are among the strongest of any animal and powerful enough to tear down metal fencing. The birds are very defensive of their young, and there have been two documented cases of humans being attacked by emus.

However they have very strong legs for running and can reach speeds of 30-35 mph for short distances. They can walk considerable distances at a steady rate of four and a half mph. Their powerful leg muscles and talons are used for defense against predators.

Despite his claims, the turkey legs are not disguised emu legs. “We hear that all the time. They’re real turkeys. It’s what they are,” Robert Adams, executive chef at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel.

The reason it tastes like ham Is that the legs are cured in a salt solution, which is more typical of ham than turkey.

Turkey booties, also known as turkey frills, are little paper caps that people stick on the end of turkey legs, to cover up the unsightly ends of the bones. They’re shaped sort of like miniature chefs’ hats, and might be frilled or rounded at the top.

The “plastic thing” on the turkey legs is the hock lock. It secures the hind legs, or hock, of a chicken or turkey. It can be made of heat-resistant nylon or metal, and it’s perfectly safe to leave it in the bird while it roasts.

Turkey booties are those paper caps that people put over the turkey leg-ends. They are also known as turkey frills. The general reason why people would put them on a turkey is to cover the end of the bones, which is not the most appetizing thing to stare at while you are eating a nice meal.

Speaking of plastic, turkeys usually come with a plastic or metal crimp, called a hock lock, holding the legs together at the back. You can leave it on or take it off; the legs may cook more evenly without it.

Trussing is that final step in turkey prep when you wrap the turkey neatly in twine and tie the legs together. This causes the turkey to cook unevenly, and the breast meat tends to overcook while the legs are still roasting away. …

Pop-up Timer FAQ Inside a standard pop-up turkey timer, there’s a red plastic indicator stick housed in a plastic casing. The soft metal in the tip is solid at room temperature but warms as the turkey cooks and eventually melts at around 165 degrees F (73 degrees C).

To achieve that balance, the ideal is to let the bird spend time both covered and uncovered: We recommend covering your bird for most of the cooking time to prevent it from drying out, then removing the cover for the last 30 minutes or so to allow the skin to crisp.

We do not recommend adding water to the bottom of the pan. Cooking a turkey with steam is a moist heat-cook method and is acceptable, sure, but is not the preferred method for cooking your turkey.” The meat will be less flavorful by cooking via steam instead of roasting.

Roast the turkey uncovered at a temperature ranging from 325°F to 350°F. Higher temperatures may cause the meat to dry out, but this is preferable to temperatures that are too low which may not allow the interior of the turkey to cook to a safe temperature.

“When roasting the whole bird, the key is to cook the legs longer than the breast,” Tommy says. “Once the breast is cooked, remove the legs and put them back in the oven. This stops the breasts drying out.”

Because dark meat has more connective tissues, it takes longer to break down, so if you cook the turkey whole, by time the legs and thighs are done, the breasts are overcooked and dry. After cooking, let the meat rest until it’s close to room temperature in order to let the juices redistribute.

Roast the turkey in the hot oven for 10–15 minutes. Take the tray out of the oven, baste the bird with the pan juices and lay the bacon rashers over the breast to keep it moist. Baste again. Lower the setting to 180°C/Gas 4 and cook for about 2 1⁄2 hours (calculating at 30 minutes per kg), basting occasionally.