I’ve enjoyed seeing the Renaissance festival ads on television for years but have never attended one. There’s always a big festival at Harveysburg, Ohio, and one day I will definitely darken their door – or gate, or entrance.

Roger Smith, who has a lawn care company for year-round service, was here today chasing groundhogs and weasels and chopping weeds in my front yard. While visiting with Roger, he told me he’s going to the Renaissance festival this week with wife and friends.

For a reason I don’t fully understand Roger always wears a kilt to the festival. I’m not sure, but I think his beautiful wife dresses as a wench, carrying around pints of mead and grilled turkey legs.

Renaissance Festival

Turkey Legs

Turkey leg for each person

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Brine

4 quarts of water

1/2 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

Basting Sauce

Honey

Barbecue sauce you like best

Red wine vinegar

Start by making the brine. Combine the water, kosher salt and brown sugar and stir it together well. Put the turkey legs into the brine and weight them down with something so they’re covered with the water.

Put the brine with turkey legs in your refrigerator and leave overnight. In the morning remove the legs from your refrigerator an hour before cooking. Dry off the turkey legs and brush each with olive oil, and put on some salt and pepper. Put them on the grill over low heat and covered with a lid.

Mix together the honey, barbecue sauce and red wine vinegar. Use amounts that give you a taste you like. Baste the turkey legs with this sauce and turn them on the grill. Keep the grill covered as much as possible, but baste and turn the legs every now and then. You’ll need to baste and grill the legs for approximately 30 minutes. Remove the turkey legs from the grill and wrap in aluminum foil.

Leave the wrapped turkey legs rest on the grill for about 15 minutes, then they’ll be ready to enjoy.

Keep some warm basting sauce available in case you want to add some as you eat. Take big bites and get some sauce running down your chin. You’ll really be in the spirit of the event if you have sauce running down your arm to your elbow. Get messy and have some fun!

(Roger said last year during a jousting demonstration that the losing knight on a horse was knocked for a loop and got a broken jaw, two teeth knocked out and a couple of broken ribs. The knight got up, waved to the crowd, said he was okay – and then was hauled off to the hospital in an ambulance. I don’t think they had ambulances in Renaissance times.)

Readers with questions or comments for Dave Kessler may write to him in care of this publication.