Who inspires the home chef to attempt feats of culinary greatness?  Names come to mind: Escoffier, Careme, Thomas Keller, Julia Child.  But there is one man who has, time and again, proven himself to be the master of the carnivorous arts, a man who is satisfied with nothing less than “all the bacon and eggs,” a man who once ate an entire burrito called the “Meat Tornado.”  Yes, I’m talking about Ron Swanson.  And since Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away, I figured that I would try my hand at a holiday-appropriate Ron Swanson-inspired dish: the bacon-wrapped turkey leg.  The results were everything I hoped they would be, and I know that Ron is smiling on me somewhere behind his awesome and powerful mustache.  My only regret is that I didn’t have a smoker available to give these more flavor, but they taste pretty amazing right out of the oven.  If you’d like to try your hand at this masterpiece, here’s what you need, and the stuffing is optional:

Ron Swanson Turkey Leg

• 4 turkey legs
• 12 slices bacon
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon sage

Mix the pepper, paprika, salt, sugar, allspice, and sage together in a bowl.  Rub the spice mixture onto your turkey legs thoroughly.  Wrap each turkey leg with three pieces of the bacon.  Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees, then for 20-30 minutes at 350 until the bacon has gotten nice and brown.  Eat with your hands.  Like Ron Swanson. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!