Smoked Turkey Thighs

These Smoked Turkey Thighs are packed with flavor and are so juicy, it’s not even funny!  A few simple steps using a beer brine and some time on the grill made these an instant family favorite!

I was looking for some turkey in the grocery store, but now that we are empty-nesters, I found it hard to justify buying a large bird just for the two of us.  Fortunately, there were several turkey cuts available for a very reasonable price and a few of them ended up in the shopping cart! 

This is a simple smoked turkey thigh recipe that will impress everyone. If you’re craving Disney’s version know you can make it even better at home.

The easy preparation and clear smoking instructions ensure you’ll get perfectly juicy thighs everyone will love!

🦃 Ingredients

Turkey Thighs – I always seem to gravitate to darker meats.  They are naturally juicier than the white meat of the breast but definitely benefited from the brine. 

Beer Brine – Kosher Salt and Brown Sugar are the working agents of the brine.  The salt is absorbed into the meat along with the beer and other flavors.  The Brown Sugar offsets the saltiness.  Because I only brined the thighs, I didn’t need to find and clean a large bucket.  Instead, a smaller kitchen bowl was just the right size to keep the thighs submerged during the brining process.

I used Deschutes’ Lil’ Squeezy Juicy Ale for the beer.  The light, fresh flavors, and the citrus notes worked well with the turkey.

Poultry Seasoning – After the thighs were removed from the brine, rinsed and patted dry, I used the poultry seasoning from Penzey’s. I wanted a mild, neutral rub to allow the flavor of the meat and the beer brine to shine through.  

Cherry Wood Chips – I used a mild fruit wood for the smoking chips. Stronger woods like hickory or mesquite might have worked fine, but the Cherry left a mild, smoky flavor that didn’t overpower the flavor of the turkey or the beer brine.

🍽️ Preparation

The magic happens with the preparation.  The brine needs a chance to work, so you’ll want to start the work on this about eight hours before you want to grill. You don’t have to brine all the time but we find that we have so much success with it in Grilled Turkey, Smoked Chicken, and Grilled Cornish Hens. We didn’t brine the Smoked Spatchcock Turkey but you certainly can!

For turkey parts like this Smoked Turkey Legs recipe, dry brining also works. If you add brown sugar to your rub, it will turn into a glaze, making the skin both crunchy and sticky at the same time.

Step One: To prepare the brine, cut the lemon and orange into slices and add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl.  I had fresh herbs growing in the garden and used a few springs.  

Step Two: Add the beer and then the brown sugar and kosher salt.  Stir well to dissolve the salt and sugar.  This will only take a minute.

Step Three: Add the turkey thighs and arrange them to make sure that they are fully submerged. Cover the bowl and let the brine do the work in the refrigerator for about eight hours.

Note: A lighter flavored beer works well with this brine.  The turkey absorbs it very well, and a strong beer runs the risk of overpowering the meat.  Keep to the wheat ales, lighter IPAs, or even a blonde lager.

Step Four: About ten minutes prior to the grilling, remove the turkey from the brine and rinse it with cold water.  I found just as much success adding to a bowl of fresh, cool water.  The idea is to remove any excess salts that may have accumulated on the skin.  Let it soak for two or three minutes.

Step Five: Remove the thighs from the fresh water and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Step Six: Add the poultry seasoning to the thighs.  Make sure to get both sides.

Note: Optionally, you can rub some oil or melted butter on the thighs before adding the dry rub. This will help the seasonings cling to the surface of the meat and skin.

🔥 Smoking Instructions

Step One: Set your grill to indirect heat and preheat it with the lid closed at 275 degrees. For gas grills, turn off the center burners and for the Big Green Egg, add the plate setter.  

Step Two: Add the Cherry Wood to the grill to create a light smoke. Depending on the type of smoker you have you might be using chips, pellets (for a pellet smoker), or another form of smoking wood. Gas grillers should use a smoking box. If using a charcoal grill, set it for indirect heat.

⚠️ Warning: You don’t want to have large, billowing clouds of smoke.  That looks great on Instagram photos, but the reality is that this amount of smoke will be way too much and your turkey will taste like charcoal.  Instead, look for a very light trickle of smoke. If you need to adjust, move the wood chips around until you get the light smoke.

Step Three: Add the thighs directly to the grill grate and let them smoke for about 60-75 minutes.  There is no need to turn them over, thanks to the indirect heat.  The turkey is ready when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.  Definitely use a meat thermometer to check this.

Step Four: Let the turkey thighs rest for at least ten minutes before serving.  Cutting into them too early will allow all the juices to drain out, and you just spent a lot of time adding them through the brining process. 

💡 Recipe Tips

Make sure the turkey thighs are completely defrosted before starting the brining process.  If they are still partially frozen, they will not absorb the amazing brine flavors.

You can add the brine to the stovetop, bring it to a boil, and then let it come down to room temperature before brining, but I did not notice a difference in the turkey when I did this, so you can definitely save yourself some time and skip that step.

Turkey thighs can be tricky to tell if they are done.  The darker meat makes it difficult to tell if it is fully cooked or not.  It is best to use a wireless meat thermometer to check.  Mine will sound an alarm when the temperature reaches the desired level.  

Using a thermometer will also help you refrain from peeking inside the grill or smoker too often. The more you do this the longer the cooking time.

Note:  Set the temperature alarm to five degrees below the desired level.  After you remove the meat from the grill, it will continue to rise in temperature for a little bit.  With all the extra juiciness added from the brine, you will have a little bit of play, and you shouldn’t need to worry about it overcooking and becoming too dry.

🍴Substitutions & Modifications

We loved this citrusy beer brine but it’s not the only one that works for smoked turkey meat. If you’d rather not use beer, try the brine we used for smoked turkey breast. It’s very flavorful and alcohol-free!

Other fresh herbs, cloves, cracked peppercorns, allspice berries, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves are fabulous ingredients for a wet brine.

The dry rub is also something you can experiment with. I swear by this Yucatan turkey rub that blends some lovely Mexican flavors.

I always make a larger batch of this all-purpose dry rub and having some ready-made will really cut back on the time spent in the kitchen!

Garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and other herbs and spices can be used to make your own dry rub.

🥘Serving Suggestions

Smoked turkey thighs go well with such a large selection of BBQ sides! For hot summer days, we enjoy lighter side dishes like this grilled peach and arugula salad, grilled corn on the cob, grilled sweet potatoes in foil, smoked asparagus bundles, or some grilled squash.

Any of these BBQ chicken sides also work well for turkey and other poultry. And let’s not forget the star of any barbecue cookout: the BBQ sauce!

Try this versatile whiskey BBQ sauce, the smoked pumpkin bourbon BBQ sauce, a tangy cherry bourbon BBQ sauce, or if you’re up for some heat, this sweet and spicy BBQ sauce.

For Thanksgiving dinner, smoking your turkey is not just extremely delicious, but also practical. You’ll free space in the oven where you can cook other dishes!

A festive Thanksgiving table is so much better when you’re also serving some classic sides such as green beans, these grilled Brussels sprouts kebabs, a satisfying smoked potato salad, turkey gravy, smoked cranberry sauce, or some hearty grilled mac and cheese.

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