Such an under-rated cut of meat, this Traeger Smoked Turkey Thighs recipe is loaded with flavor and SO easy to smoke! Use your favorite poultry or BBQ rub to make it. Serve them for an easy game day smoker recipe for a crowd, or to make extra dark meat turkey on Thanksgiving. Let’s cook ‘em!
Why smoked turkey thighs are great to make…
- The low and slow smoker cooking makes turkey thighs that are super-tender.
- Little prep time.
- Use your favorite BBQ seasoning or poultry blend rub.
- Inexpensive smoker recipe to feed a crowd.
Are you new to smoking on the pellet grill?
Scroll to the bottom of this page for a step by step recipe video.
See how to bake oven roasted turkey thighs…
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make smoked turkey thighs.
- 3 LB Turkey thighs (about 1 pound each)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp BBQ seasoning (or poultry rub)
- Fresh herbs to garnish
See how to make smoked baked potatoes…
How to make smoked turkey thighs…
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Quick look at this recipe for smoked turkey thighs
- Dry rub season turkey thighs.
- Smoke turkey thighs at 250 degrees F for 1.5 hours.
- Increase smoker temperature to 400 degrees F until done at 170 – 175 degrees F internal temperature.
- Remove and enjoy.
See all of Sip Bite Go’s Thanksgiving turkey recipes…
Detailed instructions
- Preheat Traeger smoker or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F.
- Pat turkey thighs dry with a paper towel.
- Drizzle them and rub all over with olive oil – make sure to coat all sides.
- Season turkey thighs with dry rub of your choice. We pop them in the fridge to let the flavors of the seasoning adhere to the thighs for at least 20 minutes.
- Add turkey thighs directly to the pellet grill grates, once it’s preheated to the smoke temperature of 250 degrees F.
- Smoke turkey thighs for about 90 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 155 – 160 degrees F as measured with an instant read thermometer.
- Increase the smoker temperature to 400 degrees F and smoke thighs for another 15 – 20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. The higher temperature will help the skin crisp up a bit.
- Remove the turkey thighs from the pellet smoker and let them rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
See how to make smoked butternut squash…
FAQs
Smoking ~1 lb turkey thighs at 250 degrees F, it will take about 1.5 – 2 hours to finish. With smoking anything, I always recommend that you use an internal read thermometer to determine doneness vs just going by time. This low and slow method breaks down a turkey thigh’s connective tissue making it more tender and flavorful.
The cooking process is super simple using my recipe. Start by patting the turkey thigh with a paper towel to dry the skin and remove any excess turkey juice. Next, coat all sides with a little olive oil and then season with any dry rub of your choice. Smoke turkey thighs at 250 degrees F until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. Increase the smoker temp to 400 degrees F until done at 170 – 175 degrees F internal temp.
I recommend that you use either hickory, apple, mesquite or pecan when smoking turkey thighs. In this recipe, I used hickory because that’s simply one of my favorite pellet flavors to use. I find that the flavor of the smoke really penetrates the thigh perfectly.
As a reminder…always use a digital thermometer when cooking protein. Technically turkey thighs are cooked at 165 degrees F, however, since it’s dark meat with a lot of tough connective tissue to break down, you should cook the turkey thighs until the internal temperature of 175 degrees F.
You do NOT need to brine turkey thighs prior to cooking them. But, if you have the time, you could dry brine them overnight with salt.
More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked brisket flat
- 321 ribs
- Beer can chicken on the smoker
- Smoked wings
- Smoked turkey breast
- Whole smoked turkey
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Grilled skirt steak
- Flank steak marinade
- Smoked pulled pork
- Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes
See this Traeger Flatrock grill review.
See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever before cooking them.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
See popular smoked food recipes on Sip Bite Go…
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about smoking turkey thighs.
Enjoy cooking and chat soon on Instagram / TikTok / YouTube.
– Jenna
Next, browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection…
Traeger Smoked Turkey Thighs Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
- 3 LB Turkey thighs about 1 pound each
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp BBQ seasoning or poultry rub
- 1 tsp cilantro fresh chopped, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Traeger smoker or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 250 degrees F.
- Pat turkey thighs dry with a paper towel.
- Drizzle them and rub all over with olive oil – make sure to coat all sides.
- Season turkey thighs with dry rub of your choice. We pop them in the fridge to let the flavors of the seasoning adhere to the thighs for at least 20 minutes.
- Add turkey thighs directly to the pellet grill grates, once it’s preheated to the smoke temperature of 250 degrees F.
- Smoke turkey thighs for about 90 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 155 – 160 degrees F as measured with an instant read thermometer.
- Increase the smoker temperature to 400 degrees F and smoke thighs for another 15 – 20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 175 degrees F. The higher temperature will help the skin crisp up a bit.
- Remove the turkey thighs from the pellet smoker and let them rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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