GRILLED TURKEY THIGHS

Turkey isn’t just for Thanksgiving. I love to make it year-round. We’re dark meat lovers in our family, so I buy bone-in thighs for the grill. Marinated and grilled just right, they come out juicy and delicious. Plus the leftovers are great to slice up for sandwiches. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this dish!

INGREDIENTS

MARINADE
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
3 tablespoons molasses
4 chipotle pepper plus
1 tablespoon adobo sauce

GRILLED TURKEY THIGHS
2 Large Bone-in Turkey thighs
Salt & Pepper to taste

PREPARATION

In a medium sized bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients together. Place inside a large Ziploc bag. Season the thighs with salt and pepper. Place inside the Ziploc. Massage the marinade around the turkey thighs and place in the refrigerator at least 48 hours before you intend to grill it. It can go up to 72 hours if you like.

OPTIONAL : If you have a smoker pan, soak some wood chips about an hour before you plan to grill.

When you’re ready to grill, take the turkey out of the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Place the thighs on a platter, discard the Ziploc bag and remaining marinade.

Pre-heat your grill to 375 degrees. (Optional: Drain the water from the smoker chips and place the chips in the smoker pan and light as per directions for your grill.)

Place the turkey on indirect heat, close the lid and cook for 30 minutes. Flip the pieces and cook for another 30-40 minutes. (Cook times depend on how evenly your grill cooks. Dark meat is done when internal temperature of the turkey is at 165 degrees.)

To finish, brush some BBQ sauce on top, move pieces over to direct heat and close lid for 3-4 minutes. Flip pieces, brush some BBQ sauce on other side and close lid for 3-4 minutes. Keep an eye on grill for flareups.

Take off grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.