Smoked turkey thigh sandwich

In the search for the ultimate turkey leg, we were left with the thigh every time. That is not bad at all. You just have to do something with that. While the turkey legs were in the smoker, we made some tasty sandwiches with the turkey thighs.

These are turkey thighs. We bought complete turkey legs but wanted to cook the drumstick separately. Therefore we cut off the thigh. Unlike the drumstick, turkey thighs are easy to prepare. That’s because of the more tender meat and a fair amount of fat.

We provide the thighs with a dry-rub. You can, of course, also sprinkle them with a store-bought dry rub. Place the turkey thighs in the fridge without covering them for 45 minutes to an hour while preparing the barbecue. You could also leave them overnight. The salt in the rub will dry out the skin to have a greater chance of crispy skin.

The turkey thigh, unlike the drumstick, lends itself very well to faster preparation. That is why we set the Kamado Joe for an indirect preparation at 150°C (302F). High enough to be ready in an hour and get a nice crispy skin and low enough not to let the sugar in the rub burn.

Roll up the turkey thighs a bit and place them skin side up in the grill. Insert a thermometer into the meat and close the lid. You leave them like this until they reach a core temperature of 80°C (176F). That’s perfect for the thighs. The meat is then wonderfully tender and juicy.

Let the thighs rest for a while before slicing them. By resting, the juices will distribute themselves better so that it does not dry out quickly. We had already made a delicious white sauce that fits great on this sandwich.