Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs

These Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs are super juicy, delicious and a great alternative for roasting a whole turkey.

Are you a dark meat or a white meat lover when it comes to your Thanksgiving turkey? I, personally, love my dark meat, whether it’s turkey or chicken. While I still like breast, I love a nice juicy turkey thigh. Since it’s just me and my husband, unless we’re hosting Thanksgiving at our house, I hardly ever make a whole turkey. I prefer just roasting a couple thighs, drumsticks or just the breast. Hubs is the breast fan when it comes to his poultry but this time I won and made some turkey thighs.

Turkey thighs really are a great alternative to having to cook a whole turkey, especially when there aren’t a lot of people you’re planning on feeding. My thighs here were quite big, so they generously fed 4 people, but you could always cook more if preferred. You could even mix it up and buy the drumsticks as well, or a breast.

But these turkey thighs here are all about that maple mustard glaze which is really simple to make and so good, plus they give your turkey thighs a nice sheen and color.

I added a bunch of celery, onions and carrots to the roasting pan so as it cooks, you baste your turkey with all those great flavors, making your turkey thighs nice and juicy and super flavorful.

In the end we actually ended up eating the carrots because we love roasted carrots, plus we strained all the liquid through a sieve and drizzled it over the turkey thighs. You could also make some gravy with it, but I found it wasn’t necessary to add flour to it and butter, it was just as great as it was.

I served this with the harvest rice I shared the other day.

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Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs

4.63 from 27 votes

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 2 hrs

Total: 2 hrs 20 mins

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Serves: 4

Print Pin Rate

These Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs are super juicy, delicious and a great alternative for roasting a whole turkey.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter unsalted
• 1 tsp rosemary fresh, chopped
• 1 tsp thyme fresh, chopped
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 turkey thighs bone in w/ skin, washed and dried (about 2-3 lb)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1 large onion chopped
• 5 stalks celery chopped
• 5 carrots chopped
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 2 sprigs thyme

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• In a small sauce pan add the butter and melt over medium high heat. Add the rosemary, thyme, smoked paprika, dijon mustard, maple syrup and stir. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
• Score the skin of the turkey thighs. Season your turkey thighs with salt and pepper. Pour about 3/4 of the maple/mustard mixture over the thighs and toss.
• Add the water to a roasting pan, then add the onion, celery, carrots, rosemary, and thyme. Place a roasting rack in the pan.
• Place the turkey thighs, skin side up, on the rack and brush with remaining maple/mustard glaze.
• Roast for 2 hours or until the internal temperature reads 175-180F, basting every 30 minutes with the juices from the pan.
• Remove from the oven and cover the thighs with aluminum foil. Let them rest for 10 minutes before slicing them.

Video

Recipe Notes

My turkey thighs were quite big, so one was big enough to feed 2 people. If thighs are smaller then check the internal temperature after about 1.5 hours.

 

You can always cook more turkey thighs if looking to serve more people. 

 

You can strain the remaining liquid through a sieve and drizzle it over the turkey, or use it to make a gravy with it.

 

Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

 

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Nutrition Information:

Calories: 633kcal (32%)Carbohydrates: 41g (14%)Protein: 44g (88%)Fat: 31g (48%)Saturated Fat: 13g (81%)Cholesterol: 171mg (57%)Sodium: 1861mg (81%)Potassium: 1116mg (32%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 30g (33%)Vitamin A: 14205IU (284%)Vitamin C: 10mg (12%)Calcium: 131mg (13%)Iron: 4.5mg (25%)

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:American

Keyword:maple mustard roasted turkey thighs, thanksgiving recipes, turkey thighs

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