Roasted Turkey Thighs
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.
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.
Now let’s talk about the sauce – oh the sauce! Packed full of Dijon mustard, sweet maple syrup, smoked paprika, and lots of herbs, this sauce will become a new staple in your kitchen. Drizzled over top of turkey thighs and roasted veggies – this finger lickin’ glazey saucey creation is a favorite around these parts.
Ingredients In Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs
- Turkey – I used turkey thighs today as I wanted something nice and juicy! Bone in with skin washed and patted dry.
- Herbs – Fresh rosemary and thyme, chop some of it up but hold off and leave some whole.
- Smoked paprika – I love a little bit of smoked paprika, we get some of that sweet, tangy, smokey flavor. You can sub this for regular paprika if that’s what you have on hand.
- Veggies – Onion, celery, and carrots all chopped up.
- Sauces – Dijon mustard and maple syrup.
- Butter – Unsalted so as to control the sodium content of our dish.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
How To Make Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs
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Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.
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Create the sauce: In a small saucepan 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.
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Marinade the turkey: 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.
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Prep for the oven: 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.
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Roast for 2 hours or until the internal temperature reads 175-180F, basting every 30 minutes with the juices from the pan.
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Finish the dish: Remove from the oven and cover the thighs with aluminum foil. Let them rest for 10 minutes before slicing them.
Using Smaller Thighs?
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.
The Sauce Is Liquid Gold
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. Try it out!
What Else Can I Serve This Sauce With?
This sauce is just so beautiful! I find myself wanting to play around with it and see what exactly it tastes best with – so far the jury is still out!
- Chicken thighs or breast
- Salmon
- Pork chops
- Roasted veggies
How To Store Leftover Turkey Thighs
Store leftover turkey in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Can You Freeze Cooked Turkey Thighs?
Absolutely! Freeze this stored in airtight containers for up to 3 months!
What Can I Serve Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs With?
I served this with the harvest rice I shared the other day and it went together like peanut butter and jam. There’s just something about something delicious and carby to soak up all the sauce.
- Mashed Potatoes
- Potato Salad
- Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
- Macaroni Salad
- Roasted Potatoes
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Kale and Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette`
Craving More Turkey? Try These Recipes:
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast
- Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs
- Roast Turkey Breast with Saucy Cranberry Sauce
- How to Roast a Turkey
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Maple Mustard Roasted Turkey Thighs
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- 1 teaspoon rosemary fresh, chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme fresh, chopped
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 turkey thighs bone in w/ skin, washed and dried (about 2-3 lb)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1 large onion chopped
- 5 stalks celery chopped
- 5 carrots chopped
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- In a small saucepan 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.
- Store leftover turkey in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze this stored in airtight containers for up to 3 months!
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Bought a package of 2 turkey thighs (3 lbs. Did not realized it had 2 of them in the package). Tried this recipe on Thanksgiving Day on 1-1/2 lb. turkey thigh. It came out rubbery and dried because of the suggested time that was baked in the convention oven. Only ate part of the thighs.
Next day in the afternoon, I put the rubbery turkey in boiled beef broth for a few seconds. It came out moisten and enjoyable. Used the broth for gravy.
Had tried the recipe again with the other turkey thigh which was seasoned with salt and pepper the day before. This time I used the thermometer to 165-170 degree on the thickest part of the thigh instead of the time suggested. It came out prefect – delicious, moist and enjoyable. Really love the crispy skin.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This looks yummy. I plan to make this tonight but I’m confused about the vegetables used to bake the thighs. Are they meant to be eaten or discarded? If discarded, what purpose do they serve? Would just steaming over herbs and water work?
Oh you can definitely eat them!! I wouldn’t just throw them out. 🙂
Jo, thanks so much for your speedy reply and for sharing this recipe. This was absolutely delicious. Hubby raved about this and told me to make sure to keep the recipe.
Only substitutions I made were plain paprika for the smoked which I didn’t have and I just used a pound of baby carrots for the veggies,- very delicious drizzled with your killer sauce.
OMG 5 stars!
That sounds amazing! We are so happy you enjoyed it!
This has become a staple in our house – fantastic – thank you! We serve with roasted veggies and use the scraps from those (carrots, leeks, parsnips) as the base for the turkey thighs which works out beautifully. Thanks for a great recipe!
We are so glad you liked it!
I made this recipe and substitute olive oil for butter — the flavors were wonderful and complimented the rice nicely. Add a bit of powdered garlic as well — looked great and tasted even better. Thank you for the recipe.
Looks like I’ll be making this the rest of my life. I don’t usually cook (hubby does). I do try though. My husband loved. It was awesome and easy.
Made this yesterday for our household Thanksgiving celebration alongside Persian bejeweled rice, roasted veggies and scalloped potatoes. What a fantastic recipe! We all loved it.
This was a great recipe. We didn’t have a roasting rack for our roasting pan so we just put the thighs directly over the roasting pan in the oven and it worked perfectly. Delicious!