I wanted to try something new. I have read about turkey or duck leg carnitas, and that was kind of the inspiration for this. I brined some turkey thighs for about 6 hours in a basic brine of one quart water, 1/4 cup kosher salt, and 1/4 brown sugar. Then I rinsed them, dried them, and put on a rub underneath and on top of the skin of salt, black pepper, white pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and habanero powder. Set up the 18" OTG for indirect with FOGO lump and pecan for a hot smoke at about 350. I think they took about 1.5 hours.
After they reached 180 internal I moved them skin side down over the coals for about 5 minutes to crisp up.
I shredded one for dinner right away and let the other one rest in foil for 20 minutes. The second one was much easier to pull.
We had the full assortment of taco fixin's: black beans, cilantro lime rice, chopped jalapeņos, onion, cilantro, and lime wedges.
The skin was really crispy and delicious. The thighs took on a lot more of the pecan smoke than I expected, but it wasn't too much. It wasn't quite as juicy as pulled pork but it was close. I will definitely do something like this again.
Topic: Smoked turkey thigh tacos (Read 1223 times)
