We have smoked chicken breasts, a whole chicken and chicken wings so it was high time we share our smoked chicken thighs recipe. Chicken thighs have the best flavor and we are ramping that flavor up in the Traeger!
We start with a sweet smoky marinade and allow the chicken thighs to soak in all that tasty flavor. Then we smoke them on the Traeger. Serve them with an elote corn and some mac & cheese, and you have the perfect summer meal!
Remember how we used our Traeger as our oven a few summers ago while our kitchen was being remodeled? We love our Traeger so much! Not only does it make delicious food (practically on its own), but it also saved us last summer and is a great way to avoid turning on the oven when it’s scorching hot outside!
What Ingredients are Needed for Smoked Chicken Thighs?
Grab your chicken thighs and all the rest of these ingredients for the best smoked chicken thighs:
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
- Honey
- Soy Sauce
- All Spice
- Cayenne Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Corn Syrup
- Water
- BBQ Spice Rub
If you are a sauce lover, like I am, you can dip this chicken in some homemade bbq sauce…store-bought or whatever your favorite barbecue sauce is! The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Smoked Chicken Thighs
The first step in making these smoked thighs is to decide if you are going to smoke the meat in a pan in the smoker (this is the way I prefer to do it) or directly on the grill. If you want to cook them directly on the grill, save about a third of the marinade to use later.
The next step is to make the marinade. We like to pour everything directly into the ziploc bag that we are going to marinate the chicken in…less clean up! Put all the ingredients into the bag and then squish everything together to combine.
NOTE: If you’re grilling directly on the grill, reserve a third of the marinade for later now before adding the chicken.
Add the chicken to the bag and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 1-12 hours.
When you’re ready to start smoking, place all the chicken thighs and marinade into your pan.
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