I love smoked and grilled chicken thighs. The rich flavor of chicken and texture of perfectly crispy skin are a winner every time. To up the game, we going to make Sausage Stuffed Chicken Thighs today. Boneless chicken thighs really lend themselves to being stuffed, as you start with a fairly thin piece of meat that can easily be wrapped around sausage, cheese, or other ingredients. I think the sausage adds a little kick to an already delicious chicken thigh. If you have not tried boneless chicken thighs before, I also recommend trying them un-stuffed… also very tasty. Lets get down to business…
Tools Needed
- A boning knife or a super sharp pairing knife
- Butcher’s Twine
- Smoker and/or Grill
Sausage Stuffed Chicken Thighs
- Heat the smoker up to 350 F, setup for indirect cooking
- De-bone your chicken thighs. If you have not done this before, check out the video here below…..
- Trim off any excess meat to make the chicken thigh more uniform in thickness, making them easier to roll
- Lightly season the inside of the chicken thigh with BBQ Rub. I like the Good Lov’n Rub for this recipe.
- Stuff the chicken thigh with a golf ball sized piece of sausage, rolled down to the length of the chicken thigh.
- Carefully wrap the chicken thigh around the sausage and tie up with two lengths of butcher’s twine.
- Season the outside skin with a nice even coating of BBQ Rub.
- Smoke for 1 hour.
- Heat up your gas/charcoal grill to medium/high heat. Dome temperature around 450 F.
- Finish the thighs on the grill, turning often until the skin is nice and crispy. Usually about 10 minutes, turning every 1 minute.
- Remove the twine, slice in half for dramatic effect and proudly serve your Sausage Stuffed Chicken Thighs
Sausage Stuffed Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 8 Skin-on Chicken Thighs
- 3 Sausage Links Removed from casing. Italian, Andouille, or other sausage of your choice.
Good Lov'n BBQ Rub
- 12 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
- 4 Tablespoons Seasoned Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Celery Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Pepper Mix
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
- 4 Tablespoons Paprika
- 2 Tablespoons Ancho Chile
- 2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
- 2 tsp. Ground Cumin
- 2 tsp. Oregano
- 2 tsp. Thyme
- 2 tsp. Rosemary
- 2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
- 2 tsp. Mustard Powder
Instructions
- Heat the smoker up to 350 F, setup for indirect cooking
- De-bone your chicken thighs. Keep skin on.
- Trim off any excess meat to make the chicken thigh more uniform in thickness, making them easier to roll
- Lightly season the inside of the chicken thigh with BBQ Rub. I like the Good Lov'n Rub for this recipe.
- Stuff the chicken thigh with a golf ball sized piece of sausage, rolled down to the length of the chicken thigh.
- Carefully wrap the chicken thigh around the sausage and tie up with two lengths of butcher's twine.
- Season the outside skin with a nice even coating of BBQ Rub.
- Smoke for 1 hour at 350 F.
- Heat up your gas/charcoal grill to medium/high heat setup for direct heat. Dome temperature around 450 F.
Finish the thighs on the grill, turning often until the skin is nice and crispy. Usually about 10 minutes, turning every 1 minute. This time could a lot less if your grill/smoker is hot. Keep an eye on them initially.
- Remove the twine, slice in half for dramatic effect and proudly serve your Sausage Stuffed Chicken Thighs
2 thoughts on “Sausage Stuffed Chicken Thighs”
What is the actual weight of “3 sausage links”? I buy andouille in “links” that are almost 1 pound.
the ones I use are like 3 links per pound or so. So… do not need too much. uncooked sausages are probably the best as well. versus already smoked/cooked.