Apricot Glazed Turkey Thighs

These Apricot Glazed Turkey Thighs are perfect for summertime grilling. The marinade is a lovely balance of sweet and savoury and perfectly glazes the turkey. Fire up the bbq and let’s get grilling!

This post is sponsored by Turkey Farmers of Canada. As always, all opinions are my own.

I live for summer. It’s the only season that I absolutely love. You autumn and winter people…. I just don’t get you. In fairness, I can handle a little autumn – the leaves changing is very pretty. But this girl wasn’t built for the cold. I’m a fan of weather that lets me be outside comfortably and allows me to bbq whenever I want. In Saskatchewan, that means we have a four-month window, so you better believe our bbq is going non-stop during that time.

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to the food you bbq. Same meat, same sauce, same veggies – we’ve all been there. This recipe for an apricot glaze is perfect for when you want to try something new. It’s a super simple sauce made with just a handful of ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your pantry. The base of this glaze is soy sauce, ginger, garlic and onions. The special ingredient that adds a perfect sweetness are ripe, summertime apricots!

In Season – Apricots

Apricots are in season from May to July here in Canada and are grown in BC and Ontario. They are similar to peaches but are about a quarter of the size. They tend to be both sweet and tart, where peaches tend to be just sweet. When you’re shopping for apricots, look for fruit that has a slight orange hue to the skin and avoid fruit with soft spots for browning.

Apricots are great for both baking and savoury cooking. Apricots give a dish a slight sweetness without being too overpowering and compliment salty and savoury flavours quite well.

Let’s Talk Turkey

It should come as no surprise that we are huge fans of turkey! It’s a lean protein option and great for eating healthy. A major reason we cook with turkey so often, is because it adds variety to our meal plans. Especially for bbq, we crave variety when it comes to our protein options. Turkey fits the bill because it’s also incredibly versatile. It works well with just about every cuisine and flavour profile we like to use. Take this apricot glaze, for example. The turkey thighs were marinated in the sauce and bbq’d to perfection. Not only that, but they taste out-of-this-world.

The Sauce

If you have a toddler, you know how up and down they can be with foods they like and will eat. And sometimes when you try new foods, it takes a couple of different exposures to that food for them to actually eat it. Well, this apricot glaze on the turkey thighs was well received by our two-year-old on it’s first try. The base of this sauce is soy sauce, ginger and garlic – all flavours that are familiar and are widely used in my kitchen. The combination of apricot jam and fresh apricots lend the perfect sweetness to the sauce and helps create that lovely sticky-sweet glaze that everyone loves. Once everything is slowly simmered, the result is a super flavourful sauce, perfect for marinating and grilling.

Next time you’re firing up the grill, switch things up and bbq some apricot glazed turkey thighs. They’re the perfect balance of sweet and savoury and sure to be a new family favourite. You can also find lots of other quick and easy bbq turkey recipes on thinkturkey.ca!

Check out these other recipes:

• Apricot Stir Fry
• Honey Dijon Turkey Thighs with Cauliflower
• Almond Apricot Tart

Apricot Glazed Turkey Thighs

Here’s to another day of summertime grilling! These Apricot Glazed Turkey Thighs are made with ripe summer apricots and are incredibly juicy and flavourful!

5 from 13 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Apricot, Turkey Thighs

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 563kcal

Ingredients

• 2 Bone-in Turkey thighs skin removed, about 2 ½ Lbs
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 apricots pitted and chopped
• 1/2 cup apricot jam

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add oil and yellow onion and sauté until soft and translucent.
• Add in ginger and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, chopped apricot and apricot jam. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
• Let the sauce simmer on medium low heat until thickened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool slightly.
• Transfer to a blender or small food processor, and blend until smooth.
• Allow to cool completely.
• Place the turkey thighs into a zip top bag or sealable container. Pour the cooled sauce over the turkey, reserving about ¼ cup of the sauce for use later. Allow to marinade overnight or for at least 4 hours.
• Preheat the bbq to medium heat. Remove the turkey thighs from the marinade and place on the grill.
• Grill for about 40-50 minutes, turning occasionally, and basting with the reserved sauce in the last 10 minutes.
• Grill until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
• Remove from the grill and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 56g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 176mg | Sodium: 2063mg | Potassium: 821mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 398IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutritional calculation was provided by WP Recipe Maker and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator

Notes

If you like a little heat to your sauces, add 1/8 tsp (or more, depending on your taste) of crushed red chili flakes to the sauce at the same time you add the garlic and ginger.
This sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for 3-4 days before use.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @culinarycool or tag #culinarycool!