Tender, juicy, well seasoned smoked turkey tails smothered in a delicious savory gravy with onions, celery, and peppers. The perfect comfort dish for a cold brisky evening.
How this recipe came about
Everyone knows whenever I cook fresh collard greens, green beans, or stove top cabbage, I simmer them with smoked meat for extra flavor; smoked turkey tails, smoked ham hocks, or smoked neck bones. So my love for turkey tails is no surprise.
Well, one evening, I decided to cook dinner at the last minute and noticed I didn’t have any meats in the freezer. The only meats I had was pork chops which I wasn’t in the mood for and turkey tails.
The only thing I’ve ever used Turkey tails for was adding flavor to my collard greens. By the way, check out my Soul Food style collard greens, which is another recipe I used turkey tails for.
I love turkey, but I especially love turkey tails because of how flavorful and fatty they are. Those are the exact reasons I put them in my collard greens. So I asked myself, what other dish could I make out of these.
So after some pondering, I thought they’d taste great smothered in a gravy… And yall know I always add green peppers and onions to my gravy. I also thought celery would be a great addition.
Then I figured I’d just season them with some basic seasonings that I knew would work like salt, garlic powder, and pepper. I later added more but those are the seasonings I started out with.
Let me just say, i baked those mugs with some gravy and they came out good and after making this dish a few more times and perfecting it, I decided to post it to my YouTube channel and they loved it. So here it is…
What makes this a good recipe:
- Easy to make: One of the things that makes this a good recipe is how easy it is to cook. All you got to do is clean the butts, chop up the vegetables, create a slurry, and bake until done. How simple is that?
- Delicious: This dish is easy to love… I mean who doesn’t like turkey? Tender, juicy turkey at that smothered in a nice savory gravy? If you dont like that you need to have your taste buds evaluated. Lol!
- Good comfort food: This dish is comforting… you can feel the warmth in your chest and stomach as you’re digesting it. It’s hearty and comforting – warming you up and filling your stomach.
The perfect dinner for cold evenings. Ok now let me get into how the idea came about for me to create this recipe and how I perfected it.
YouTube subscribers enjoyed this recipe
Did I tell you this is a recipe that isn’t really known and truly a NEW RECIPE? How many people think to actually bake their smoked turkey tails and serve them as a main dish for dinner? Well, let me tell you, NOT MANY!
One of my subscribers, actually in honor of me, wrote a lovely article about me and her love for my recipes and the main recipe she featured in her article about me was this very turkey tails recipe. Check that amazing Smoked Turkey butts article out here.
I appreciated the flowers she gave me and it made ya boy feel a lil special and emotional. Here is the old YouTube video I shared with my subscribers back in 2016 on how to make turkey tails.
Baked Smothered Smoked Turkey Tails Recipe Video
Alright so now that that’s all out the way Im going to talk about the ingredients you need for this recipe and the cooking tools you’ll need as always. So let me get into all of that now! Check that info below
Cookware & utensils you’ll need:
- Scissors: You will need some scissors to remove the hairs.
- Baking dish: You need a baking dish to bake the turkey tails
Ingredients you’ll need:
- Meat: Smoked turkey tails
- Vegetables: Onions, peppers, and celery.
- Seasonings: Bouillon cubes, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, thyme, and black pepper
Gravy ingredients:
- Liquid: Chicken broth
- Thickener: All-purpose flour
- Fat: Butter
How to prep and clean smoked turkey tails
Now people debate whether or not you should clean meat because there’s a belief that cleaning meat spreads germs and is pointless because the heat kills all the bacteria. Im on team “clean your meat”.
It’s how I was raised. So im going to talk about the common products people use to clean their meat, how to clean it, and how to prep your turkey butts before cooking them.
- Cleaning agents: The 4 common ingredients people who do like to clean their meat before cooking them are lemon juice, lime juice, acv, and salt combined with water. You can use 2 of these 4 or 1 combined with water.
- How to clean: Now how you clean the turkey butts are simple and the same way you clean any other meat. You soak them in a bowl with the water lemon, or water salt solution, whatever you decide to use.
Then you scrub them real well. Let them sit for about 30 minutes, fully covered in the solution. Use a couple tablespoons of one of the ingredients and cover with water. Scrub well and then rinse them. - Removing hairs: Now with turkey butts you may notice a few hairs sticking out sometimes. So get a scissors and cut the hairs as closely to the skin as much as possible.
I like to do this before soaking and cleaning them. That’s pretty much it – that’s all the cleaning and preparing needed. Afterwards add the turkey butts to the baking dish and get ready to cook em.
Cooking time and temperature
- Baking time and temperature: Now when it comes to the temperature and baking time I bake them on the normal baking time for most meats and that’s 350. And I bake them for a total of 2hr 30 mins.
- How to get them tender: I bake them for 2hrs to get them tender and I bake them for 2 hours under aluminum foil. It takes these things a while before they get tender. They dont get tender easily.
After baking them for 2 hours, you will remove the aluminum foil and let them continue cooking unconvered for color. Baking them uncovered will brown and crisp the meat so it’s not soggy looking and thicken the gravy.
What to serve with smoked turkey tails
- White rice: I think these taste best with white rice so it’s my first recommendation.
- Egg Noodles: Egg noodles are delicious smothered in gravy, probably my second favorite thing to eat with gravy.
- Mashed Potatoes: Mashed potatoes and gravy go together like peanut butter and jelly, so you know this combo will work. With the addition of turkey, this will be delicious.
- Collard Greens: Collard greens are my favorite vegetable to eat with turkey butts which is obvious since I actually use turkey butts when I’m making fresh collard greens.
- Spinach: Spinach tastes well with turkey butts, a good combo!
- Sweet corn: Sweet corn will go well with this savory dish.
Frequently asked questions
How to store smoked turkey tails: Store them in a Tupperware bowl tightly sealed in the refrigerator.
How long do they last: 4-5 days a couple months in the freezer.
How to reheat the gravy: Place the turkey tails in a skillet with a couple cups of water and simmer until warm and gravy returns to normal.
Ok yall that’s all for now. As always, subscribe so you dont miss a recipe and please like share and comment below letting us know how you like the recipe.
Enjoy, later!
Pbj~
Baked Smothered Smoked Turkey Tails Recipe
Tender juicy well seasoned smoked turkey tails smothered in a delicious savory gravy with onions, celery, and peppers. The perfect comfort dish for a cold brisky evening.
- Total Time: 2 Hr 45 Mins
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
2.50 lbs Smoked Turkey Tails
1/2 Cup Onions, chopped
1/2 Cup Green peppers, chopped
1/3 Cup Celery, chopped
3 Cups chicken broth
5 Tbs All-Purpose Flour
1 Tbs Butter
2 Chicken Flavor Bouillon cubes
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1 Tsp Parsley Flakes
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 Tsp Thyme
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
1. Soak and clean turkey tails, then rinse well.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Chop up the onions, peppers, and celery into small peices.
4. Combine the broth and flour to create a slurry for the gravy.
5. Add turkey butts to baking dish.
6. Add in the onions, peppers, and celery.
7. Add in the seasonings and slurry.
8. Add in the butter then cover with aluminum foil.
9. Baked for 2 hours.
10. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 Mins
- Cook Time: 2Hr 30 Mins
- Category: Soul Food
- Method: American
- Cuisine: Soul Food
by
One Response
Love your recipes..I will be trying them