World’s BEST Smothered Baked Turkey Wings

Turkey wings is a top 3 favorite entree of mine but when you smothered them in gravy, it sits at the top of the throne. My followers shouldn’t be surprised by this because I’ve uploaded 5 YouTube tutorials on how to make baked smothered turkey wings since I started my channel in 2014.

As a matter of fact, one of my smothered turkey wings recipes, my Slow cooker turkey wings recipe is still my most viewed and highest rated recipe here on my blog and one of my most viewed videos on my channel phillyboyjaycookingshow.

But as always, I decided to step it up a notch with a few changes and modifications that takes these smothered baked turkey wings to another level. Let me get into how I became such a fan of smothered baked turkey wings and turkey wings in general.

Sharon’s Smothered Baked Turkey Wings

So back in 1996, yea I said it, 1996… a big ole sista who was a member of my childhood church, Temple Of Christ, came to stay with my me my mom and sister one night… Why? I dont quite remember, our church was small, maybe about 150 members or so we functioned and operated like a big family.

She and her son, Raymond who was a year older than me, decided to take over the cooking duties for mom. They were some cooking muthasuakahz… ok? When I say, “THEY”, that’s EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN. The son, Raymond, who was no older than 10 could cook his behind off.

What I remember most is how good the turkey wings smelled when they were almost done. I was drooling before I even laid eyes on them. Another thing that stood out was how they made the gravy.

I vividly remember sista Sharon removing the turkey wings and stirring flour into the juice they had been baking in under aluminum foil for hours.

I didn’t understand what she was doing but that part stood out to me way before I even understood anything about cooking. I did know however, that the flour and juice would somehow turn into a gravy. But this 2 step (Bake til tender, than add gravy) never left my mind.

My mom, made them the way Sharon and Raymond taught us how too ever since then. So you can all thank Sharon and Raymond too for helping to start this journey of perfecting smothered baked turkey wings. Haha!!!

Mama bear perfected these wings….

Now… ,my mother was a late bloomer when it came to cooking. Pops wasn’t present at the time but she always stayed in close touch with, Nana aka Alice Mae… I know you all are very familiar with that name. She comes up a lot because she inspired many of my recipes.

My mom and nana would talk over the phone all the time around 4-6 while my mom was cooking up a meal for dinner. Nana would give her step by step instructions of how to make different dishes. She truly taught my moma how to cook and greatly improved her cooking skills.

My mom side, outside of McCloud who I also bring up often, weren’t bad cooks but ordinary cooks. They weren’t necessarily known for THROWING DOWN IN THE KITCHEN. So much of what my mom learned was from Alice Mae, my nana, and Gwendolyn, my grandmom on my pops side.

Anyway, these turkey wings bring back a lot of childhood memories from the 90s. Mom loved to makes these with white rice… I made them for dinner recently and she came by and had some and took a few home to have for lunch at work the next day.

One thing my mom dont do anymore is cook because she has 2 children who took after my father’s side and can throw down in the kitchen. Enough about those good ole 1990’s… let me answer a few common questions I get about smothered baked turkey wings.

Watch Me Make It

First and foremost, my take on cleaning turkey wings!

Ok so some folks dont clean their meats because they believe doing so can cause the spread of germs. But I was raised up cleaning my meat. My grandma always did so and so did my mom. So here’s how i prep my turkey wings before baking them. 

• I simply place them in a large glass bowl, big enough to hold all 4 lbs of turkey wings.
• I cover them with cool water. It’s important to use cool water, especially if they’re frozen. Hot water will cook them and cold water speeds up the thawing process without precooking them. Dont feel I should have to say that but you maybe a novice and not know any better. Lol!
• Lastly, after covering them with cool water and add a few tablespoons of salt, lemon juice, or vinegar. Sometimes, I use a combination of the 3.
• I dont let them soak for too long, about 25 minutes or so. Afterwards, I scrub them with my hands and rinse them well and proceed with the recipe.
• I find that lemon juice brightens the meat and is the best option if you’re preparing old turkey wings that may be frost bite due to sitting in the freezer to long and may have changed in color.

Getting the turkey wings nice and tender

The tenderness is probably the most important thing when it comes to turkey wings. I dont think I know any person who loves turkey wings who wants their meat tough. Meat juicy tender meat falling off the bone is what makes a great turkey wing.

So how do we achieve that? Aluminum foil! If you’re using a roasting pan that has a lid, that’s just as effective. Turkey wings unlike chicken require some time under the hood before we brown it. It’s not naturally tender like chicken so you have to infuse it with moisture.

We do this by baking them for an hour and a half to 2 hours under aluminum foil at a low temperature, preferably 350 F to tenderize the meat. How long you need to bake them under aluminum foil depends on the amount you’re making.

I notice when baking 2 lbs of turkey wings, 90 minutes gets the job done. When baking 4 lbs, they need 2 hours under the hood. Lol! Dont worry about the turkey wings becoming so tender they fall off the ball soon as you lift them. The turkey wings will still be firm to a degree.

Making sure the baking pan/dish is fully covered with no cracks on the sides is key to locking in the moisture so it doesn’t escape. So make sure your wings are tightly sealed under the aluminum foil.

Want the nice brown and crispy skin?

The skin is most of our favorite part of the wings. Nothing better than that turkey skin but you want it nice and brown, it looks more appetizing and you want it crispy. Nothing more repulsive than light soft and soggy skin. 

To get the skin nice and brown, we’re going to crank the heat up to 400 F and let the turkey wings continue baking UNCOVERED for an addition 35-50 minutes. Basting the wings with the juices in the pan or slurry well help to achieve a nice brown and crispy skin.

You dont want to bake the turkey wings under 400 F for too long though because you dont want to dry the meat out. So if you find that after about 45-50 minutes tops, the turkey wings aren’t as brown as you like them (which shouldn’t happen) place them in the broiler for a few minutes. 

Also, using a large roasting pan or baking dish will help to get the turkey wings brown quicker. If you’re turkey wings are overlapping each other because the pan isnt big enough, some parts may not brown. So make sure you’re using a pan big enough to hold all the wings without them laying on top of the other.

What’s an easy way to make savory turkey gravy?

The easiest way to create a savory gravy is to use the slurry method. This method allows you to achieve a savory finger licking gravy without the hassle of creating a roux which can be kind of challenging for beginners. 

All you do is combine the broth with some flour until it’s well dissolved, and add it to the baking pan and it will thicken and turn into a nice brown turkey gravy within minutes. I like to throw in a bouillon cube just to make sure the gravy isn’t bland. 

If you dont have turkey broth or chicken broth you can use water. Just make sure to add a few bouillon cubes to the water to create a broth. 

Cooking tips:

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