Baked Smothered Smoked Turkey Tails Recipe

Tender, juicy, well-seasoned smoked turkey tails are smothered in a delicious savory gravy with onions, celery, and peppers. This dish is the perfect comfort meal for a brisk, cold evening.

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.

But this unique recipe will be one you’ll end up loving and making a staple dinner at your home. It’s very simple yet delicious. So give this recipe a shot.

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? You wont break a sweat while making this!
• Delicious: This dish is easy to love… I mean, who doesn’t like turkey? Tender, juicy turkey smothered in a nice savory gravy? If you dont like that you need to have your taste buds checked. 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.

How this recipe came about

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…

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

How to prep and clean smoked turkey tails

Now, people debate whether or not to clean meat because there is a belief that cleaning it spreads germs and is pointless, as the heat kills all the bacteria. I’m on the 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 four common ingredients people use to clean their meat before cooking are lemon juice, lime juice, ACV, and salt, combined with water. You can use two of these four or one combined with water.
• How to clean: You soak them in one of the solutions I just mentioned and then you scrub them real well and rinse.
• Removing hairs: Now with turkey butts you may notice a few hairs sticking out sometimes. So get a scissors and cut the hairs as close to the skin as possible. I like to do this before soaking and cleaning them. Afterwards add the turkey butts to the baking dish and get ready to cook em.

Temperature and cooking time

• 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 2 hrs under aluminum foil to get them tender. After baking them for 2 hours, remove the aluminum foil and let them continue cooking uncovered. Baking them uncovered will brown and crisp the meat 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, which is probably my second favorite thing to eat with gravy so they egg noodles will definitely make a perfect side dish.
• 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 pretty obvious since I put turkey butts in my collard greens to season them. 
• Spinach: Spinach tastes well with turkey butts, a good combo!
• Sweet corn: Sweet corn will go well with this savory dish.

Storage and reheating

• How do you store smoked turkey tails? Store them in a Tupperware bowl. Make sure they’re tightly sealed in the refrigerator.
• How to reheat the turkey tails in the oven: You can warm them up by wrapping them in aluminum foil and baking them at 350 until warm.
• How to reheat turkey tails in a microwave: Place them in a microwave-safe bowl and place them in the microwave for 3 minutes. Flip halfway through
• How to reheat the gravy? Remove the gravy from the turkey butts with a spoon or fork and place it in a skillet. Throw in a few tablespoons of water or broth, let it simmer, and whisk it periodically until its warm, and smooth.

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

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: PhillyboyJay
• Prep Time: 15 Mins
• Cook Time: 2Hr 30 Mins
• Total Time: 2 Hr 45 Mins
• Yield: 4
• Category: Soul Food
• Method: American
• Cuisine: Soul Food

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Description

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.

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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

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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 pieces.
4. Combine the broth and flour to create a slurry for the gravy.
5. Add turkey butts to the baking dish.
6.  Add in the onions, peppers, and celery.
7.  Add in the seasonings and slurry.
8. Add in the butter, then cover it with aluminum foil.
9. Baked for 2 hours.
10. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.