Smothered Turkey Wings
Overview
Smothered turkey wings are an African American Southern dish: wings seared, then braised in a roux-thickened onion, pepper and celery gravy until the meat falls from the bone. Smothering is a specific technique in that tradition, meaning to brown meat and then cook it slowly submerged in its own gravy. The connection to Africa is real and it is a matter of lineage rather than of this recipe. Southern cooking was substantially shaped by enslaved West and Central Africans, and one-pot braising, the use of the whole animal including wings and other cuts considered lesser, and slow cooking in a seasoned sauce all belong to that inheritance. The trinity of onion, bell pepper and celery that starts this dish is Louisiana Creole, itself a product of that same mixing. But the dish as written is American rather than African. Its seasoning is thyme, oregano, paprika and bay; its gravy is a flour-and-butter roux; and it is served over rice or mashed potatoes with collard greens and cornbread. Africa has its own braised poultry traditions, Nigerian chicken stew, Ethiopian doro wat, Senegalese yassa, and none of them is this. It sits in Worldwide Recipes under American, with its URL unchanged.
Ingredients
Directions
- 1
Rinse the turkey wings under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels.
- 2
In a small bowl, combine salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika, and rub the mixture evenly over the wings.
- 3
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- 4
Sear the wings until golden brown on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side, then remove and set aside.
- 5
In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, green bell pepper, celery and garlic and sauté until tender and the onion is translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- 6
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir continuously to make a roux. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it turns light golden brown.
- 7
Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, making sure there are no lumps.
- 8
Add the bay leaf, thyme and oregano.
- 9
Return the seared wings to the pan, submerging them in the gravy.
- 10
Season the gravy with salt and pepper, cover and cook gently until the wings are tender and the gravy is rich, about an hour and a half.
- 11
Remove the bay leaf and serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Deborah Olayiwola- Sear the wings properly before braising. That browning is where most of the flavour of the gravy comes from, and pale wings give a pale, thin sauce.
- Cook the roux for the full three or four minutes. Raw flour tastes of exactly that, and no amount of simmering afterwards removes it.
- Add the broth slowly while whisking. Poured in all at once it lumps and the gravy never comes smooth.
- Turkey wings need a long braise. An hour and a half is the minimum for meat that falls from the bone, and the source's stated 20 minutes is far too short.
- A slow cooker works well: sear and make the gravy on the stove, then transfer everything and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Reviews
4 reviews
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Finding raw turkey wings in Toronto during winter is a struggle o, had to go to Nations market. Did the rub with the paprika and onion powder then let it simmer the full 90 mins. The meat was sliding off the bone! Next time ill add Scotch bonnet to the celery and bell pepper mix.
i got 3 large turkey wings from HEB here in Houston and followed this step by step. searing them in the oil first for 5 mins per side gave them such good color before making the gravy. that butter, celery and green pepper sauté smell is amazing sha. gravy came out so rich o.
Bought 1kg turkey wings from the butcher. The 5 minutes per side for searing is spot on, but my gravy needed a bit more flour than 2 tablespoons as 2 cups of chicken broth made it slightly runny. Very lekker flavour from the thyme and bay leaf though.
Chale, the 90 minutes cook time was good for the meat tenderness oo, but 2 tablespoons of flour was not enough to thicken 2 cups of broth properly. The celery taste also overpowered the oregano and thyme paa. It was okay but needed more spice.