[Photographs: Jillian Atkinson]
Rising up within the South, I ate turkey wings about as typically as hen or fish in my household’s dinner rotation. Everybody’s household had their very own particular method of getting ready them—some boiled the wings first, making certain they’d be tender; my grandmother did hers with a little bit bell pepper and onion, and would make a slurry to type a skinny gravy that we might pour over and eat with rice; and one trick I discovered just lately is to make use of dry French onion soup combine within the gravy for plenty of taste with out a lot work.
Irrespective of these variations, the wings all the time find yourself baked within the oven, cooking in their very own juices and seasonings—this technique of braising and smothering the wings in their very own wealthy gravy makes for completely cooked meat that is much more flavorful and lots much less more likely to dry out than a typical Thanksgiving turkey. Plus, their measurement is a lot better for cooking for smaller crowds (and storing the leftovers).
On this recipe, the wings are first soaked in a moist brine made with salt, brown sugar, and some herbs and spices. Wet brining isn’t a technique Serious Eats often recommends for turkey, but it surely works nicely with the wings: They’re smaller and have extra floor space in comparison with a bigger chook or roast, permitting salt and flavorings to make extra of an influence all through, plus the added water weight gained throughout brining ensures juiciness even after lengthy cooking (and people exuded liquids simply find yourself within the gravy anyway—no hurt achieved).
After that, I sear the wings in a Dutch oven, adopted by fragrant greens like onion, carrot, and celery. As soon as they’ve softened, I switch the greens to a bowl and use the identical vessel to make a easy gravy, whipped up with a roasty brown roux and a few hen inventory. Then, the greens, gravy, and wings all go into the oven to braise till the wings are tender and the gravy has thickened correctly, thanks partly to the roux and partly to the collagen within the wings that breaks down throughout cooking into sauce-improving gelatin.
As for the wings themselves, most shops carry them, however you possibly can normally discover the very best ones at a neighborhood butcher. Again dwelling within the Southeast, I may discover turkey wings all yr spherical; each complete wings and break up. However right here within the Southwest the place I at the moment dwell, they’re rather more seasonal. I personally desire to purchase smallish wings and drums with the guidelines nonetheless on. Enormous wings you’d discover at your native state truthful are nonetheless scrumptious, however will take longer to prepare dinner and, no less than to me, don’t have the identical tender texture or depth of taste.
