Turkey Wings Are Not Created Equal

In the freezer, we had a package of turkey wings left from the holidays and we decided to bake them with stuffing for an easy meal.  Notice I did not say easy week-night meal as every day is Saturday for us old retirees.  After opening the package, Bev decided the three wings would not be enough and she picked up a couple more at the store the next day.

I did some web searching and found several recipes for guidance and cooked them covered for a two-three hours at 250 F, then I removed them from the pan, dumped the liquid and added some uncooked dressing/stuffing mix prepared per package directions.  I raised the oven temperature to 350 F and put in the stuffing to bake for 10 minutes.  I then laid the turkey wing pieces (less the giant drummys) atop the stuffing and put them back into the oven until browned (about 15 minutes), then flipped them for another 15-20 minutes to brown on the other side.

We served them with some delicious baked sweet potatoes.

The meal was good, but this post is about the wings themselves.  While I know chicken pieces can vary a lot in size, when we buy chicken wings, they are pretty much the same size.  Even though I know turkeys can have a wide range in size, with the large ones in the store more than double the weight of the small ones, it never occurred to me that I would see this when buying wings. 

I was shocked when I opened the new package and declared "Holy cow, these things must have come from an ostrich."  The two drumettes are on the right and the two bone pieces are on the left and I think the size difference was even more than my shot shows.

They are laying on a full sized cutting board and the two bone piece is laying atop the dressing on a standard sized dinner plate.  One of the large wings had nearly as much meat as the three smaller ones combined so I cooked them based on size, adding them to the covered pan in 30 minute increments.  The lesson here is to be careful what you grab up at the store as all turkey wings are not created anywhere near equal.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

2/4/15 event date