These baked turkey wings are coated in olive oil and spices and cooked in the oven to juicy perfection. They are truly easy to make, and they emerge from the oven gorgeous, browned, juicy, and flavorful!
I rarely roast a whole turkey for Thanksgiving. I much prefer cooking individual parts like turkey breast and turkey legs. Turkey wings are another great option. They are fatty and flavorful, and roasting them in the oven is an effortless method that yields fabulous results.
Heres a look at the ingredients needed to make this recipe. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
Turkey wings: If you buy them from your butcher, ask them to split the wings for you. Its not that difficult to do it yourself, but its a tad challenging. If you get a package of wings at the supermarket, like the one shown in the below (I got these wings at Kroger), you will likely get whole wings that youll need to split at home.
Seasoning mix: This mix is inspired by my chicken drumsticks recipe. It contains olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Heres an overview of the steps for making this recipe.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use a sharp chef’s knife to split the wings at the joints into three parts – drumettes, wingettes, and tips. Pat them dry with paper towels.
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika into a seasoning paste. Arrange the wings in a 9 X 13-inch rimmed baking dish. Drizzle them with the seasoning paste and use your hands to coat them all over.
Bake the wings uncovered until browned and cooked through, for 60-90 minutes, depending on their size and how hot your oven runs. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a drumette and not touching the bone should register 165°F.
Baste the wings with the pan juices and serve. Look at this perfectly cooked drumettee! I wish you could have a bite. It was sooo good.
Turkey wings are an underrated treasure that deserve a place in your recipe rotation. With the right prep and cook time, they become fall-off-the-bone tender and packed with rich, savory flavor. When cooking turkey wings in the oven at 375°F, timing is key for maximizing their succulence. Follow this complete guide for tips on achieving the ideal bake time for juicy, mouthwatering turkey wings every time.
Determining the Optimal Cook Time
When baking turkey wings at 375°F the recommended cook time ranges from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. This allows the collagen in the wings to slowly break down and the fat to render resulting in wings that are super moist and tender.
Going over 2 hours risks drying out and overcooking the wings. And under 1 hour 30 minutes won’t fully soften the connective tissue. Shoot for 1 hour 45 minutes, then check doneness and adjust the time as needed.
The exact bake time depends on the size of your wings
- 3 oz wings: 1 hour 15 min to 1 hour 45 min
- 4 oz wings: 1 hour 30 min to 2 hours
- 5 oz wings: 1 hour 45 min to 2 hours 15 min
For the best results, choose uniformly sized wings around 3-4 ounces each. Larger whole wings may take longer. Start checking doneness at the lowest suggested cook time for the weight. Then, increase in 15 minute increments until the wings are perfectly tender when pierced with a fork.
Prepping the Wings
Proper prep is key for even cooking and crispy skin when baking wings. Here are some tips:
- Pat the wings completely dry with paper towels. This helps achieve browned, crispy skin.
- Poke holes in the skin with a fork, then rub with spices like garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Arrange the wings in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with foil or parchment paper.
- Brush the wings with olive oil or melted butter before baking. This bastes the wings and keeps them juicy.
Basting and Seasoning
One secret weapon for extra flavorful oven-baked wings is to baste and season them multiple times while they cook.
Every 30 minutes:
- Open the oven and brush wings with melted butter, olive oil, chicken stock or other flavorful liquid.
- Sprinkle more dry rub or brush with a wet marinade. Get creative!
- Rotate the pan. This exposes all sides to heat for even crisping.
Continuously basting the wings means they essentially fry in their own rendered fat. The result is crispy, caramelized skin surrounding tender, infused meat.
Food Safety Tips
When dealing with raw poultry, food safety is critical. Follow these guidelines:
- Cook to an internal temperature of 165°F. Use a meat thermometer to monitor.
- Refrigerate wings within 2 hours of purchasing. Store in the back, not door.
- Thaw frozen wings in the fridge, not counter. Place on a plate to catch drips.
- Wash hands, tools, surfaces after handling raw wings to avoid cross-contamination.
- Discard wings after 3-4 days in the fridge. Freeze for longer storage.
How to Tell When They’re Done
The best doneness test is to use an instant-read thermometer. Turkey wings are safe to eat at 165°F.
If you don’t have a thermometer, look for these signs they’re fully cooked:
- Skin is crispy and golden brown
- Meat has shrunk back from bones
- Joints wiggle freely when twisted
- Fork slides in smoothly when poked
The juices should run clear with no traces of pink when pierced. Remember they’ll continue cooking once removed from the oven.
Serving Suggestions
Oven-baked turkey wings can be served whole for easy finger food. Or, separate the drummets before baking for neater eating. Classic soul food sides like mac and cheese, greens, and potato salad pair deliciously. For lighter fare, roasted veggies and rice pilaf also complement the wings. Don’t forget sauces for dipping like tangy barbecue, cool ranch dressing, or spicy buffalo sauce.
Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave until heated through. They also make killer sandwiches.
With a little prep, these easy oven-baked turkey wings become fall-off-the-bone tender and packed with rich flavor. Follow this guide for nailing the bake time at 375°F every time. Then dig in and enjoy your new favorite easy homemade treat!
Adjust the Cook Time to the Wings’ Size
Turkey wings vary in size depending on the size of the turkey they were taken from. While a 4-pound package of wings will typically contain four medium wings, it can also contain two huge ones, as shown in the photo below. In these wings, each of the drumettes weighed nearly a pound when raw (14 ounces), and the wingettes weighed 10 ounces.
Medium wings need around 60 minutes in the oven. The huge ones will need 75-90 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs. The wings I cooked today needed 75 minutes.
Turkey wings are usually sold whole. As shown in the photo below, they have three parts – drumette, wingette, and tip. Unlike chicken wings that can be cooked whole, these are big, so youll want to split them. Ideally, your butcher will do it for you, but if you bought a package at the supermarket, the wings are likely whole, and youll need to split them yourself.
To cut the wings, cut the skin flap between the drumette and wingette, and then locate the joint between them. You’ll want to cut through the joint and cartilage, not through the bones. As you cut, adjust the knife to make sure you’re cutting through the joint and not attempting to cut the bone. The photo below shows that I cut the drumette away from the wingette through cartilage, not through the bone (that would be impossible!).
It’s Best to Use a Baking Dish
I experimented with baking the wings on a sheet pan fitted with a rack, as shown in the below.
While the skin turned out crispier, and we did enjoy the wings, you can see in the photo comparison below that the meat was a bit drier, especially the drumettes.
So, I recommend baking the wings in a baking dish, not on a sheet pan. When you bake them in a baking dish, theyre baked in their own juices, which helps keep them moist.
You should bake them uncovered for 45-60 minutes to get them nicely browned. Check their temperature, and if they need more time in the oven but appear deeply browned, loosely cover them with foil and keep baking them. The foil will prevent them from burning.
Its best to use a baking dish. This will ensure the wings are baked in their own juices and remain juicy. While a sheet pan would promote skin crispness, it results in drier wings, especially the drumettes. So, if you need to double the recipe, its best to use two 9 X 13-inch baking dishes.
You can discard them, save them for making stock (put them in the freezer if you dont have immediate plans for that), or do as I do, add them to the pan, and roast them. They have very little meat, but its fun to gnaw on them!
Theres no need to flip them. However, after the first 45-60 minutes, you might need to loosely cover them in foil to protect their tops from burning.
When I serve them throughout the year, I like to serve them with a side dish I can bake in the same 400°F oven, such as roasted asparagus, baked shiitake mushrooms, roasted mini peppers, and roasted carrots.
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days. Reheat them uncovered in a 350°F oven. However, this is one of those recipes where the freshly cooked dish is far superior to reheated leftovers.
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Juicy Baked Turkey Wings | You’ll Never Bake Turkey Any Other Way
FAQ
How long does it take to cook a turkey at 375 in the oven?
- Preparing the bird – Heat oven to 375 degrees. …
- Cooking the bird – Estimate 12-15 minutes per pound for stuffed turkeys. …
- Testing for doneness – You can either test by checking the temperature or checking the color of the juices. …
- Finishing off – Remove bird from the oven.
What temperature to cook turkey wings in the oven?
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place turkey wings on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.Nov 8, 2023
How long should wings be in the oven at 350 degrees?
Bake the wings for 60-70 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the wings over. If you are using sauce, add it now. After another 30 minutes, turn them again.
Should you wrap turkey wings in foil?
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Protects from burning:The main reason to wrap turkey wings in foil is to shield the wing tips from direct heat, which can easily burn while the rest of the bird cooks.
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Retains moisture:Wrapping in foil can also help keep the wings moist by trapping steam inside.
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Remove foil near the end:For a crispier skin, remove the foil during the last part of cooking to allow the wings to brown.
How long does it take to cook a turkey wing?
Cooking a turkey wing requires the right balance of time and temperature. To achieve a perfectly cooked wing with crispy skin and moist meat, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and roast the turkey wing for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. 1. Will the cooking time vary with the size of the turkey wing?
What temperature should Turkey wings be cooked at?
The ideal cooking temperature for turkey wings is 375 degrees F. This will help to ensure that the wings are cooked through without drying out. If you are cooking the wings in the oven, you can preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake the wings for the recommended cooking time.
How do you bake turkey wings?
Baking turkey wings is a lot like baking chicken wings. The turkey wings are obviously bigger and will take a bit more time, but the key is to raise the oven temperature at the end of the bake to make them nice and crispy. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
How long do you cook Turkey wings in a frying pan?
Grill the wings for 20 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Deep frying: Deep frying is a good option for cooking turkey wings if you want them to be crispy and golden brown. To deep fry turkey wings, heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Can you cook Turkey wings on a grill?
Grilling: Grilling is a good option for cooking turkey wings if you want them to have a smoky flavor. To grill turkey wings, preheat your grill to medium heat. Brush the wings with oil and season with your favorite seasonings. Grill the wings for 20 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Can You thaw Turkey wings before cooking?
Thaw ahead of time : You can definitely bake turkey wings that have recently been, or are currently frozen. The temperature can remain the same, but the cook time will extend by 30 minutes or so. For really tender and juicy wings though, thaw the wings 24 hours before you cook them.