AFTER DOWNING A plate of stuffed
turkey wings at Laura’s II in Lafayette,
Louisiana, I knew I had to bring this
idea into the test kitchen. The massive
wings—meaty, browned, and braised to
tenderness—were served with a scoop
of rice but without the Cajun-style
gravy that blankets many versions of
the dish. This particular “plate lunch”
was offered only on Wednesdays until
current owner Madonna Broussard took
over the restaurant and decided to serve
it every day (see “A Louisiana ‘Plate
Lunch’ Original”).
These wings are called “stuffed,” but
if you’re imagining Thanksgiving-style
stuffing, you’re on the wrong track.
Instead, the wings, split into flats and
drumettes, are slit open and stuffed with
cloves of garlic and a powerful mixture
of spices.
The spice mix at Laura’s II was, and
remains, a secret. I knew I’d have to
create my own. I started with three
spices that were unmistakable in the
version I’d eaten: paprika, cayenne, and
granulated garlic, which added a savory,
less-sharp garlic flavor to the fresh
cloves. From there, I tinkered my way
to adding onion powder, celery salt, and
of course, salt and pepper. I carefully cut
slits in both the drumette portions and
the flat portions of the wings and then
rubbed them inside and out with the
spice mix before stuffing halved garlic
cloves into the slits.
I set a Dutch oven on the stove and
browned my wings on both sides. This
step helped render some of the fat from
the wings and created a layer of fond
in the bottom of the pot. What’s more,
I found that the searing step helped
temper the cayenne’s raw heat to create
a more complex chile flavor.
Once the wings were browned, I
transferred them to a plate so I could
make a roux with the fat left behind.
Cooking ¼ cup of flour in this fat for
just 3 minutes gave me a beautiful
caramel-colored roux. This would be
the base of my braising liquid (and
eventually my gravy, which—with
all due respect to the stuffing—is the
thing that really makes this dish).
I tossed chopped bell pepper, onion,
and celery (aka the “Cajun holy trin-
ity”) into the pot to soften with some
smashed garlic cloves and fresh thyme
plus a bit more of the spice mix. After
5 minutes, I added chicken broth,
brought everything to a simmer, andreturned the wings to the pot. I covered
the pot, slipped it into a low 300-degree
oven, and let it go for an hour.
At this point I was nearly power-
less against the gorgeous aromas in the
kitchen, but I knew I wasn’t there yet.
Fortitude! I flipped the wings and re-
turned the pot to the oven for 45 more
minutes, at which point the meat was
falling off the proverbial (and the literal)
bone. While the turkey was finishing
I cooked up some rice, whose primary
function would be to soak up that gravy.
Once the turkey wings were cooked
through, I moved them to a plate and
put the pot on the stove for 7 minutes
over high heat to further thicken the
gravy. I plated up scoops of rice with
turkey wings positioned on top and then
ladled that impossibly flavorful gravy
over it all. The gravy oozed its way into
the rice, delivering deep flavor to every
open space.
Once I had an all-in-one forkful
of tender turkey meat and rice satu-
rated with my Cajun-style gravy, I was
straight back in Lafayette.STUFFED TURKEY WINGS
Serves 4
Serve with rice.SPICE MIX
1¾ teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepperTURKEY
4 (12- to 16-ounce) whole turkey
wings, cut at joints into flats and
drumettes, wingtips discarded
12 garlic cloves, peeled (8 halved
lengthwise, 4 smashed)
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
3 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper- FOR THE SPICE MIX: Combine
all ingredients in bowl. Measure out
1½ teaspoons spice mix and set aside. - FOR THE TURKEY: Adjust oven
rack to middle position and heat oven
to 300 degrees. Make one 1-inch-long
incision, about ½ inch deep, on either
side of each drumette bone and one
2-inch-long incision, about ½ inch
deep, between bones on underside of
each flat. Sprinkle wings inside and out
with remaining 4 teaspoons spice mix.
Stuff 1 piece halved garlic into each
pocket of each drumette and 2 pieces
into pocket of each flat. - Heat oil in Dutch oven over
medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add wings and cook until browned
on both sides, about 10 minutes.
Transfer wings to plate. Reduce heat
to medium and add flour to fat left in
pot. Cook, stirring often, until roux is
caramel-colored, about 3 minutes. - Add bell pepper, onion, celery,
thyme, smashed garlic, and reserved
spice mix and cook, stirring occasion-
ally and scraping up any browned bits,
until vegetables are just beginning to
soften, about 5 minutes. - Stir in broth and bring to simmer.
Nestle wings into broth mixture.
Cover, transfer pot to oven, and cook
for 1 hour. Remove pot from oven and
flip wings. Cover, return pot to oven,
and continue to cook until tender,
about 45 minutes longer. - Transfer wings to clean plate. Bring
gravy to boil over high heat and cook
until slightly thickened, about 7 min-
utes. Off heat, season with salt and
pepper to taste. Return wings to pot and
gently turn to coat with gravy. Serve.
Illu
str
ati
on
:^ J
ay
La
ym
an
Cajun 6WXĮHG 7XUNH\:LQJV
This little-known Cajun classic deserves a bigger audience.
by Bryan RoofDon’t look for
traditional bread
stuffing here; these
wings are “stuffed”
with halved garlic
cloves instead.Slits for Stuffing
We cut slits in both the flats and the
drumettes (below) and then season the
wings with our potent spice mix before
stuffing the slits with halved garlic cloves.FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 13