Solar Lacquered Turkey Wings

Lacquered Turkey Wings

Turkey wings were on sale and I just couldn't resist. Having worked with chicken most of the year, I'd forgotten that turkey wings are BIG! I had to cut these up and just use the 'drumstick' portion, saving the rest for another scrumptuous meal.  (Hey! I'm just quoting my sister... ) Add a garden-fresh salad, garden fresh sweet potatoes and beets for the sides and this turned out almost too good for company! So good, it's been entered in Prairie Story Recipe Swap Thursday #33. Check out some other great recipes there, too!
Fresh salad took nothing more than a trip to my garden and combining three lettuce varieties, some young chard, spinach, green onions, garnished with store-bought carrot. If you've never had a fresh from the garden
salad, there is no way to describe that taste but, if you get the opportunity, do not turn this experience down. A fresh salad is pure heaven.

I wanted a sauce that would not only be sweet, tart, mellow and bursting with flavor, but it had to stick to the wings, too. Piece of cake. Just opened my handy-dandy spice and herb door and started concocting. (I'm up to my elbows, this month, so this will be short and sweet.)

Let's get started with the Turkey Wings. Wash, cut up, and dry your 'drumsticks,' and then brown in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.

Using a take-away foil pan, just because I had one and they are so disposable, I placed the browned turkey legs into an oven bag and then into the foil pan.

Then, we make the sauce that turns these two big legs into sheer temptation! In a medium mixing bowl, combine 1/2 tsp each: cinnamon, coriander, star anise, mace and ginger. Add 1/4 tsp each: ground cloves, nutmeg, garlic powder. Blend all together and add 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tsp olive/grapeseed/sesame oil, 2 tspns corn starch; stir thoroughly and let sit for about 15 minutes for sauce to thicken. Pour over turkey legs and move around until totally coated. Seal bag with pull-through tab or, my favorite, a rubber band! Place in SolarWear(tm) Carrier and bake in preheated solar oven for approximately 40 minutes, turn wings in bag to coat other side and return to oven for another 35-40 minutes until sauce is sticky and wings are cooked.  Garnish with tops of green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

 I was able to bake the sweet potatoes at the same time in the solar oven because I used a rectangular covered loaf pan. Cleaned and pared the sweet potatoes, then sliced them on a mandolin and put them in the loaf pan with enough water to reach just a little over 1/4 way up the pan. When done, added 2 Tablespoons of butter, 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar, a pinch of salt and pepper, and mashed them right in the pan.  The beets were also sliced on the mandolin and baked in a pint-sized canning jar.