How Long to Cook Turkey Wings in a Crock Pot

8 hours on LOW is the dependable starting time for turkey wings in a crock pot. Wings need their own timing rather than a slow-cooker turkey-breast schedule, and the safest finish is confirmed with a meat thermometer.

What You’re Cooking	Crock Pot Plan
Raw, thawed turkey wings	Cook covered on LOW for 8 hours
Checking doneness	Probe the thickest meat, avoiding bone
Fully cooked smoked turkey wings	Reheat gently rather than treating them as raw wings

Tender wings come from the slow, covered cook, while the liquid in the pot becomes a ready-made sauce or base for gravy. Start with thawed wings, keep the lid closed during cooking, and use a thermometer instead of judging by color alone.

How Crock Pot Turkey Wing Timing Works

Turkey wings need their own slow-cooker timing; a turkey-breast recipe is not a substitute.

Turkey breast is leaner and cooks differently from bone-in wings, which contain more connective tissue and benefit from a longer, gentle cook. For comparison, a slow-cooker wild turkey breast recipe cooks on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. That breast timing should not be used to shorten a batch of wings.

A standard wing batch cooks well at a low setting because the meat has time to soften and pull cleanly from the bones without drying out. The cooking liquid also helps prevent the exposed parts of the wings from becoming tough.

Wild-harvested turkey wings can be prepared this way, too.

How to Cook Turkey Wings in a Crock Pot

Turkey wings cook in a crock pot on LOW for 8 hours, until tender and reaching 165°F in the thickest part.

Step 1: Prepare the Wings

Use 2 pounds of fresh or frozen turkey wings.
Remove packaging, trim away loose skin or sharp bone fragments if needed, and pat the wings dry with paper towels.
Wash your hands, cutting board, knife, and sink area after handling the raw poultry. Do not rinse the wings; splashing rinse water can spread raw poultry juices around the kitchen.

Wing sections may be whole or separated into drumettes and flats. Separating them can make serving easier, but it is not necessary.

Step 2: Add Seasoning and Cooking Liquid

Arrange the wings in the crock pot in as even a layer as practical.
Season them with your chosen rub, pepper, garlic, herbs, or other flavorings.
Add the sauce, broth, or prepared onion-soup liquid called for by your wing recipe. For an onion-soup version, mix the soup mix with water using the proportions printed on its packet before pouring it over the wings.
Put the lid on securely.

The wings do not need to be submerged. Slow cookers trap steam, and turkey wings release juices as they cook. A broth- or soup-based liquid gives you flavorful drippings for serving over rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, or dressing.

Step 3: Cook on Low

Set the crock pot to LOW and cook the wings for 8 hours.
Leave the lid closed while they cook. Frequent lid lifting releases heat and can delay the finish.
A turkey-wing recipe designed for a substantially different batch size or a heavier sauce or ingredient load may need its own timing.

The wings should look deeply cooked and feel tender when pressed with tongs. Tenderness is useful for judging texture, but it is not the food-safety check.

Step 4: Check the Internal Temperature and Serve

Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of a wing, avoiding contact with bone.
Cook until the meat reaches 165°F.
Transfer the wings to a serving platter, then spoon some of the pot liquid over them or serve the liquid on the side.

I use a meat thermometer here because the bones and dark meat make surface color unreliable.

If the wings have reached 165°F but are not yet as tender as you want, return them to the covered crock pot and continue cooking until the meat loosens easily from the bone. Slow cooking is as much about tenderness as it is about reaching a safe internal temperature.

Step 5: Crisp the Skin if You Want It

Slow-cooker turkey wing skin will be soft, not crisp. For browned skin, move the cooked wings to a foil-lined broiler pan, brush with some of the cooking liquid or sauce, and broil while watching closely until the skin browns.

Broiling is only a finishing step. Confirm the wings are fully cooked with the thermometer before moving them under the broiler.

Make Smothered Turkey Wings

Smothered turkey wings are simply slow-cooked wings served in a thickened gravy made from their cooking liquid. Onion soup, broth, mushrooms, garlic, and herbs all work well as the flavor base.

After the wings are cooked:

Move the wings to a platter and keep them warm.
Carefully pour the cooking liquid into a saucepan, leaving behind any large pieces of skin or bone.
Whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with cold stock until smooth.
Bring the cooking liquid to a gentle simmer, then whisk in enough cornstarch slurry to make a spoon-coating gravy.
Return the wings to the gravy or spoon the gravy over the wings before serving.

Serve smothered turkey wings with mashed potatoes, rice, egg noodles, cornbread, or roasted vegetables. If the gravy tastes overly salty, especially when using soup mix or smoked wings, balance it with unsalted stock rather than adding more seasoning.

Cook Frozen or Smoked Turkey Wings

Frozen Turkey Wings

Do not place frozen turkey wings directly into the crock pot. The slow cooker may warm the meat too gradually, leaving it in an unsafe temperature range for too long.

Thaw frozen wings in the refrigerator first, preferably in a rimmed container that catches any drips. Once thawed, treat them as raw wings: season them, add cooking liquid, cook on LOW, and check the internal temperature before serving.

Avoid thawing wings on the kitchen counter. If you need a faster thawing method, use a food-safe method that keeps the meat cold and cook it promptly afterward.

Store-Bought Smoked Turkey Wings

Read the package carefully before cooking smoked turkey wings. Some are fully cooked and only need reheating, while others are smoked but still raw and must be fully cooked like fresh wings.

For fully cooked smoked wings, place them in the crock pot with broth, beans, greens, cabbage, or another moist dish and reheat them gently. Check that the center reaches 165°F before serving. Their smoky, salty flavor makes them especially useful for seasoning soups, beans, and braised vegetables.

For smoked wings that are not labeled fully cooked, thaw them if necessary and prepare them as raw turkey wings.

Store and Reheat Leftover Turkey Wings

Let leftover wings cool, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Include some of the cooking liquid or gravy in the container to help keep the meat moist.

For oven reheating:

Put the wings in an oven-safe dish with a little of their sauce or cooking liquid.
Cover the dish to reduce drying.
Reheat at 400°F for at least 10 minutes, until the center reaches 165°F.

You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave in a microwave-safe covered dish. Remove bones before using leftover turkey wing meat in soup, sandwiches, tacos, gumbo, or turkey-and-rice bowls.

For your next batch, start with thawed wings, plan on a LOW cook, save the drippings, and decide before serving whether you want tender soft skin, browned skin, or smothered wings with gravy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you cook turkey wings in a slow cooker?

Yes. Use raw, thawed wings, add seasoning and a moist cooking liquid, then cook them covered on the LOW setting. Check the thickest section with a meat thermometer before serving.

How many calories are in turkey wings?

Turkey wings do not have a single calorie count. Wing size, skin, cooking method, sauce, and the amount of edible meat all vary, so the calorie count depends on the wings and preparation.

Is it good to cook a turkey in a crock pot?

A crock pot is especially good for turkey parts such as wings, drumsticks, thighs, and breast pieces because they fit easily and stay moist in a covered environment. A whole turkey is practical only if it fits comfortably under the lid and can be checked for safe doneness with a thermometer.