Wings

Not the show, but the delicious sinful spicy greasy confection.

These wings are different.  These wings are special.  These wings aren't deep fried.  They're baked. 

Don't worry though.  Baked wings can be good.  I daresay they can be great.  All you have to do is follow this method.

Cook's Illustrated published a recipe for extra crispy roast chicken about a year ago that caught my eye.  You sprinkle a mixture of baking powder and salt on the skin to dry it out.  Michael and I were inspired, and thought it would work well for an oven fried buffalo wing.  We did it last Super Bowl with great results, so we decided to do it again.

We bought whole chicken wings and cut them into their respective pieces: drumettes and the wing, or flat 2 boned part.  It's actually pretty easy to do this with a very sharp paring knife.  Just cut off that little wing tip, then separate the two pieces at the joint.  I didn't get a good picture of the butchering portion, as chicken juice was all over the place.

Michael mixed up the drying mixture.

The ratio is 1 tablespoon of salt to 1 teaspoon of baking powder.  I'm pretty sure he doubled the recipe, as we were making a lot of wings.

Just toss the mixture with the wings:

And lay them out on a sheet pan.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Note: I think these wings were a little crowded, which meant that they weren't as dry as they could have been.  Make sure your wings have enough room to really dry out.

Place your wings on a rack over your cookie sheet- this is another key.  The wings will stick less and cook more evenly with the even air flow. 

Bake the wings at 425˚ until they're brown and crispy, flipping halfway through cooking.  It may take up to 45 minutes.

We were taking our wings to a party, so we transported them unsauced in an aluminum pan.

As for the sauce, we went with Cook's Illustrated.

Franks red hot is absolutely the way to go.  We could only get extra hot, so we mixed that with some "Crystal" hot sauce, whose flavor was definitely sub par.

Cook's Illustrated's wing sauce also included some brown sugar.

Another note: we had the sauce simmering on low as the wings cooked.  I think that was another mistake- the flavors concentrated and the sweetness was amplified resulting in wings that were a little too sweet.  I didn't mind it actually but a certain someone called our wings "honey mustard" and that really hurt our feelings.  SO don't let your sauce cook any longer than it takes to melt the butter and combine the ingredients, you'll be just fine.

When we got to the party we put the wings under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp them back up and tossed them with the sauce.  I loved the really browned ones, so you might want to broil your wings for a minute or too also.

And now for some homemade blue cheese:

I'm pretty sure I was the only one who really enjoyed this, because Michael doesn't like blue cheese at all.  He did say this was really good, despite the blue cheese, so it must be excellent blue cheese dressing.  It certainly is 1000 times better than the bottled kind.

Mash 3 tablespoons of buttermilk with 2.5 ounces of crumbled blue cheese.  They didn't specify, but I bought Danish, because it was on sale.

Mash that up with a fork until it looks like cottage cheese.

Add 3 tablespoons sour cream, 2 tablespoons mayo (must be Hellman's) 2 teaspoons vinegar, and stir to combine.

Serve with the ubiquitous celery and carrot sticks.  We just did celery.

We served a little extra sauce on the side, just in case.

I loved these wings.  Despite the fact that they weren't as crispy as they could have been and the sauce was a tad too sweet, they still were really great wings.  And taking out the deep fat frying made it relatively easy, if not a bit healthier.  I mean, just ignore the butter in the sauce, and the crispy chicken skin, and these are practically a health food.  I kid.  But they could be worse.


Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
by a Player and her Playa (heheh)
(inspired by Cook's Illustrated)


For the Wings:

Chicken Wings (I'd say about 1 1/2 whole wing per person, or three pieces)
1-2 tablespoons salt (depending on how many wings)
1-2 teaspoons baking powder (see above...)

Toss the butchered and dried wings with the salt and baking powder and place on a cookie sheet in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to over night.

Bake on a rack over a cookie sheet at 425˚ for about 40-45 minutes, turning once, until the wings are golden brown and crisp.

For the Sauce:

4	tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2	cup hot sauce , preferably Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce
2	tablespoons Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce, plus more to taste
1	tablespoon dark brown sugar
2	teaspoons cider vinegar

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in hot sauces, brown sugar, and vinegar until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.


When ready to serve, you can toss the wings with the sauce, or you could broil the wings to reheat them, then toss with the sauce.

Serve with  
Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing:

2 1/2	ounces blue cheese , crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
3	tablespoons buttermilk
3	tablespoons sour cream
2	tablespoons mayonnaise
2	teaspoons vinegar

Mash blue cheese and buttermilk in small bowl with fork until mixture resembles cottage cheese with small curds. Stir in remaining ingredients (up to carrot and celery sticks). Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Can be covered and refrigerated up to 4 days.

Make some wings.  They're good.

Playing,
Meredith