NFT--Chicken wings

[ELCHALJE]

Will be serving wings, ribs, and a huge pot of meatballs and sausage for the Super Bowl.  Salad, potato salad, and slaw on the side.

Anybody got a good recipe for wings?  I still don't do them very well.  Looking for hot and spicy.  Thanx!!!!!!

Got a great number of ribs suggestions from you guys a couple of years ago.  Still working through them.  But every one has been better than my previous efforts.

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[UniHamachi]

I've started baking the wings first, letting them cool, and then deep frying them.  It just speeds up the frying part.  I buy fresh whole wings and cut them into pieces myself.  The tips is either discard or use for stock if I'm feeling industrious.  Bake at 300 for 30 minutes just to get them going.  Let them cool and then fry until the skin is crispy.  You can actually do the baking the day before, which is even more convenient.  I will fry the wings in small batches and then re-fry them in larger ones at higher heat.

My classic wing sauce is:

Melt a half stick of butter in a saucepan over med. heat
Press 6 cloves of garlic and let the garlic warm in the melted butter.  Don't let the garlic brown and don't let the butter burn.
Pour in 1 cup of el cheapo hot sauce like Texas Pete's -- the red, vinegary kind.  I'd use Tabasco, but that's just too expensive.
Let that simmer for 10 minutes and whisk all the while.  The sauce turns orange.
Toss the fried wings in the sauce and enjoy.  I like the blue cheese dip more than any bottle of dressing.

For the girls, I just toss the wings in either BBQ sauce or if you can get your hands on some, the Confetti Sauce from Popeye's is great on wings.

[nygsem]

My high cholesterol has helped to dampen my wing appetite recently but when we did make them at home we'd deep fry them.  Never tried pre-baking them first in the oven, though we did throw them in the microwave for the same reason and result.  The sauce of choice, both for a taste and convenience, was the original - Anchor Bar Wing Sauce.  It can be ordered online - http://www.anchorbar.com/catalog/sauces/ 
Wegman's also carries it if you have one nearby. Perhaps other stores do as well..?

[bamagiantfan]

UniHamachi, you have it pretty well down but my approach is a little different.

Franks RedHot® Sauce is the gold standard for Buffalo Wings. Frying them is something that the Anchor Bar did originally and others started doing because it allows them to be cooked to order from raw to done in 10 minutes. I think baking it is actually the best way to cook them and if you are going to bake them for a while anyway Unihamachi, I'd just go all the way and finish them in the oven. The standard RedHot® Sauce recipe is below, with my notes in parentheses.

Franks RedHot Sauce Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
 
2 1/2 pounds chicken wings, split and tips discarded. (Do not use frozen wings! They are 20% chicken stock and as that leeches out while cooking, you wind up boiling them in the oven. They will cook fine but you won't have crispy wings. By fresh wings. They will be cheaper and more tender and it doesn’t take much to get them ready for the oven.)

1/2 cup FRANK'S® REDHOT® Cayenne Pepper Sauce (or more to taste)

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted (but like most recipes, using butter over margarine improves the taste significantly.)

DIRECTIONS:
 
Place wings on rack in foil-lined baking pan. (you will curse mightily when cleaning this pan if you don't line it with foil.)

Bake 45 minutes at 425°F until fully cooked and very crispy, turning halfway (turning is key. Also, do not overcook. If you do they can fall apart as you toss them later. See below. For those who insist on frying, this method actually oven fries them in their own chicken fat on the bottom of the pan. Just something to think about.)

Combine Frank's RedHot® Sauce and butter in large bowl. Toss wings in sauce to coat.

Serve with Celery and a good Blue Cheese dressing. Ranch dressing works well too but it won't take the bite off the hotness of the wings the way the B.C. dressing will. I'm not a blue cheese fan so I like ranch and use a 12 oz. Blue Moon to lessen the bite. 

One more thing – You might want to try adding a capful of white vinegar to the batch as you toss it around. I like it but it is not for everyone and don’t add too much or you’ll burn the nose hairs off your guests.

[UniHamachi]

I do like the crispy crunch from the fried wings, but maybe this Sunday I'll just bake them all the way through and see how it goes.

I dunno, I don't really taste much difference between Texas Pete's or Frank's or Louisiana.  But Frank's is the classic one.

[Chris]

These are not traditional deep-fried, buffalo-style wings (which I love - I use Crystal or Trappey's hot sauce) but they're awfully tasty and easy to make because they bake in the oven and you don't have to worry about them too much. Great hot or room temperature so you could make them ahead.

Take 3 lbs of chicken wings and separate into three portions. Save the tips for soup stock. I have used the tips when I cook a big pot of sauce, too.

Mix 2 TBSP of vegetable oil, 1/2 c. of soy sauce, 2 TBSP of ketchup, a clove of minced garlic, 1 C honey. I usually put the honey in the microwave for a couple of seconds to really make it easy to pour. Be careful, though.

Salt and pepper the wings and put them in a casserole big enough to hold them all in one layer. Make sure you spray the casserole with Pam first.

Pour the above mixture over the wings and bake in a 375 degree oven for an hour. Check to make sure the wings don't burn - either turn the heat down or cover it with foil if it starts getting too dark for you.

They're not spicy but you could definitely doctor them up. If you wanted to kick up the heat on these I would either add crushed red pepper flakes or replace the ketchup with Siracha or an Asian chili and garlic paste. That would raise the temperature for you.

[bamagiantfan]

Frying will guarantee crispy and it is easier. No doubt about that. Your recipe is fine Uni, and I'm a big believer in going with what you know. My recipe is just another option for those who might be cooking them for the first time.

Besides, we are talking about chicken wings here. Its like sex. When it is good, it is really good, and when it is bad.........its still pretty good. 

[UniHamachi]

The baking is much, much easier and less messy than the frying, which is why I'm contemplating the switch.

[Chris]

I've done them in the broiler before tossing them in the sauce. Gives you a semblance of the crispiness you get from frying. Just keep an eye on them.

[DesG89]

I fry my wings just enough so they get that crispy outside but still have some juiciness when you bite in. The King Kullen near my job usually has good deals on Perdue's family pack of wings.

My sauce is a stick of melted butter, half a bottle of El Yucateco (a brand I discovered at the Western Beef in Elmont) XXX habonero hot sauce (believe half is all you need unless you have a death wish. Trust me on this) and an 8 oz. bottle of honey. I like that balance of heat and sweet. toss the wings and enjoy

[UniHamachi]

El Yucateco is the best hot sauce in the world. I was happy as a pig in you know what when I was  able to score a couple of 8oz bottles the other day (it's surprisingly hard to find). I've tried dozens upon dozens of hot sauces and have yet to find its equal.

[GiantFan67]

If I get any, I am going to buy them on game day. All of these recipes sound great, but I have heart burn after reading them!!!

[bighitterdalama]

El Yucateco is the best hot sauce in the world. I was happy as a pig in you know what when I was  able to score a couple of 8oz bottles the other day (it's surprisingly hard to find). I've tried dozens upon dozens of hot sauces and have yet to find its equal.

Perhaps El Yucateco is the second best hot sauce in the world. The best:

Big Hitter's Hot Sauce

(1-2) habanero pepper, depending upon size and desired hotness (one is plenty)
(3) red jalapeno peppers
(6) cloves of garlic
(2) tbs cilantro leaves
(1/2) lime
(1) tbs olive oil
(1) tbs white wine vinegar
(1) tbs water
generous pinch of salt
several grinds of fresh black pepper

No need to cut/chop anything. Shuck the garlic, then throw all the ingredients (including the lime whole) into a blender and liquify. Strain the mixture with a fine mesh sieve. Taste and adjust the seasoning (salt). Done. Makes about eight ounces.   

Now for the wings:

LIGHTLY coat the wings (@ 24 total) with olive oil. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly cover the foil with olive oil. Salt and pepper the wings on both sides and align on the cookie sheet. Do not have the wings too close together as this will affect their individual cooking speed. Place into a pre-heated 375 degree oven. Cook for thirty minutes.

Chop 6-8 cloves of garlic. Melt one stick of butter (8 tbs) with four ounces of olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic. Lightly season with salt and pepper. After about 1/2 minute, add 4-6 ounces of hot sauce according to taste. On low heat, let the mixture come together until uniform. Pour this into a bowl then add the wings. Thoroughly coat the wings, then place the wings on a CLEAN sheet of foil on a cookie sheet. Put the wings back into the oven for 10-15 minutes. Done.

Serve with Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, and four inch long celery sticks. 

Big Hitter


 

[jimv]

DesG89, the mention of King Kullen's ( Are the still arounbd?) & Elmont take me back to my childhood on LI!  I was brought up in Valley Stream, right next to Elmont where my uncle had had a BIG farm that ran across both towns.  Some of my relatives are buried in St. Boniface Cemetary.  Ok, enough of my reminiscing;  back to your wings!

[mbigblue]

If you want to make your own sauce, try this one.  To get it spicier, you can had sambal oelek.  I usually put about 1 teaspoon, not more. 
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4880069052/m/750107672