Make Perfect Chicken Wings
America is in love with Chicken Wings, specifically Buffalo Wings. We shell out hard earned money at restaurants for these tasty morsels. Now I am going to tell you make them at home. They will be just as good (likely better). In these tight economic times, this will, in the long run, save you a lot of money.
Instructions
1. Get yourself a great deep fryer. I own and recommend: T-Fal FR7008002 Ultimate EZ Clean Pro-Fryer Stainless-Steel 2-2/3-Pound Deep Fryer.
2. Head to the grocery store. Preferably a Sam's Club or Costco type store. See the list on the left for items you will need.
The 10 lbs. of chicken wings sounds like a lot. But remember that you do not have to use them all. The bags are resealable and you can just thaw the amount you want.
You will want to use peanut oil to make the chicken wings. It is the best cooking oil for high temperature frying. It also has little (or no) taste added to the food. I always use peanut oil for deep frying. I recommend getting the largest size available. This stuff has a long shelf life. The T-Fal will hold almost 4 liters of oil.
3. Chose a wing sauce. You can make your own, but for the sake of this article I will list a couple off the shelf wing sauces who have proven themselves. Experiment and find the perfect sauce for you.
FRANK'S® RedHot® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce. This is the original chicken wing sauce used in Buffalo, NY. It is a hot sauce, but not overpowering. This sauce is how chicken wings were intended to taste.
Moore's: Honey Bbq Wing Sauce. I found this at Walmart. Its not as spicy and tastes great. It adheres well to the wings. The whole family loved this sauce, including the three year old.
4. Back at home you will need to defrost the chicken wings prior to frying. Some people will tell you that its possible to fry wings while they are still frozen. I find this leads to a chicken wing with an extra done outside and an undercooked inside.
The safest way to defrost the chicken is overnight in the refrigerator.
That being said, when you want wings, you typically can't wait until tomorrow. Here is my method for defrosting on the fly. Get a large container to place the frozen chicken wings in, i.e. big bowl, casserole dish, clean plastic container, etc. Run COLD water over the wings and let them soak in the water. They will defrost in no time.
5. If you have an hour or more prior to frying, I suggest a light marinade of the chicken wings. Don't use anything complex as the marinade may burn in the deep fryer. I recommend olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put the chicken wings in a zip lock bag or other container and coat with the marinade. Note that this is not an essential step.
6. Get the deep fryer going and heat the peanut oil. You will want to heat the oil to 375 degrees. This may take a few minutes. Most deep fryers will have a light to signal when the oil has reached the proper temperature.
7. Place the chicken wings in the fryer basket. Don't over crowd them. They can be have their sides touching, but don't stack them on top of each other. You likely will be frying a couple batches. Don't worry, the 1st batch of chicken wings will stay plenty warm while you do the others. If it doesn't then you can drop them back in the deep fryer for a minute or two to warm them up.
8. Lower the basket into the hot oil and watch 'em cook. Note that sometimes the moisture on the chicken wings will cause some rapid bubbling. If your deep fryer has a cover - use it for the first few minutes to prevent splattering of oil.
Cook at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
9. Drain the chicken wings of oil. I use a cookie cooling rack and some paper bags. Paper towels will more than suffice.
10. Saucing them up. This is the best part because you can almost taste them. Get a large bowl, I like the big metal ones you can get at Sam's Club. Put the still hot wings in the bowl. Add a few pats of margarine and stir to melt. Margarine is the secret to good tasting chicken wings!
Now add the sauce. I would add it in portions stirring until you get the degree of coating to meet your taste. If you like your chicken wings sloppy, add more sauce. If you like them just coated, stop sooner. The important part is to stir until they are coated on all sides.
11. Put the finished on a plate and garnish with celery. You can add small bowls of blue cheese dressing or ranch. With the barbecue wings, I don't like any dressing. But its up to you. Enjoy them and remember to share!
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