Chicken Wings Demystified

Hoisin Chili Chicken Wings.  Photo by Rob Robitaille

When people talk about wings, they always talk about the sauce and gloss over the flavor and texture of the actual wing.  There is much more to chicken wings than the sauce.  Seems to me that the places that sell wings forget that and, instead, put the sauce in the spotlight.  But, the sauce is supposed to compliment the chicken wing.  If it is a good chicken wing, one could argue that it really doesn't need sauce. I admit that I am kind of a chicken wing snob.  I think that most places under-cook their wings.  Granted, they are done and safe to eat, but the meat still clings to the bone and you have to put a bit of effort in gnawing on them.  I hate that.  A lot.  I know a lot of people that go fore the boneless wings, which aren't wings at all.  When I ask them why, I get the same answer; they don't like gnawing on bones.  I contend that you shouldn't have to work at chicken wings, if made properly.  And to be made properly, you need to have your head in the game.

Chicken wings are one of those intuitive things that you can't simply slap a temperature and time on and, all will be well, and people will cheer your name and make toasts to you all night long.  There is a fine line between tender, pull-off-the-bone goodness, and past tender, kind of dry, but still falling off the bone wings.  Let us not forget about the above mentioned not-so-tender-stuck-to-the-bone-yet-done-enough-to-be-safe-to-eat wings.  So, what's the secret?  Practice, practice, practice.  Also, don't fall into the pitfall of underestimating these things because they are so small and simple looking.  They take a fair amount of thought to do properly.

The sauce is ancillary to the whole process.  If you like creating your own sauces, like I do, then do it.  Go crazy.  But if that is not your bag, then find yourself something from the market that you enjoy.  Ultimately, you are going to make chicken wings, not sauce with chicken wings.  To start with, you need wings.  I usually buy a family pack of wings for me and my wife and usually can get one meal with left-overs.  The wing is made up of three parts: the drumette, flat, and the tip. Like most wing restaurants, I split my wings into the three parts.  The tips go into a vacuum bag and are saved for stock.  The rest is dinner.

Next, I dredge them in a mixture of flour, cornstarch, and salt.  Some could argue that you don't need this step, but it is up to you.  Then, I fry them in canola oil at a temperature of around 350-360.  Typically, they will take about 16-20 minutes depending on how big the wings are.  I start to really pay attention to them at around 15 minutes and check for color and how much steam is still rolling off the deep fryer.  Again, this takes practice.

While they are frying, I dig out my huge stainless steel bowl.  I have never measured, but it has to be at least 20" across with very slopped sides, which is perfect for tossing the wings in the sauce.  Then I add some sauce to the bowl, and when the wings are done, in they go for a nice bath of sauce and out on the plate.

I know of few people who make their own wings, and it is a shame, really.  Yes, you need to deal with some kind of deep fryer and the left over oil, but it is worth it.  With a little practice, you can make better wings than the restaurants.

Sweet and Sour Spam - Just Because

Photo by Rob Robitaille

Nothing makes sense these days.   I walked past our koi pond on the way to my truck, which sits outside the garage because my motorcycle is out and ready to go...if it ever warms up.  The pond was mostly frozen over again and I had to scrape off the windshield because we had record (or near record) lows last night.  I would love to see some warm rain instead of sleet, snow, and ice.  May is just a few days away, dammit!  But not everything that fails to make sense is a bad thing.

The other evening, after working on some remodeling projects, I realized that it was getting late and I hadn't eaten.  As it would happen, I didn't have any meat that wasn't frozen.  So, I started looking through the freezer for something that would thaw quickly and satisfy my craving for meat.  Nothing.  I was just about to give up when I spotted it sitting on my pantry shelf.  A can of Spam.  Now, there appear to be two groups of people in the world, those that love Spam and those that hate Spam.  But, after talking to enough people over the years there are actually four:

1. Those that love Spam and are proud of it.  They may even ask a person at the grocery store where the Spam is, even though they know exactly where it is.  It is their way of letting everyone know they eat Spam and are not ashamed of it.
2. Those that hate Spam, and really do.
3. Those that say they hate Spam, but have never even tried it.
4. Those that say they hate Spam, but enjoy it at home, with the curtains drawn.  They buy it at the store, looking around to make sure no one sees them, then they snatch several cans, put it in their cart and cover it up with the organic tofu and soy milk.  The only person that sees it is the cashier, so they nervously tell them that it is for their grandmother, who just "loves the stuff" because she grew up during the war.

I digress.  So, Spam in hand, my next step was what to do with it. Sweet and sour Spam!  Just what I really wanted, I came to realize.  I think I saw this on a travel show once, but can't remember exactly.  The beauty is that it is really simple, and to my surprise, was very delicious indeed.  After all, isn't cooking all about creativity?  It kind of makes sense, but kind of doesn't, which usually means it has to be good.  It just shows you that you can make something out of seemingly nothing.  What's next?  Maybe Spam Parmesan from the M*A*S*H episode Too Many Cooks.

Poutine and Things a la Poutine

A variation on Poutine.  Photo by Rob Robitaille

There are a lot of foods that make perfect sense, foods that go together like they were made for one another; ham and eggs, macaroni and cheese, pizza and beer. French fries, gravy, and cheese curds?  Maybe not so much.  Of the people I have talked to, they fall into two distinct groups: those that love poutine and those who have never heard of it.  And most of the people who have never heard of it seem to always say the same thing like "Huh, that doesn't sound like it goes together."  But, take it from the poutine lovers of the world, it does go together and it's really good.

Poutine is a popular French Canadian invention, but outside of Canada, even in a bordering state like Minnesota, most people have never heard of it.  In its pure form, poutine is fries with cheese curds and gravy.  The method of how the fries are cooked, the type of curds, and the style of gravy are hotly debated and I don't think I can really add much to that debate, nor do I want to.  However, even in its birth place, there are many riffs on it, even as over-the-top as lobster poutine.  All I know is that poutine is great and if there was a place that sold poutine near my favorite watering hole back in college, I would have been there a lot.  I can't think of anything else that goes better with, or after consuming large quantities of beer.  In fact, poutine can be fairly complex in flavor and a properly matched beer can push it to a whole new level.

The "poutine" pictured above is made from some basic fries, cheddar curds, and the left over braised beef chuck roast from my previous post.  As long as you don't care, that no matter what riff you choose to make, it will always be wrong in the eyes of the self proclaimed poutine purists, the sky is the limit.  

Poutine

• French fries
• Cheese curds
• Gravy

Place a pile of hot fries on a warm plate (I think a small cast iron pan looks cool and keeps the fries warm longer).  Place a hand full of curds on the fries and top with steaming hot gravy.  This will help melt the curds.  Serve with a suitable beer.

Riffs on the gravy:

• Braised beef chuck roast (like I did)
• Left over pot roast, shredded, with carrots, potatoes, and gravy
• Beef stew
• Chicken a la king (Then you could call it chicken a la king a la poutine. HA!)