Chicken Wings

[David Ross]

Last week I was in Las Vegas attending "Vegas Uncork'd," and had the opportunity to stop by Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. We were invited to come for a taste of the offerings at Blue Ribbon in celebration of the re-opening of the restaurant. Last month Blue Ribbon had to shut down due to heavy water damage caused by a faulty fire suppresant system.

Known in some circles in New York for the best fried chicken, I had to give the Las Vegas chicken a taste. Yes, it is very, very good--crispy on the outside, tender and moist meat and a scent and flavor of Japan from the seasonings. It got me thinking about looking at chicken wings in a new way-sans the sticky, sweet, tongue-numbing sauces that "Buffalo" style wings are known for.

When I got home, I searched online for the Blue Ribbon recipe and only found a few general references. But I think I've come fairly close to replicating the orignal at home, a very "un-Buffalo" style wing if you will.

I started by brining the wings overnight in a mixture based on the Thomas Keller recipe-salt, honey, bay leaf, lemon, thyme and water. (Beware of Keller's brine mix, it calls for a LOT of salt).

The dredging mix for the wings calls for a combination of flour and Matzo meal. I combined equal parts of flour and Matzo, then added a few tablespoons of cornstarch for extra crunch. The seasonings call for paprika, cayenne, salt and Japanese togarashi pepper seasoning, (a combination of red pepper, roasted orange peel, yellow sesame seed, black sesame seed, Japanese pepper, sea weed and ginger). The togarashi is Blue Ribbon's "secret" seasoning. I also added some black pepper and smoked paprika for additional flavor.

The wings were deep-fried in peanut oil at 375 for about 5 minutes, then served with a soy sauce, ginger, garlic and green onion dipping sauce.

What are you favorite recipes for Chicken Wings "Beyond Buffalo?"

[heidih]

I am a huge fan of salt and pepper chicken wings from the local take-away. I have not tried to make them at home as I tend to avoid deep frying. Their version sounds like the one posted in this older topic. Everyone fights for the bits of chili and garlic to mix into their rice.

[Nayan Gowda]

Heidi,

I'm not averse to deep frying but tend to avoid it as I prefer to utilise that calorie allocation for my love of cheese.

I make S&P wings by marinating in Soy, then drying off and coating the wings in a mixture of Cornstarch with a little five spice powder added. If you then bake these on a rack in the oven, the chicken fat combines with the coating to turn it crispy. It's never going to be a shattering as double-dredging then deep frying, but it is very passable.

You can then continue with the recipe given in your link.

[Toliver]

There's Got Let Chicken. A chinese dish that uses the wings, sort of like chicken lollipops. See my post here (post #287).

[runwestierun]

I like Thai stuffed chicken wings, but they are alot of work. They are sort of like the lollipop that Toliver mentions, but the lollipop is stuffed. Here is a recipe that stuffs them with pork and noodles, I usually use rice.

http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2009/06/deep-fried-stuffed-chicken-wings.html

I have also made them by pushing the meat up and over the bone of the top section of the chicken wing (drumette) lollipop-style and stuffing that.

My favorite go-to wing preparation is a deep fried wing stirfried in oyster sauce. I marinate the wing sections in soy and ginger, then I dip them in a slurry of seasoned cornstarch and water and deep fry them. Once the wings are cooked I immediately transfer them to a wok and toss them in a mixture of equal parts sugar and oyster sauce. I stirfry for a minute or two, until the sauce is sticky enough to adhere. Then I toss them in a giant handful of chopped scallion greens. Num.

[Dorek]

The best wings I've ever had were in Portland, at Pok Pok. Thai fish sauce wings. Amazing.

[goodkidwe]

I am a big fun of salty and spicy chiken. It tasts delicious and looks not very defficlut to make. I would have a try back my home.

[Borgstrom]

Best wings I ever made were from this recipe:

http://blog.sousvidesupreme.com/2011/02/deconstructed-buffalo-wings/

I made them for Superbowl Sunday, and can't wait to make them again! Boneless chicken wings stuffed with a blue cheese / chicken breast mousse, rolled into a cylinder and sous-vided, sliced into serving-sized pieces and then deep-fried for color and crunch. Yum! I wish I had pictures, but they were consumed before I got the camera out.

[weinoo]

Last week I was in Las Vegas attending "Vegas Uncork'd," and had the opportunity to stop by Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. We were invited to come for a taste of the offerings at Blue Ribbon in celebration of the re-opening of the restaurant. Last month Blue Ribbon had to shut down due to heavy water damage caused by a faulty fire suppresant system.

Known in some circles in New York for the best fried chicken, I had to give the Las Vegas chicken a taste. Yes, it is very, very good--crispy on the outside, tender and moist meat and a scent and flavor of Japan from the seasonings. It got me thinking about looking at chicken wings in a new way-sans the sticky, sweet, tongue-numbing sauces that "Buffalo" style wings are known for.

Is Blue Ribbon really known in "some circles" as the best fried chicken in NYC?

[BadRabbit]

I grill my wings.

I usually coat them in oil and salt and pepper them. After grilling, I toss them in a slightly sweet Asian-style sauce of fish sauce, ginger, garlic, ponzu, kecap manis, brown sugar and bird chiles with a squeeze of lime and spinkle of fresh cilantro at the end. If I'm out of kecap manis, I use hoisin which comes out a little different but still delicious.

I also often mix the sauce above with my Alabama red BBQ sauce and sriracha to mix things up.

Edited to add: I also occasionally make wings with just Alabama white BBQ sauce.

Edited April 26, 2012 by BadRabbit (log)

[Paul Kierstead]

I'm also a big fan of grilling. Last time I brined them, then dried and tossed with some spices (pepper, cayenne and chili powder I think) and grilled. I really really love them this way and they are a summer favourite. Finishing them is always the tricky bit; I don't want a gloopy, crisp-wrecking sauce. The last time they were pretty spicy on their own, so I left them but put hot sauce on the side. That asian-style sauce might make a great dipping sauce, I think I'll try that out.

I also recently tried out doing them SV for about 12 hours and then a quick deep-fry. Served with sauce on the side. These were also quite excellent, and a good indoor alternative.

[Kim Shook]

David - those wings are gorgeous! I really like the flavor of classic Buffalo wings, but can't take the heat - even the 'mild' are too hot for me. When I make them at home, I cut the hot sauce amount way down. For 20 wing segments, I use 3/4 cup butter, 1/3 cup hot sauce, 1 T. soy sauce, 2 T. honey and 1 T. lemon juice. It turns out spicy/sweet and nicely, but not overly, sticky. The togarashi pepper seasoning sounds interesting, but I fear too hot for me. Mr. Kim and Jessica would undoubtably like it, though!

[Kouign Aman]

There've been several references to buffalo wing sauce being sweet.

I am flabbergasted. Its hot, and sour. I have not tasted nor smelled a sweet note to the sauce anywhere I've eaten buffalo wings. Thank goodness!

As for beyond -

wings in oven pan, drench in 50/50 soy / teriaki sauce. Bake at low heat for far too long (250F til the sauce is in danger). The chicken ends up changing texture, becoming kind of weirdly fudgy. Very popular at potlucks. I havent made these in ages.

[OliverB]

I'm surprised by the sweet buffalo wings as well, my sauce calls for Frank's Red Hot Sauce and melted butter (it's on the back of the bottle) and is really quite good, but not sweet by any stretch of the imagination.

I make wings quite often, since my little girl loves "chicken with bone", I either make them on the Big Green Egg or on a baking sheet in the oven. I don't bread them though, I marinate them in what ever is handy or comes to mind, the Buffalo Sauce is served on the side so the kids can take as much or little (or none) as they like. Any left over sauce hardens nicely in the fridge and is great on sandwiches too!

I don't have a deep fryer and deep fry so rarely, that I generally avoid it, since I don't want to throw that much oil out, but also don't want it in the fridge.

They still come out great and crunchy, fat and skin seem to do that :-)

[ChrisTaylor]

The wings in David Chang's book. You brine, smoke, confit and saute them. Then hit them with tare. Awesome.

[Heartsurgeon]

I make my buffalo wings using turkey wings!!

I also use Togaroshi spice as the seasoning agent.

remove the skin, brine the wings, sear in a saute pan, finish in the oven, liberally coat with togaroshi spice.

one is a meal!

you can get the wings really cheap, at Whole Foods of all places!

[ElsieD]

Note to David Ross. Any chance you could post the recipe? It sounds delicious.

[emilyr]

My family's favorite wing recipe started with this Martha Stewart recipe, but morphed. Now, we generally marinate in soy, chili, dry mustard, and garam masala; then grill; then toss in a glaze of oyster sauce, garam masala, plum jam, grated ginger and dry mustard. I think the glaze came from another recipe that my mom saw on TV somewhere. We also almost always serve this with grilled scallions and asparagus with soy. I don't remember if that was part of one of the recipes, but it's a regular summer dinner for us.

[Wapi]

My BBQ wings are a hit every time I invite people to a garden party.

I inject them with whisky, sprinkle them with a bit of salt and black pepper and put them on the grill on highest heat for about 1,5 minutes on each side, then lower the heat to the lowest setting until they are done.

For the sauce:

Crushed garlic, a little bit of soja sauce, grated ginger, basil, chives, thyme, rosemary, honey, pepper, salt, a bit finely chopped red chilli's and some olive oil. Stir the ingredients until you have a nice consistency. If it is too runny, I tend to add a bit more fresh spices, so that the sauce sticks better to the chicken. (I have no standard ratios for the ingredients, I just adjust to taste)

When the chicken is done, brush the sauce over the chicken wings when still on the heat so that the honey can caramelize a bit. I tend to put all the wings in one big bowl and pour the remaining sauce over the wings.