eG Cook-Off #88: Wings

[Duvel]

3 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I've seen ostrich meat - but it's usually ground or what they call "loin".  It's delicious, but expensive.  I'd imagine the wings are used in the ground meat.  Maybe someone could contat an ostrich farm and save a couple wings from the grinder?

You can mail order …

 

https://www.americanostrichfarms.com/products/ostrich-wings

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

You can mail order …

 

https://www.americanostrichfarms.com/products/ostrich-wings

2-3 lbs per wing!  Wow. 

[lemniscate]

There were ostrich "ranchettes" all over here years back.  Was some kind of get-rich-quick agri-scam.   Then everyone moved onto the Alpaca agri-scam.   I'm waiting for the Bactrian camel version, then I'll bite.  I love Bactrians.

Edited January 30, 2022 by lemniscate (log)

[chromedome]

1 minute ago, lemniscate said:

There were ostrich "ranchettes" all over here years back.  Was some kind of get-rich-quick agri-scam.   Then everyone moved onto the Alpaca agri-scam.   I'm waiting for the Bactrian camel version, then I'll bite.  I love Bactrians.

Up here it was emus. There's one hardy survivor still showing up at the local farmer's market. A few places have llamas or alpacas as well, and one sells the prepared alpaca wool directly to crafters.

[heidih]

4 hours ago, Duvel said:

I wasn’t joking - in fact, I found a source for those in the US (link in my introduction post). For me it would be very interesting how ostrich wings compare - I mean ostrich meat is red, very much akin to beef. Can you imagine „beefy“ wings ?! Think of the possibilities 🤗

 

I would not worry about their „uselessness“. Farmed chickens use their wings most likely even less that ostriches, so texture should be fine and not too tough …

 

What I was getting at was that they DO use their wings to move their heavy bodies so I thought of @Shelby 's husband's comments on her not using the wild duck wings from his hunted ducks unless he was in the mood to chew rubber bands. I had a rhea which body type wise is close to ostrich - seen Ethel run and those wings were flapping. Perhaps you've seen the feral ones in NE Germany. Anyway - not on my bucket list although your comment on them perhaps having a beefy flavor intrigues. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhea_(bird)

[Duvel]

3 hours ago, lemniscate said:

There were ostrich "ranchettes" all over here years back.  Was some kind of get-rich-quick agri-scam.   Then everyone moved onto the Alpaca agri-scam.   I'm waiting for the Bactrian camel version, then I'll bite.  I love Bactrians.

I had Bactrian camel a couple of times when I was visiting Xinjiang province in China. Tasty lean meat, only had it braised with plenty of spices. Sweeter version of beef comes to mind …

 

But for this Cook-Off, you‘ll need to bite into ostrich*
 

*or any other avian variety of choice.

[BonVivant]

(Copy and pasty here. Previously posted to lunch and dinner threads)

 

The marinade: chipotle, Madeira, my own mix of "fajita seasoning". Cooked SV then finished in the oven till crispy.

 

 

The second version is a bit different. The wings were steamed in the marinade.
The marinade: fermented black beans (not rinsed, roughly chopped), Taiwanese "BBQ sauce", salted mustard and Madeira wine.

 

Ate this meal with noodles (not pictured).

 

Miso-Madeira marinated flat wings.

 

Lemongrass-fish sauce-Madeira marinade.

 

Remove the cartilage, crape flesh down with a small but not flimsy knife and twist off the smaller bone. Make sure to sharpen the knife before starting. Marinate the wings overnight, best to smear the marinade all over the inside and out.

 

I make this every summer and cook on the Weber in the garden.

 

Udon noodles

 

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, Duvel said:

I had Bactrian camel a couple of times when I was visiting Xinjiang province in China. Tasty lean meat, only had it braised with plenty of spices. Sweeter version of beef comes to mind …

 

But for this Cook-Off, you‘ll need to bite into ostrich*
 

*or any other avian variety of choice.

Here sonme restaurants used to market beef ribs as dinosaur bones so I’m wondering if we can push ostrich wings by renaming them  pterodactyl  wings. You might at least get the  Little one excited at the idea. 

[heidih]

6 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Here sonme restaurants used to market beef ribs as dinosaur bones so I’m wondering if we can push ostrich wings by renaming them  pterodactyl  wings. You might at least get the  Little one excited at the idea. 

Me thinks that boy is way too smart to have that wool pulled over his eyes

[dcarch]

20 hours ago, heidih said:

Can you explain the dehydrate step purpose?

 

The dehydrating part serves two purposes, both are good for making crispy skin. I set the temperature high so it also renders the fat while drying. 

 

10 hours ago, Duvel said:

Nice ones, @dcarch! I think we had a few of those precook/dry/crisp combinations and though laborious they seem to yield results …

 

I was wondering about your wings: I have not come across „full wings“ here so far. Even in the ethnic market (that are more Mediterranean/middle eastern here), wings are sold without the tip. Where do you source yours ?

 

It sounds laborious, but all it involves is just turning the machine to "ON".

I got those wings from Shoprite here in NY.

 

dcarch

[Okanagancook]

I have been searching for a video of Jacque’s technique for taking the bones out of flats.

 

 

makes it very easy if you have the right kind of wings.  The tips make great stock.  Click on the blue box and it should play.

[sartoric]

It was almost exactly 5 years ago in the before times, that we visited the Indian state of Kerala.

 

I made this last night, wings in a mild curry flavoured with tamarind and coconut. Served with turmeric rice, an orange avocado salad, tarka dal and mixed veggies from the garden. The veg included New Guinea beans (which are not from New Guinea and are not beans), carrots, okra and green beans. This dish also flavoured with tamarind and quite fiery. 

[heidih]

13 minutes ago, sartoric said:

It was almost exactly 5 years ago in the before times, that we visited the Indian state of Kerala.

 

I made this last night, wings in a mild curry flavoured with tamarind and coconut. Served with turmeric rice, an orange avocado salad, tarka dal and mixed veggies from the garden. The veg included New Guinea beans (which are not from New Guinea and are not beans), carrots, okra and green beans. This dish also flavoured with tamarind and quite fiery. 

Beautiful meal. So what is the end texture of the skin?

[sartoric]

8 minutes ago, heidih said:

Beautiful meal. So what is the end texture of the skin?

It’s not crisp, soft I guess. 
I made the curry sauce first, fry mustard seeds, add pounded ginger and black pepper, blended onions and green chillies, curry leaves, sliced garlic, loosened with coconut milk then add the wings and potatoes. Tamarind goes in last with a sprinkle of garam masala.

[heidih]

40 minutes ago, sartoric said:

It’s not crisp, soft I guess. 
I made the curry sauce first, fry mustard seeds, add pounded ginger and black pepper, blended onions and green chillies, curry leaves, sliced garlic, loosened with coconut milk then add the wings and potatoes. Tamarind goes in last with a sprinkle of garam masala.

Thanks - not being a flaccid skin fan I was hoping for some magic. But your flavors!

[ElsieD]

Here is my humble offering (should have cleaned the plate up before I took the picture).

 

Chicken wings boiled for 7 minutes in salted water,  fished out of the pot and put on a rack inside a sheet pan.  They were dried then  refrigerated uncovered for 24 hours.  They were then tossed in a mixture of oil, ground cumin, smoked Spanish paprika and chili powder.  Baked for 25 minutes, in a 450 oven turning at the halfway mark.  On the side for dipping was homemade Scotch Bonnet hot sauce cut with butter.  The recipe came from

https://www.onceuponachef.com/

 

These wings were crispy and stayed crispy.  I did not care for the spice mixture but that's easy enough to fix.

Edited February 6, 2022 by ElsieD
Included oven temp (log)

[KennethT]

8 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Here is my humble offering (should have cleaned the plate up before I took the picture).

 

Chicken wings boiled for 7 minutes in salted water,  fished out of the pot and put on a rack inside a sheet pan.  They were dried then  refrigerated uncovered for 24 hours.  They were then tossed in a mixture of oil, ground cumin, smoked Spanish paprika and chili powder.  Baked for 25 minutes, in a 450 oven turning at the halfway mark.  On the side for dipping was homemade Scotch Bonnet hot sauce cut with butter.  The recipe came from

https://www.onceuponachef.com/

 

These wings were crispy and stayed crispy.  I did not care for the spice mixture but that's easy enough to fix.

I wonder what the purpose of the parboiling step is...

[ElsieD]

22 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I wonder what the purpose of the parboiling step is...

 

This is from her web site:

 

Parboiling the chicken wings renders excess fat and guarantees the wings bake up nice and crispy.

[Smithy]

I'd never have thought of boiling the wings first. I may have to try that. @ElsieD's wings look delicious!

[ElsieD]

1 minute ago, Smithy said:

I'd never have thought of boiling the wings first. I may have to try that. @ElsieD's wings look delicious!

 

Want some sauce?

[Duvel]

36 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

This is from her web site:

 

Parboiling the chicken wings renders excess fat and guarantees the wings bake up nice and crispy.

It’s interesting how many preparations ask for this precooking (in combination with a overnight drying step). And it seems to work …

[Dave the Cook]

31 minutes ago, Duvel said:

It’s interesting how many preparations ask for this precooking (in combination with a overnight drying step). And it seems to work …

 

Yeah, Alton Brown calls for it, too, although he steams the wings, and only rests them for an hour. I assume that precooking works, since so many people do it, although I don't think the 7-10 minutes that are usually prescribed are long enough to have the intended effect. OTOH, I've never tried it, and never really felt the need to. 

[heidih]

Just now, Dave the Cook said:

 

Yeah, Alton Brown calls for it, too, although he steams the wings, and only rests them for an hour. I assume that precooking works, since so many people do it, although I don't think the 7-10 minutes that are usually prescribed are long enough to have the intended effect. OTOH, I've never tried it, and never really felt the need to. 

 

Reminds me of old school rib cooking - the par-boil and then fnish with sauce. I did it because it was a thing - then I wised uo and stopped. Low and slow - finish high

[Smithy]

33 minutes ago, Duvel said:

It’s interesting how many preparations ask for this precooking (in combination with a overnight drying step). And it seems to work …

 

I think it will be interesting to compare parboiling, as in ElsieD's preparation, with the precooking in 300F oil that the Buttermilk & Bourbon recipe uses. If the results are the same, I'd much rather go with water...but, as Dave and Heidi just mentioned, maybe neither step is important. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I wonder what the purpose of the parboiling step is...

 

It's also the Westermann method for roast chicken.    Par"poaching', that is.