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buffalo wings
I love buffalo wings. There’s no two ways about it. Yeah, I don’t mind the buffalo tenders and the buffalo chicken salads and sandwiches, but it’s the wings I really love. I’ve tried wings all across the great nation, every where I go, in search of the perfect wing. And I’ve come close to perfection. Drover’s Inn in Wellsburg, West Virginia, makes the best wings by far, so good that I once had a friend passing through the area pack a few orders in a cooler for the 11 hour drive back to Salem. But how do I bring the perfect wings home without driving across country?
In my mind, there are two different elements to doing buffalo wings right: the method and the sauce. Some wing recipes have you bake them, which leaves them with soggy and mushy skin. Some recipes grill the wings, which can be okay, but can result in dry, over-cooked chicken and burnt skin. Deep-frying seems best, but you have to avoid turning them into greasy cholesterol missiles aimed straight at your aorta.
While the jury’s still out on the perfect sauce (a simple mixture of hot sauce, butter, and vinegar is a good starting point), I think this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated hits the method right on the button. (I’m just going to write up the method now and will come back with a good sauce recipe later; if you’re hankering for one now, try 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted and mixed with 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, a couple of dashes of Tabasco, and 2 tsp cider vinegar for starters.)
Ingredients:
3 pounds chicken wings, cut into section, tips removed
1-2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp table salt
3 Tbsp cornstarch
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat 2-1/2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to a temperature of 360 degrees over medium-high heat. Mix cayenne pepper, black pepper, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Dry chicken with paper towels and place in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the cornstarch mixture over it. Mix together with a spatula until the wings are well coated. Fry half of wings until they are golden, brown, and delicious, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer wings to the baking sheet using a slotted spoon or tongs and put them in the oven to keep warm. Repeat for remaining wings.
When they are done, toss in a large bowl with your sauce and serve with blue cheese dressing and carrot and celery sticks.
The cornstarch coating provides a crisp and chewy exterior and keeps the peppers in close contact with the chicken during cooking, providing spicy flavors even before you add the sauce. And the cornstarch gives something for the sauce to grab onto so that it doesn’t just run off onto your plate.
Step one of my perfect wing plan is complete. Now on to step two… Oh, and the recipe for those “perfect” Drover’s hot wings? I asked about it once and the owner offered to sell it to me ... for $80,000. If only I had that much to spend.
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