Where There's A Wing, There's A Way!

Every now and then,
you just want some fried chicken.

 Today, I'm making buffalo wings for my little Hawthornelet-
with a hot buffalo sauce,
a tangy coleslaw, and a most delightful bleu cheese dip.

Ahhh.  
The wings of buffalo!

Buffalo wings, so the story goes,
were invented in 1964 by Teressa Bellissimo,
proprietor of the Anchor Bar, in Buffalo, New York.
The bar received a delivery of chicken wings
instead of necks which were used in their spaghetti sauce.
To avoid wasting the wings,
Bellissimo concocted a bar appetizer,
  with the result being the wings we know and love today.

 First, I cut off the tips.

 I put the wings in a storage bag

along with a marinade:

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup Texas Pete

Place the bag in a bowl and refrigerate,
massaging the meat once in a while,

being sure the marinade gets all over the meat.

Marinate at least an hour.

Mine stayed in the marinade for three hours.

Do not throw those tips away!

Place in freezer bags, label, and date.

Save them for making your own chicken stock.

And, believe me, you haven't lived until

 you've tasted your own homemade chicken consommé.

 Next, I'm making a bleu cheese dressing

for dipping the wings.

 

 Rosie's Bleu Cheese Dressing

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 TB lemon juice

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce

pinch Kosher salt, to taste

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled

Mix all together.

Cover and refrigerate and let the flavors meld.

After an hour or so,

taste test and adjust seasonings if necessary.

 I always like to add a little extra ground pepper and greenery on top.

Next, I'm making a cabbage and lettuce slaw -

a little cool to tame the Buffalo Sauce a bit.

 

Cabbage and Lettuce Slaw

2 cups sliced lettuce

1 cup sliced cabbage

2 TB buttermilk

1 TB lemon juice

1 TB mayonnaise

1 TB roasted red pepper, chopped

1 TB rice vinegar

1 TB sugar

1 TB chopped chives

1 TB chopped scallions

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

sprinkling of celery seed 

Mix together all except lettuce and cabbage.

Taste test and adjust seasonings if needed.

Pour dressing over tossed cabbage and lettuce slices.
Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.
Taste test again.

Those peppers are from a big batch 

Mr. Hawthorne canned last fall.

The lettuce is a nice addition to this slaw.

After marinating the chicken for 3 hours 

in a buttermilk and Texas Pete mixture,

I shook two wings at a time in cornstarch, 

kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper.

I use peanut oil for deep frying.

Never crowd the pan when frying.

It lowers the temperature of the oil

and you'll end up with greasy food, not crisp.

If the oil isn't hot enough,

the oil will reach the chicken before

a protective crust forms, making the chicken greasy.

If the oil is too hot, the exterior will overcook

before the interior is properly cooked.

When the oil is at the proper temperature,

the breading on the surface will quickly form a protective shield, 

preventing the oil from penetrating the chicken.

The temperature of my oil ranged between 325° and 350°.

I fried the wings for 8 minutes -

crisp on outside and juicy on the inside.

Drain on paper towels.

Lastly, I made a quick Buffalo sauce.

Rosie's Buffalo Sauce

6 TB unsalted butter

4 TB Texas Pete

1 TB Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce

1 TB white vinegar
1/4 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 - 1/2 tsp of cayenne

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

In a small saucepan, melt butter.

Stir in rest of ingredients.

Serve warm.

Is that not some beautiful fried chicken?

Normally, for Buffalo chicken,

you'd toss the wings with the hot sauce;

however, I prefer to dip.

I would like the Wings of Buffalo please!

Rosie Makes Buffalo Wings And Chicken Lollipops. Part 2.

Today, I'm making chicken lollipops and buffalo wings.

I know.

I know.

 I just did Chicken Lollipops

 
 and Buffalo Wings.

These are going to be different.
Kinda. 

 I've been asked by a certain Hawthorne

who prefers to remain nameless

to make Buffalo Wings.

 If you look at the anatomy of a chicken wing,

you'll see it has 2 joints and 3 sections.

 

Cut through each joint.

You have the wing tip on the left

(Put it in your Chicken Parts freezer bag
and save to make stock later.),

the Buffalo Wing in the center,

and the little drumstick on the right.

So, whenever you buy chicken wings,

you will have two different pieces of meat to cook -

...  the drumstick and ...

...  the Buffalo Wing.

I put my Buffalo Wings in a plastic bag

and added Texas Pete and buttermilk.

Roughly equal parts.

Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

 

 For the batter for the Buffalo Wings,

I'm using:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 corn starch

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp hot Hungarian paprika. 

 Mix all together.

 

 Coat Buffalo Wings in flour mixture,

shaking off excess.

Fry in 325° oil (I use peanut oil.) for 4-5 minutes,

until nicely browned and cooked through.

As always, remember not to crowd the pan.

 

Drain on paper towels.

Now, I'm making oven-baked Chicken Lollipops.

With a small knife,

cut the meat at the tip, rotating the bone.

Scrape the meat towards the opposite end,

cutting off as much skin as you can.

Pull the meat inside out over the end.

I dredged the lollipops first in a flour, salt, and cayenne mixture.

Then dipped in melted butter.

Coat thoroughly in the butter.

Place on baking sheet.

These went into a 425 degree oven for about 50 minutes.

Turn halfway through.

Drain on paper towels.

 Rosie's Hot Dipping Sauce
1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup Texas Pete

1 TB white wine vinegar

Combine in a small saucepan

and heat until butter melts.

 Rosie's Bleu Cheese Dip
2 heaping TB mayo

2 heaping TB sour cream

1/2 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 garlic, minced

 1 TB rice vinegar

chunk of bleu cheese, crumbled

I served the chicken with pretty steamed green broccoli.

 Chicken lollipops.

Buffalo Wings with Texas Pete Dipping sauce.

Buffalo Wings with Bleu Cheese Dip,

which would be a terrific dip for crudités.

Dem's some good eats.

Rosie Makes Buffalo Wings #1.

Rosie is making Buffalo Wings today.

Sit back and enjoy.

When you buy chicken wings,
you get two different chicken parts to enjoy.

If you look at the wing,
there are two joints and three parts.

Chop through each joint.
The wing tip on the far left goes into
my Chicken Parts freezer bag for making stock.
The middle part is going into my Buffalo Wings today.
The little drumstick on the right
will be giving it up for Chicken Lollipops.

Buttermilk and Texas Pete bath.

Thirty minutes or so.

Set oven to 400 degrees.

Breading mixture
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
freshly ground salt and pepper
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp hot Hungarian paprika

Coat the chicken in the breading mixture.
Set pieces on a baking sheet and refrigerate for one hour.

Dipping Mixture
1 stick butter, melted
5 small garlic cloves, minced
Heat butter and garlic over low heat.

Dip each chicken mid-wing in the butter and garlic.

Place pieces on baking sheet covered in foil
 and bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.

After 20 minutes, turn the pieces over.

Serve with parsley and cilantro.

Meat was very juicy.

Nice crunch on the outside.

And, well, it is butter.

Enjoy.