Buffalo Wings

 

Hello, internet.  It's nice to be back.  The bar exam is finally over and I'm back in the world of the living.  It's a good thing California is so beautiful, or else no one would sit through a three-day bar exam.  The exam seemed to go well, though I'll let you know for sure on May 14th.  We don't find out until 6PM on the 14th, so I have to sit through the whole day at work freaking out.  I much preferred finding out at 9AM in New York so you just came into work a few minutes late and knew that you could play hookey if you found out bad news.  Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and for those of you who had to put up with me for the past couple of months! 

Back to the blogging.  I promised you buffalo wings and I'm bringing you buffalo wings.  Now, I'm not a wing person, because I don't eat spicy food, and that's generally the main purpose of wings (right?).  John loves them, which explains why they made it onto our Valentine's Day table.  This recipe is great because it's really easy and actually a bit healthier because you don't fry the wings.  Notice I said healthier and not healthy.  Steaming, chilling, and then roasting results in super crispy wings.  You won't even miss the frying! 

  

I started with 12 whole chicken wings, which came to about 2 pounds.  First you cut the wings in half at the joint, separating the "drumette" from the "other thingie."  Then chop off the tip of the wings; you can discard the tips or save them for making stock.  Now steam the wings for 10 minutes in a large pot fitted with a steamer basket and filled with about 1 inch of water.  Be sure to cover the pot...just in case you aren't quite sure what steaming is.

  

After 10 minutes of steaming, place the wings on a cooling rack over a paper-towel lined baking sheet.  Pat them dry.

  

Cool in the fridge for about 1 hour to help dry them out.  Then tell your husband he isn't allowed to go into the fridge to get his diet cokes because otherwise he will ruin the dinner surprise. 

  

Remove the wings from the fridge and replace the paper towel with parchment paper.  Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes and then flip the wings and roast for another 30 minutes.  Make sure to wait until the skin is golden and crispy.

  

Did you know that the reason wings are so unhealthy are because the wing sauce is made of butter?  This was news to me, but every recipe I looked at called for butter.  The recipe called for 6 tablespoons of butter with 1/4 cup hot sauce.  This made more sauce than we actually needed, so I'd probably use 4 tablespoons of butter next time. 

 

Hot sauce v. BBQ sauce.  You can guess which bowl is mine.

  

Melt your butter in the microwave and contemplate how you now realize why wings are so popular.

  

Combine the melted butter with 1/4 cup hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 cloves of pressed garlic in a large bowl.

  

Throw in your crispy wings and toss thoroughly with a pair of tongs. 

  

I feel like I work at Buffalo Wild Wings or something.

Come on, you know those look like professional wings, people.  Granted, I didn't serve them in a plastic basket, but I did put a roll of paper towels on the table.  John loved 'em, and that's all that matters.  I enjoyed my BBQ wings too, and yes the two of us were able to go through 12 wings no problem.  In case you were wondering.

Buffalo Wings

By Alton Brown

12 whole chicken wings, 2-3 pounds

4-6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup hot sauce (Frank's)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Paper towels, for the mess

Fill a large stock pot with one inch of water and place a steamer basket inside the pot.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Meanwhile, remove the tips from the wings and separate the drumette from the other half at the joint using kitchen shears or a large knife.  Discard the tips.  Steam the wings for 10 minutes and pat dry.  Place on a cooling rack resting on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet.  Cool the wings in the fridge for an hour to dry them out.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Remove the wings from the fridge and replace the paper towel with parchment paper.  Roast the wings for 20 minutes and then flip and roast for another 30 minutes until crispy and browned.  Meanwhile, melt 6 tablespoons butter in the microwave and combine with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup Frank's hot sauce, and 2 cloves pressed garlic in a large bowl.  When the wings are done remove from the oven and place in the large bowl with the sauce.  Toss well with tons and serve with plenty of paper towels handy.