The Great Chicken Adventure

Greetings Foodies,

I know it's been some time since I've posted. Apologies, apologies all around. This time I'm back with a vengeance, which means two posts back to back. At least that's what I'm thinking at the moment. Either way, some of you may recall the food odyssey that was Super Bowl XLIII. I experimented, rather successfully if I say so myself, with frying chicken wings and turning said wings into delicious hot morsels. I'd like to tell you a little bit about my experience, and perhaps share with you some words of wisdom. I had never butchered chicken wings before February 1. It required a sharp knife, nerves of steel, and well, wings. Being raised a vegetarian I have, sadly, little to no experience in preparing meat. Removing the tips and cutting each wing in half was definitely a strange adventure. That step made me somewhat squeamish, especially the part when I took the wings and moved them like they were still attached to the chicken. Ewww-hahaha-ewwwww. Either way, be glad to know I showed no mercy.

Anyway I guess I'll just kind of go over what I did. I can't say this recipe lends itself to a step-by-step sort of thing.

After you get over yourself and cut through bones (you will in cutting the wings, or you could buy pre-cut wings, I won't judge you....yes I will) you will get a "drummette" and a "double-bone"

Lay out the thawed (important step, take them out hours before doing this) drumettes and double-bones (the wings you cut in half) and salt them to remove some of the moisture.

You'll also want to heat your oil to 375º (note: Many recipes I read stressed the importance of having the oil at a certain temperature. Initially I thought that was going to be easy, but once I started throwing wings in hot oil I could barely see through the haze of smoke that emerged. What I'm trying to say is that I had a thermometer (see right) and I tried to keep it around that temperature, but shit, it certainly didn't and the wings tasted fine.)

Once the oil reaches 375º you're ready to fry! Put a decent number of wings in, I started with around 6. You want to be careful not to put too many wings in at once because that will cause the oil's temperature to drop.

Anyway, use a wooden spoon (see right) to make sure they're getting fried all over. I would highly recommend tongs for placement and removal.

Once they are done, meaning they've been in the oil from 6-8 minutes and are golden brown, carefully remove them with the tongs. I made sure to cut at least one in each batch open to make sure that they wee completely done. I blame the paranoia of poisoning one of my guests on the overcookedness of my first few batches, better safe (and charred) than sorry, that's what I always say. Please notice the sheer terror in my face.

Place the golden brown wings on top of some paper towels to remove some of the excess oil. Once they've rested for a few minutes, I just put them directly into the sauce.

Let them soak up the hot fiery goodness and then plate them with blue cheese and celery.

The sauce is a simple affair: two ingredients. In a saucepan combine equal parts Franks Red Hot and butter. That's it. Seriously. The two will combine into your standard wing sauce.

Let's see, some take-aways from this recipe:

• Oil temperature, although important, can be inconsistent without terrible results.
• Make sure you have the right tools (read: tongs).
  
• Don't be intimidated by a large CAULDRON of BOILING HOT oil. Apron is recommended.
  

Thanks for reading.
-El Pollo Loco