Culinary Class: Hot Wings

For our last lab, we covered poaching. To do this we poached chicken wings until they were tender, then deep fried them until brown and crispy. We made a Buffalo-style sauce to coat them.

Poaching is the process of cooking food in liquid that is just below the boiling point, typically between 165 and 185 F. For the wings, they were poached in water flavored with white wine vinegar, bay, thyme, onion, and garlic. They poached about thirty minutes, then were drained and allowed to cool.

We then dredged them in flour mixed with cornstarch and seasoned with granulated garlic, salt, and pepper. They were then deep fried in hot oil until golden brown and crispy.

Just before serving, they were tossed with a Buffalo-style sauce made with butter, Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce, vinegar, onions, and garlic.

These were really good wings. The sauce was hot enough to get your attention,. without being so hot you couldn't taste anything.

As always, all recipes courtesy of Chef Joe Orate.

Recipes

Chef Joe's Poaching Liquid for Chicken Wings

1 Qt. water
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. whole thyme
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Chef Joe's Flour for Chicken Wings

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup corn starch
2 Tbsp. granulated garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Chef Joe's Spicy Wing Sauce

1/8 onion, minced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 oz. + 3 oz. by wt. butter
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt 1 oz. of butter. Sweat onion and garlic until tender in butter. Add vinegar and hot sauce to pan, bring just to a simmer. Remove from heat, while continuously whisking, add remaining 3 oz. of butter a little at a time. Continue until butter is completely incorporated.

Happy Eating!