I meant to post this up the other day. Id had this strange craving for American Style Buffalo Wings but, being in the UK, going out to buy some wasnt an option. Even restaurants that supposedly sell buffalo wings dont quite get them right. That meant doing the usual Google search for a recipe and giving it a go. It didnt turn out too bad, I think, even though I didnt follow the recipe particularly closely. First up... Prep the oil in your deep fryer and set for 180°C/350°F then move on to the batter. The Batter: 1.5 Cups Plain Flour 1.5 Cups Cold Water 1.5 Tablespoons Corn Flour 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt 1 Teaspoon White Pepper Before mixing in the water I added some stuff that wasnt in the batter recipe: 1 Tablespoon Paprika 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper 1 Tablespoon Mustard Powder 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano The batter needs to be mixed up to a fairly thick but smooth consistency so use a large whisk if you need to. The chicken pieces need to be cleaned properly then dried with paper towels before they can be dredged in the batter. Not having them dried will prevent the batter from holding on to them. (I shouldnt need to explain about why the chicken should be cleaned or how to do it properly, especially if you like to cook.) Now the trick with this, or at least the first trick, is that the chicken needs to be cooked twice. Once your oil is at the right temperature take your chicken and, one at a time, dredge the pieces in the batter and place slowly into the fryer. Do NOT drop the pieces in unless you have a really deep fryer. I only have a tabletop deep fat fryer and it simply isnt deep enough for the batter to seal up before the chicken piece hits the bottom of the basket. That means the batter then sticks to the basket because its still a semi liquid. If you place the chicken slowly and carefully in (using tongs or something) then the batter has a chance to cook/solidify a bit and then wont stick. My fryer is also very small so it could only accommodate 2 wings or 1 thigh at a time so cooking in batches was the only way to go. The first stage of cooking should be until the batter is just about golden brown. Take the piece out when it hits this point, not any later, and allow to drain off the excess oil on either some kitchen paper or a raised wire rack like the ones in baking trays. If youre cooking a lot the rack in the tray idea works really well as the excess oil will be caught and can be re-added to the deep fryer later. Make sure that you work systematically so that you know which pieces were first in the fryer so that they can go back into the fryer first. Once the chicken has gone through the first stage you can either start frying your double/triple cooked chips or you can start on the second frying stage for your chicken. The second stage starts with the chicken that went into the fryer first. They shouldve cooled but not gotten cold (if its cold in your house then allowing them to rest inside a pre-warmed oven instead of on a counter would work just fine as long as the oven is off). Cooking this time is to make sure the chicken is fully cooked throughout. If you have a meat thermometer then check online for what temp chicken is supposed to be at and for how long. Ive never had a meat thermometer so Ive never looked for that info. As such I go from previous experience as to how long I can cook before the piece is cooked all the way through and Im not afraid to cut open a test piece to make sure the meat juices run clear and that theres no uncooked insides. Once Ive made those checks its a lot easier to cook the rest of the chicken without having to cut open each one. Oil temp should be the same throughout the cooking so dont worry about changing it. Topping up the oil level might be necessary depending on how much youre cooking. The sauce: I got a bottle of Franks Red Hot Wings Buffalo Sauce from my local Costco. The taste was right as far as I can remember the taste being. I cant really handle hot spiciness anymore so I didnt drown the wings in the sauce like I wouldve in my youth (I guess I got a bit wimpy in my old age). Instead I got a dish and used it like a dipping sauce. It still burned a hole in my stomach but at least I had some decent double cooked chips/fries and some cool salad with some ranch dressing to stop my stomach from going thermonuclear. All in all a good first attempt at buffalo wings (and thighs ;) ) which I wont be afraid to try again in the future.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 22:05:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015