I love chicken wings. Yes, a moment on my lips, forever on my hips, but totally worth it. On the first weekend of college football Anthony and I decided to make our own. He loves buffalo wings. I don't. Buffalo sauce, is heat without a purpose. We were swept off our feet by this Bobby Flay recipe of hot wings with bleu cheese and yogurt sauce. I love Bobby Flay's food! I love his spicy, bold flavors and simple techniques.
These wings are probably the best wings I have had, EVER. And yes, I have had a lot of wings. These are spicy but not too hot. The three different kinds of pepper and honey create a unique blend of smoky sweetness that explode in your mouth. Regular wings from your fave bar will bow to these fabulous concoction. I kept my creativity to a minimum while working with this recipe. Bobby knows better. I cut down on the butter. The sauce just has so much flavor that a little less butter won't be noticeable.
To satiate my football-and-wings companion, we made a batch of buffalo wings also. Basically we tossed the wings in Frank's Red Hot Wings sauce. That's all. Simple is not always as good as the following recipe.
Ooooh cheese (sauce):
1 cup greek yogurt
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tbsp finely chopped onion (any would do, we think)
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Los wingos:
1 lb organic chicken wings split to drums and flats
1 quart peanut oil
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
The most delicious sauce EVER:
2 tbsp ancho chili powder
2 tbsp chipotle chile in adobo (available at the Hispanic food section in large grocery stores)
1 tbsp Mexican style chili powder
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
1/2 stick unsalted butter cut into small pieces (original recipe calls for 1 stick)
Stir all the ingredients for the bleu cheese sauce together. Taste. Adjust if needed. Place in a Tupperware container. Refrigerate.
Make a puree of the chipotle chile (I put a little more than what was called for because I love the flavor of chipotle and it doesn't give a lot of heat) with the vinegar. In a saucepan simmer the chipotle-vinegar along with 2 tbsp ancho and the Mexican style chili over medium heat. Once bubbly, turn the heat down to low. Whisk in the butter, mustard, salt and honey until the butter has melted and the mixture is even and smooth and has a nice shimmer. Taste it. Lick your lips. Pretend that it needs "something" and taste again. Repeat. Set it aside if you can.
Heat 2" of oil in a large deep pan. This is actually a lot of oil. We were unpleasantly surprised to discover that. Use a deep fryer if you have one. Mix the flour, 2 tsp ancho, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large-ish bowl. The oil takes a while to heat up, so you can actually coat all your wings with the flour mixture, tap excess flour and line the wings up (in an assembly line fashion) ready to be dipped into the oil. Ideally you are supposed to heat the oil to 375 degrees F. We didn't have a deep fry thermometer. We probably overheated the oil because as soon as our sous-chef dropped the first batch of wings into the pot, the hot bubbling oil started smoking and both the smoke alarms went off. We dropped everything, safely, and ran to wave kitchen towels next to the alarms to make the infernal things to stop blaring. Finally they stopped and our arms hurt from all the towel waving. Hopefully you can skip this frantic step completely. The wings were nicely frying themselves in the pot in the meantime. Phew! Fry the wings for about 8-10 mins. It's chicken, so better to fry a little longer just to ensure that it's cooked through. Remove the wings from the oil with a slotted spoon. Paper towel the wings to soak up excess oil.
Toss the wings in the hot sauce in a large bowl. If you are not going to eat the wings immediately, neatly place them on a large baking dish or cookie sheet and keep them in a warm oven.
When you are ready, scoop up some of the bleu-cheesy yogurt-y cilantro-ey goodness with a few celery sticks. When you know you have had enough veggies for the day (one or more celery pieces), go for the wings. You are welcome!
These wings are probably the best wings I have had, EVER. And yes, I have had a lot of wings. These are spicy but not too hot. The three different kinds of pepper and honey create a unique blend of smoky sweetness that explode in your mouth. Regular wings from your fave bar will bow to these fabulous concoction. I kept my creativity to a minimum while working with this recipe. Bobby knows better. I cut down on the butter. The sauce just has so much flavor that a little less butter won't be noticeable.
To satiate my football-and-wings companion, we made a batch of buffalo wings also. Basically we tossed the wings in Frank's Red Hot Wings sauce. That's all. Simple is not always as good as the following recipe.
Ooooh cheese (sauce):
1 cup greek yogurt
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tbsp finely chopped onion (any would do, we think)
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Los wingos:
1 lb organic chicken wings split to drums and flats
1 quart peanut oil
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
The most delicious sauce EVER:
2 tbsp ancho chili powder
2 tbsp chipotle chile in adobo (available at the Hispanic food section in large grocery stores)
1 tbsp Mexican style chili powder
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
1/2 stick unsalted butter cut into small pieces (original recipe calls for 1 stick)
Stir all the ingredients for the bleu cheese sauce together. Taste. Adjust if needed. Place in a Tupperware container. Refrigerate.
Make a puree of the chipotle chile (I put a little more than what was called for because I love the flavor of chipotle and it doesn't give a lot of heat) with the vinegar. In a saucepan simmer the chipotle-vinegar along with 2 tbsp ancho and the Mexican style chili over medium heat. Once bubbly, turn the heat down to low. Whisk in the butter, mustard, salt and honey until the butter has melted and the mixture is even and smooth and has a nice shimmer. Taste it. Lick your lips. Pretend that it needs "something" and taste again. Repeat. Set it aside if you can.
Heat 2" of oil in a large deep pan. This is actually a lot of oil. We were unpleasantly surprised to discover that. Use a deep fryer if you have one. Mix the flour, 2 tsp ancho, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large-ish bowl. The oil takes a while to heat up, so you can actually coat all your wings with the flour mixture, tap excess flour and line the wings up (in an assembly line fashion) ready to be dipped into the oil. Ideally you are supposed to heat the oil to 375 degrees F. We didn't have a deep fry thermometer. We probably overheated the oil because as soon as our sous-chef dropped the first batch of wings into the pot, the hot bubbling oil started smoking and both the smoke alarms went off. We dropped everything, safely, and ran to wave kitchen towels next to the alarms to make the infernal things to stop blaring. Finally they stopped and our arms hurt from all the towel waving. Hopefully you can skip this frantic step completely. The wings were nicely frying themselves in the pot in the meantime. Phew! Fry the wings for about 8-10 mins. It's chicken, so better to fry a little longer just to ensure that it's cooked through. Remove the wings from the oil with a slotted spoon. Paper towel the wings to soak up excess oil.
Toss the wings in the hot sauce in a large bowl. If you are not going to eat the wings immediately, neatly place them on a large baking dish or cookie sheet and keep them in a warm oven.
When you are ready, scoop up some of the bleu-cheesy yogurt-y cilantro-ey goodness with a few celery sticks. When you know you have had enough veggies for the day (one or more celery pieces), go for the wings. You are welcome!
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