2014 Cooking Club Week 31: Baked Buffalo Wings

Hey everyone!

So you know those totes amazeballs wings you get in places like TGI's and The Woolshed that there are never enough of?! I do...

I love those wings.. Like, really love those wings.. I would marry those wii... Well.. Let's not go THAT far, but I do have an unhealthy addiction. I live rural (and frugal) these days, so I can't afford to eat out much. And as I mature and I cook more, I find that I am much more conscious about what goes into the food I eat. I am very curious, so I tend to try and re-create stuff I have in restaurants at home.

This is probably one of the best I've ever managed. If my fiance had not already proposed to me a couple of months before I first made these, I think he would have fallen on two knees and tried to put an onion ring on it! Hehe!

I should also make you aware, that although this is a baked recipe, it is still fairly heavy on the butter. So have sparingly. (Or in my case, when said fiance turns up home on a Friday night with a bag of butcher's chicken wings and a pleading look on his face. Which lucky for me isn't too often!)



So, to business!! These marinade anywhere from 4 to 24 hours, the longer you can leave it the better! coming into X-Factor season, the GAA finals and stuff it's a handy recipe to be able to turn to when you have guests. Although you may have them turning up at your house more often.


Ingredients:

For the Marinade:

3 Garlic Cloves, crushed.
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons of Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Paprika
1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
2 sticks of celery, cut into thirds.
4 Tablespoons of Franks Hot Sauce
3 Tablespoons of honey.
1 Tablespoon of Liquid Smoke. (If you don't have it, don't worry. I have just bought some recently and I'm still toying with measurements for it.)
1.5KG of chicken wings.

For the Wing Sauce:

1 and a half tablespoons of white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/8 of a teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 of a teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce
6 Tablespoons of Frank's Hot Sauce
6 Tablespoons of butter.

Method:

In a large bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, celery, hot sauce, honey, liquid smoke and a couple of cracks of black pepper.

Add the chicken wings and get your hands in there and COAT those mo-fo's so your hands look like they murdered the orange dude from the Tango ads.

Cover the bowl in clingfilm, put it in the fridge and leave it there to marinade for a minimum of 4 hours. I normally leave over night if I can, but 4 hours is just enough.

Heat the oven to 180/GasMark 4.

Drain and reserve your marinade.

Spread wings on a very large baking tray, bake for 30 minutes, then take the wings out and drain off all the excess oil.

Add the reserved marinade and toss well.

Increase the temp to 200 degrees/GasMark 6.

Return to the oven and cook for a further 25 minutes, tossing a few times to coat well in the glaze. There should be minimal marinade left when you take them out.


While the wings are back in the oven snuggling up with the marinade, take a saucepan and combine all of the ingredients for the sauce in it on a medium heat.

When the butter is fully melted, let the sauce heat through and just as it is about to start boiling, reduce heat to minimum just to keep the sauce warm.


When you remove the wings from the oven, let them cool for a few minutes and serve in a large bowl. Combine just enough sauce for the wings to be coated and serve. You won't need all the wing sauce so you can freeze that for next time, or serve it on chicken breasts or whatever you want.

Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.


Enjoy Peeps!