Elephant & Castle chicken wings? Read first post!

aoa321 · 27-02-2004 2:04pm #1

Hi,

Does anybody know how they make / have a recipe for the very tasty chicken (buffalo) wings from the Elephant & Castle restaraunt in Dublin's Temple Bar.

Mod Edit (Dec 2012): Posters have long figured out the recipe! Please read through the thread to find it. You'll get laughed at if you post announcing you've figured it out, as if you're the first to have done so .

alastair · 27-02-2004 2:20pm

I've been told it involves buckets of butter, with tabasco and vinegar.

Mumha · 27-02-2004 2:29pm

Sounds deliciously Atkins friendly

Would they be as good as Luigi Malone's chicken wings ?

uberwolf · 27-02-2004 2:35pm

From what I gather the elephant and castle one's would leave Luigi Malone's eating dirt...

aoa321 · 27-02-2004 2:56pm

thanks for your replies - I can't find anybody who knows the recipe so I'm going to start experimenting ... the butter / tabasco and vinegar sounds like a good place to start.

I have had the chicken wings from both Luigi Malones and Elephant & Castle ... no disrepect to Luigi Malones but they are not in the same league, they don't even deserve comparison with the Elephant & Castle buffalo wings

giftgrub · 28-02-2004 6:06pm

i used to work a bar in dublin that was well known for its wings, but not as good as elephants.

what they do there is get the chicken wings, coat them in oil and cajun seasoning ( the kind you'd get in the spices section of the supermarket)

then they'd bake them in the oven and set them aside and let them go cold

then whenever they were ordered they'd deep fry them til crispy and then throw a load of this stuff called Louisnana Hot Sauce all over them.

served with a little tub of garlic mayo

et viola...simply malicious

Krusty_Clown · 29-02-2004 11:51am

Haven't tasted the ones in The E&C, but if they're anything likes the spicy wings you get in the US (sticky, slightly orange colour, served with a blue cheese dip and sticks of celery), then, here's a couple of recipes:

Hot and Spicy Buffalo wings
Hot Chicken Wings

The problem is that they all describe using 'hot sauce'. So, what you really need is the recipe for hot sauce.. You could always order the sauce from the original restaurant that created the recipe.

Here's an informative link to a history/origins of the Buffalo Wings, which has links to a load of recipes..

EL_Diablo · 29-02-2004 12:34pm

I don't think you'll find anyone with the recipe, The E&C keep the recipe a secret. But here's one that's pretty close (apparently, I haven't tried this myself)

Get a pack and a half of chicken wings from your butcher or supermarket. Remove the wing tip, leaving the little V joint. Cut that in half again so you have a mini drumstick and a slightly smaller piece. Deep fry your chicken wings for about 6 to 8 minutes, just until they're really crispy and the juices are completely clear.
In the meantime melt about 4oz of butter add in 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and 4 to 6 tablespoons of tobasco sauce. Mix all that together. When the wings are done, toss them in the butter mixture then drain them. Serve them as quickly as possible with a blue cheese dip. To make a blue cheese dip, mix the following ingredients together.

Half a cup of sour cream
Three quarters of a cup of mayonnaise
Half a cup of blue cheese crumbled
1 clove of Garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

(This is straight out of a book so don't blame me if it's totally wrong and manky

)

aoa321 · 01-03-2004 11:10am

thank you for all your replies ... I tried a couple of different things over the weekend ... they were quite tasty but nothing like the Elephant & Castles

you've given me a few more ideas now ... my wife will be delighted !?!

imeatingchips · 23-03-2007 12:11pm

can anyone tell me how to make these holy jesus what in the name of god almighty is this FANTASTICAL CHICKEN WINGS?

Vinny Vanuchi's in Malahide does them now (or very similar to them) and I've heard of a few other places that are doing them too.

So it isn't feckin oompa loompa's churning them out

as they say on crimeline, somebody must know something ... please, get in touch with us

Kinetic^ · 23-03-2007 12:15pm

I'm going to get shot for saying this but I had these a while back and was not impressed all that much :eek:

mickith · 23-03-2007 12:29pm

how dare you kenny5. wash your mouth out, with all the spicy vinegary juice left over from when you finish eating all your chicken wings from e+c

i used to work a bar in dublin that was well known for its wings, but not as good as elephants.

what they do there is get the chicken wings, coat them in oil and cajun seasoning ( the kind you'd get in the spices section of the supermarket)

then they'd bake them in the oven and set them aside and let them go cold

then whenever they were ordered they'd deep fry them til crispy and then throw a load of this stuff called Louisnana Hot Sauce all over them.

served with a little tub of garlic mayo

et viola...simply malicious

think this would prob be the closest to them. havent tried to make any of the receipes mentioned but might give it a go this weekend.
have to say i enjoyed them emmensly, even the big celery sticks.perfect

imeatingchips · 23-03-2007 12:40pm

Kenny 5 wrote:

...I had these a while back and was not impressed all that much...

SILENCE, INFIDEL!!!!

imeatingchips · 23-03-2007 12:45pm

mickith wrote:

think this would prob be the closest to them. havent tried to make any of the receipes mentioned but might give it a go this weekend.
have to say i enjoyed them emmensly, even the big celery sticks.perfect

yeah, seems so. so i suppose it's all about getting the "hot sauce". looks like it'll have to be ordered from the interweb.

is there a shop in dublin that u can get it now? have we not made ANY progress since 27-02-2004 13:04 (OP's post)?

imeatingchips · 23-03-2007 12:50pm

Kenny 5 wrote:

I'm going to get shot for saying this but I had these a while back and was not impressed all that much :eek:

give it some more time. he'll come back for more. they always do.

i saw crates being loaded into the back of the e&c labelled "DANGER : HEROINGS" (i.e. heroin/wings ... much like homer's tomacco)

23-03-2007 12:51pm

Kenny 5 wrote:

I'm going to get shot for saying this but I had these a while back and was not impressed all that much :eek:

Same. They were meh at best.

imeatingchips · 23-03-2007 12:53pm

Myth wrote:

Same. They were meh at best.

you're meh

olaola · 23-03-2007 2:52pm

Mumha wrote:

Would they be as good as Luigi Malone's chicken wings ?

Pffff... Don't make me get stabby.

E&C wings, they would be in my last supper - in a 'bring the needle on' kind of way.

Zaph · 23-03-2007 5:30pm

Kenny 5 wrote:

I'm going to get shot for saying this but I had these a while back and was not impressed all that much :eek:

I'm also with Kenny on this. They're nice and spicy but I really don't lke the vinegary taste from them.

hot fuss · 23-03-2007 6:24pm

I've never tried to make them, but there is a recipe in one of Ray D'Arcy's 'Fixed' books that claims to be THE elephant & castle recipe..

Oh I want them now.. they're sooooooooooooo good

Ballyman · 27-03-2007 3:34pm

Ladies and gentlemen, I have the answer to your prayers!!

On this website you can order the exact sauce that is used all over the states which is the same or as similar as you can possibly get as what they use in E&C.

It's €4.50 per bottle but that should last plenty of time. I ordered 8 bottles (4 regular and 4 suicidal) of this in september last year and on the website the shipping charge was £40, yes, 40 STERLING but I rang them up and they shipped it for £10.

Including shipping the cost per bottle is €6.30 so you end up paying just over a €1.30 extra per bottle than it costs in the shops in the US.

I have been trying for a long time to find this stuff and this was the cheapest by a long way that I could find. I've tried numerous recipes with various "hot sauces" and all kinds of concoctions and while I got near on a few occasions there was always something missing so in the end I bit the bullet and bought the stuff!

Enjoy!

imeatingchips · 27-03-2007 5:09pm

Really? so once you have this sauce what exactly do u do top make them then? and it really tastes the same or similar enough?

Ballyman · 28-03-2007 9:59am

Same.

Put the sauce in a bowl (warm or hot - up to you), lash in the wings and stir them around.

Eat.

The regular sauce is the same as E&C. If you want more heat then lash in a bit of suicidal as well. Suicidal on it's own requires a trough of water when eating!!

imeatingchips · 28-03-2007 11:27am

The sauce is on order!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ballyman, if ever there is ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING - build you a house, mow the lawn, beat someone up, hop on one leg - I can do to help you just PM me.

edit: anything except the wink-wink-nudge-nudge kind of anything

Oirthir · 28-03-2007 4:27pm

Don't forget to give us your review when the sauce arrives imeatingchips!

Not that I don't trust you Ballyman, just good to have a few opinions!

phoenix2181 · 06-04-2007 7:21pm

I used to work in a well known pub chain a a couple of years ago, their chicken wings were fantastic, they used to make the sauce from tomato puree, OJ & tomasco sauce... hope this helps you on your quest

Minder · 09-04-2007 10:10pm

While some bottle brands are good, I have always found that making the sauce myself gives the closest match to Buffalo wing sauce.

Equal measures of Louisiana Hot Sauce and butter. Heat through in a saucepan and add some vinegar. About two tablespoons for a pint of sauce. Don't get too close when adding the vinegar - the fumes really take your breath away.

Chop wings into segments and deep fry. Buffalo wings are always deep fried. The skin will crisp and the meat remains very succulent. Then toss the wings in the sauce and serve.

Celery sticks and blue cheese dressing are a must - there are good recipes on this thread.

Tabasco is the most common Louisiana Hot Sauce but is probably too hot and too vinegary to make good wings. Encona is a West Indian brand that I have used in the past - just remember to stick a loo roll in the freezer. Best brand I have tried is Crystal Hot Sauce - comes in large 350ml bottles. I am not sure of availability of either of these in Ireland - sorry, but I get the Crystal Sauce in Asian supermarkets.

And the last essential ingredient - buckets of cold beer !!!!!

imeatingchips · 01-05-2007 11:23am

imeatingchips wrote:

The sauce is on order!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rang up these people http://www.barbecue-online.co.uk/acatalog/Anchor_Bar.html, after a bit of explaining and being put on hold - most likley to be laughed at - the fella says he'd ship 12 bottles for 15 stg. Grand job.

Unfortunately, the sauce still hasn't come. Nothing was charged to my card either though. I don't really want to ring them up again cos it was a bit embarrassing.

Does anyone know where else this sauce can be purchased from at a reasonabe enough price?

Ballyman · 02-05-2007 10:40am

It can't be purchased at a reasonable price anywhere unfortunately unless you're in the states. The guy I was talking there was Charles Ramseyer and his number was 0044 23 8078 8155 and his email is charles@socal.co.uk

Give him a shout and see what the story is with your order.

On a side note, the sauce that is actually used in Elephant and Castle, along with some margarine, salt and pepper is going to be available in Ireland from June.

I have gotten a bottle of it, "Franks HotSauce" from ebay and it's the real deal when mixed with margarine and a little pepper and salt. I contacted the manufacturers in the States to see where I could get more of it as shipping on ebay was extortionate and the bottle I bought was gone very quickly when I realised I'd hit the jackpot!!

Anyway, it turns out that their distributor in Ireland, BR Marketing, will start distributing in June!! I have been talking to them and they will let me know when and where it will be available.

If you don't succeed with the anchor bar stuff then not to worry. This is the same, 100% exact match when margerine is added to it. Honestly.

My year long crusade to find the stuff in Ireland is almost at an end!!

imeatingchips · 02-05-2007 11:24am

BallyMan, that's some top-class work. Once again, I salute you! Will you post on this thread when you find out exactly? If I see it I'll update it too.

oh yeah AND IT'LL BE IN TIME FOR THE BBQ'S!

Are you sure it's margerine and not butter though? Minder reckons a couple of teaspoons of vinegar as well. That sounds like it might be right - have you tried that?

Jesus I can't wait to try it out and do a bit of experimenting!!

LONG LIVE CHICKEN WINGS!!!

edit: aw no... I'm going to be obese by september

Ballyman · 02-05-2007 12:33pm

This is exactly what I did when I got the sauce. Remember, this is after almost one year of trying every kind of thing under the sun so each step is vital!!

You will end up with something resembling 99.999999% same as E&C. I promise

1. Put a hand full of flour and 1 tbsp of paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix around.
2. Put in the wings and coat them in the flour. Put the whole lot into the fridge then for around an hour. Skip this step at your peril!!
3. Now, pour about 8 tbsp (1/2 the bottle!!!) of "Franks HotSauce" into a small pot with a little salt and pepper. Add one slice, around 1/2cm thick, of "Stork" margarine and heat the thing up. Keep stirring until you have a smooth reddy orange mixture.
4. Heat your deep fat fryer to 190 degrees. None of this oven nonsense.
5. Remove wings from the fridge. They'll be a little soggy and lash em into the fryer for around 10-12 minutes or until crispy looking.
6. Wash out the bowl you used earlier and pour in the now hot sauce. When the wings are cooked, dump them into the bowl and swirl around until they are all coated.
7. Eat with some cold beer!

Now. A few suggestions etc.

1. What I used above was suitable for 10 wings. I don't like them absolutely dripping in sauce so this was more than enough for a good wet coating all over.
2. I've used butter before and it gives a watery consistency that just wasn't right. Margarine seems much better. If it's too watery for you then add a little more margarine or vice versa. If you're on a health kick then add some flour to the sauce instead of more margarine to thicken it up. Your choice.
3. This isn't spicy "burn your mouth" even though the bottle says "hot sauce". If you want that spicy burn in your mouth, then add a tbsp of Tobasco or Habenero sauce and remove one of Franks to spice it up a bit. try above first and see what you think. I found it a little mild for me but herself thought it was the bees knees. Again, your choice.
4. I didn't add any vinegar. One tbsp supposedly gives a little bitter kick to the wings. I have run out of sauce so can't try this till I get more!

Anyway, this stuff should be in some shops in Ireland by June so we'll be laughing then.

daveirl · 02-05-2007 4:18pm

This post has been deleted.

Ballyman · 02-05-2007 9:18pm

That is her. Jaysus, I just spotted I was calling it Franks HotSauce, some clown am I!! It is of course, "Franks RedHot Sauce"

It's available in those tub sizes from BR Marketing at the moment in boxes of 4 (which is 4 gallons!!!).
I'm waiting for the more user friendly bottles to arrive!!

Do you have it? It's the real deal isn't it, although I see you're in Cork so probably have no idea what E&C is!!

Victor_M · 02-05-2007 10:03pm

Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

24 chicken wings and thighs
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
30 g butter
40 g brown sugar
1 tblsp white wine vinegar
1 tblsp tomato ketchup
2 tblsps Piri Piri sauce
12 celery stalks, trimmed and washed
For the blue cheese dip
75 ml mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
15 ml cream
30 g Cashel Blue cheese
1 dtsp lemon juice
Salt and black pepper

Method

Place the onions in a pot with the butter and sauté over a medium heat until soft but not brown. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, tomato ketchup and Piri Piri sauce and season with salt and black pepper. Place the sauce in a blender and pulse until smooth.

To make the dip, place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Place the dip in the fridge for a hour to chill.

Pre-heat the deep fat fryer to 200°C. Cut the chicken wings in half and deep-fry until they are crispy. Remove from the oil and dry on some kitchen paper.

Transfer the crispy wings to an oven tray and coat generously with the hot sauce. Then place in a hot oven, Gas 4 / 180°C, for 5-10 minutes until hot.

Serve the chicken wings in a bowl with the blue cheese dip and some celery sticks for garnish

Oirthir · 02-05-2007 10:11pm

That recipe plucked outta yer head or you got an inside source in E&C?

daveirl · 03-05-2007 10:35am

This post has been deleted.

wyndham · 10-05-2007 7:55pm

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Got this in Musgraves (Ballymun) today. 20euro for the 1 gallon bottle. Equivalent to 3.78litres. They also had an extra hot version. Remembered this thread and picked up a bottle. It says to use butter on the label, but I shall try it with margarine.

Any suggestions for a wing dealer in Dublin? Is the supermarket as good a place as any? Will need about 30lbs to use all this up!! Wings everyday for breakfast for the next month.

Oirthir · 10-05-2007 9:49pm

wyndham wrote:

Any suggestions for a wing dealer in Dublin? Is the supermarket as good a place as any? Will need about 30lbs to use all this up!! Wings everyday for breakfast for the next month.

Just pick a good butchers and they'll sort you out.

Ballyman · 11-05-2007 10:14am

Whereabouts in the mun is musgraves?

Oirthir · 11-05-2007 11:54am

It's just over by the M50, near that new hotel.

imeatingchips · 11-05-2007 12:27pm

wyndham wrote:

Got this in Musgraves (Ballymun) today.

nice one. it should be available to the non-business owning plebs among us pretty soon!

drdre · 12-05-2007 9:49pm

Their wings are amazing

Cause · 21-05-2007 4:35pm

Hey, I’ve come across the E&C recipe in other places around Dublin. Tribeca in Ranelagh for one anyway. I’ve also had them as far a field as Ashbourne village…

wyndham · 22-05-2007 5:24pm

Cause wrote:

Hey, I’ve come across the E&C recipe in other places around Dublin. Tribeca in Ranelagh for one anyway. I’ve also had them as far a field as Ashbourne village…

The owner of Tribeca used to be a chef in Elephant and Castle.

Ballyman · 22-05-2007 6:31pm

Obviously as pointed out above in the pic the sauce is widely available now.

I feel violated in a way

Degsy · 28-05-2007 3:12pm

phoenix2181 wrote:

I used to work in a well known pub chain a a couple of years ago, their chicken wings were fantastic, they used to make the sauce from tomato puree, OJ & tomasco sauce... hope this helps you on your quest

The porterhouse?Thier wings are amazing!

Mr Magnolia · 30-05-2007 7:51am

Kenny 5 wrote:

I'm going to get shot for saying this but I had these a while back and was not impressed all that much :eek:

Same as that, wasn't that impressed, way too much vinegar the day we were there, maybe the chef was having an off-day.

On the basis of this thread I'm going to give them a go at the weekend, I'll report back with the results

Blisterman · 03-06-2007 6:18pm

Any plans on bringing out a reasonable sized bottle of the sauce?

kazx77 · 09-06-2007 10:53am

has anyone come across franks redhot sauce in any non- cash n carry shops yet?

faceman · 09-06-2007 11:06am

as great as the E&C wings are, what the hell is with those celery sticks??

wyndham · 09-06-2007 6:13pm

Blisterman wrote:

Any plans on bringing out a reasonable sized bottle of the sauce?

I hope not. It would make it less special for me.:p

Elephant & Castle chicken wings? Read first post!

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