I heard that sometimes, shops might sell chicken wings that are already cut up into what is referred to as ‘party wings.’
I live in Wales and have never seen this, so I’m starting to feel as though this is something that is happening behind my back? Right?
Maybe butchers do it… do they?
I don’t know.
I’m not paranoid or anything, but the thought of everyone gathering together behind my back to have pre-cut party wings without my knowledge is harrowing me.
But I won’t let paranoia get the best of me, we’re all adults here, we’ve all overcome trauma, so instead I will focus on cutting up a regular, schmegular wing into the aforementioned party wing my damn self.
Reason I am so fervent about it that a wing cut into a party wing is a party, obviously, but what it actually means is that it’s separated into two parts (plus a secret third… we’ll get to it…) so that the landscape of the wing itself can be fully coated by the sauce, plus much easier to eat and easier to drag the meat from the bone with your teeth.
I never used to cut my wings, because I couldn’t be bothered with the extra logistics, but this really is the best way to go. Not only because the process of eating is much better, but the cooking makes so much more sense, plus you get an extra ingredient from the secret third part (be patient, we’ll get to it…)
So it’s this simple.
A wing comes in three parts – the drumette (the rounder, meatier bit), the wingette (the middle, longer bit) and the flapper (the very tip of the wing… this is the secret one).
How effing cute are those names?
Anyway, here’s how you cut them:
- Turn the wing so that the wing tip is facing upwards towards you – you can see the joints better this way.
- With a sharp knife, chop off the flapper (the very thin tip of the wing) and put them all into a sealable bag and put them in the freezer.
- Feel for the highest ridge in the joint between the drumette and the wingette and using your knife, push down. You may feel some resistance (you’re cutting through a joint so it won’t go through that easy) but wiggle the knife until you feel it give in slightly, and then push down hard to make a cut through.
Okay so now you have your two party wings, and the tips. Oh the tips.
So I always bag up the tips into a freezable bag or container and keep them on standby in the deep freeze, because these will come in very handy when you want to make a stock, because they will infuse that damn broth with such sweet flavour, and it means they don’t go to waste.
With the remaining wingette and drumette (still can’t get over how cut those names are) we make hot wings.
I’ve made so many kinds of hot wings before, many featured on this very website – this jerk(ish) wing, this biscuit version (which was controversial but still), orange and black pepper ones, buttermilk and Ritz ones – you get the picture.
But I really mean it when I say, this is my favourite version. It really is the way to go.
They’re tangy, they’re glossy, they’re honeyed, they’re spicy, they’re an absolute breeze to make, and most of all, they’re the perfect food to lay out when you have numbers to feed because the recipe can very easily be scaled up or down to suit the party.
In terms of hot sauce, I have nothing extra to say other than it has to be Franks. The regular one. Not the wing one, not the lime and something or other, not the purple label one – just the regular Frank’s hot sauce.
It’s a God tier sauce. I use it on everything. I buy it in industrial quantities.
You won’t get anything better. Trust me.
Now, I do go the extra mile by adding some seasoning to the wings while they roast, and I must admit, I have also made these by adding nothing more than salt and a shit tonne of pepper to the wings before you roast them and they were also delicious.
I just like adding the extra spices because that mix of cumin, paprika, and garlic infuse the chicken (and thereby the hot sauce mix) with this kind of earthy sweet nuttiness that is a beautiful welcome addition, but admittedly, not a wholly necessary one.
So I’ve featured them below because it’s how I automatically season wings, but do feel free to omit.
And the blue cheese dip? I have things to say.
Eat them without the dip if you want, but the dip alongside the buttery spiced gloss on the wing gives it this coolly complex flavour profile with the deep, perfumed tang of the blue cheese against the sweet, honeyed spice of the hot sauce.
Chef’s kiss.
So to make this the best kind of dipping experience, it has yogurt in it and don’t roll your eyes, because I think it’s very necessary to cut through the sour cream to keep it a little lighter plus it thins it out to give a beautiful viscosity.
Nothing worse than dunking a wing into a dip and you just push the dip around rather than coat the wing. Nothing worse.
Just to note, blue cheese wise for this, I like a creamier, softer one that’s more mousse-y than crumbly, so I go for a Roquefort or Castello. But do what you got to do.
Serves 2 – 4
For the wings
1kg chicken wings – cut as described in the intro
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
150ml hot sauce
20g unsalted butter
1 tsp honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 – 2 spring onions (optional)
- Put all of the chicken wings in a large bowl with the oil, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Lots of pepper for me, but do it to your taste.
- Toss the chicken wings in the oil and seasoning until they are thoroughly coated and leave to marinate, covered, just on the countertop. You want them at room temperature, so in this time, preheat the oven to 200°C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Once the oven is preheated, lay the chicken wings on the tray – in one layer if possible – and put in the oven for 40 – 45 minutes, turning over halfway through, until they are golden brown, crispy and charred in parts and cooked through.
- During the 40 – 45 minutes of cooking, make your dressing by combining the hot sauce with the butter, honey, vinegar, and a little salt and pepper in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted and the sauce is a glossy and bubbling.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and pour half of it into a large bowl and the other half into a small serving bowl – you don’t want to overdress your wings. Trust me. The wings can only take so much.
- Once the wings have had their cooking time, tip them into the bowl of hot sauce, and toss gently until they are fully coated and glazed.
- Serve scattered with some finely snipped up spring onions and alongside the serving bowl of extra hot sauce and the blue cheese dip below.
For the dip
50g blue cheese
50g sour cream
2 tbs natural yogurt
1 clove garlic
1 tbs lemon juice
1 – 2 spring onions
- Into a bowl big enough to hold all of the ingredients (with room to mix enthusiastically… nothing worse than escapee dip on your counter) add the blue cheese, sour cream, and natural yogurt.
- Using a fine grater, grate in the garlic, add the lemon juice and finely snip in the spring onion with a pair of scissors.
- Using a fork, mash, stir, and combine the ingredients, using the fork to break up the blue cheese as best as possible.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to your taste. If you want it slightly thinner, add a little more natural yogurt or lemon juice, remembering this will alter the flavour, so taste as you go.
- If you have leftover sauce (lucky you) but keep it in the fridge for a week and literally use it to dip anything into, put it into a baked potato (like I did, and it was worth dribbling over), spoon it over a steak, dress a salad with it. You will find uses for it, I promise.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 