Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings

Buttermilk. Fried. Chicken Wings. Lets break this title down into parts. Buttermilk is awesome with chicken. It helps the chicken to stay really tender, gives it moisture, and a tang. Anything fried you know is probably going to taste good and have an amazing texture and crunch. Chicken wings are just fun finger food. I don't know anyone who doesn't like chicken wings. Put them all together and you got a home run finger food fun dinner (its still baseball season, right?). This would be great for a potluck or appetizer. I have always thought that fried chicken is good hot or cold. 

I try really hard to serve healthy things to my family daily, but every once in awhile I cut loose. This recipe is definately one of those moments. To balance the meal out I served the chicken with fresh chopped veggies, and homemade ranch dipping sauce. It was the perfect light side dish to go with the crispy crunchy chicken wings. My 5 year old's only comment while eating dinner was, "how many veggies do I have to eat to go back for seconds for more chicken wings?" My oldest loves fruits and veggies so this is saying a lot. 

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings

Serves 3-5 people  (approx 20 pieces)

Recipe slightly adapted from: Jo Cooks


Ingredients
4 cups buttermilk
4 eggs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
4 tsp baking powder
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt + more for sprinkling at the end
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups of flour, divided 
2 lb of chicken wings, drummets and wings divided
half a container of vegetable oil for frying approx 1/2 qt.

Note: Ranch dipping sauce (in the picture above) is: equal parts light mayo & sour cream probably 1/4 cup, sprinkle of salt, sprinkle of dried granulated onion, 2 tsp of dried dill and taste. Occasionally I will add a sprinkle of oregano and garlic but its mostly the dill I want :) 

6 Steps to amazing Fried Chicken Wings

1. Create a three part dredging station: in the first container mix the spices with buttermilk and eggs, in the second container put 2 cups of the flour, and the 3rd and last container/dish have the wings. 

2. Heat the oil on the stove in a heavy pot for even heat.  While the oil is heating up, add in the baking soda and baking powder to the buttermilk mixture. Mix well. It will bubble and foam - don't worry and no its not going to turn into an odd science experiment. 

3. With either fingers or tongs (depending on messy you want to get) Roll the chicken pieces in the flour then the buttermilk mixture then back into the flour again. Put the battered pieces in the third dish while waiting to go into the oil. My family ate in shifts this evening so I fried up 5 of them at this point and covered the rest with plastic wrap and put them back in the fridge. It worked great. Makes me think this recipe could be done a few hrs in advance for a party or football game. Is it football season yet? 

Note: If the flour gets too wet from the buttermilk, too clumpy, dump the wet flour into the trash and use the remaining amount. 

4. Use metal tongs to gently lower chicken wings into the oil. Fry the chicken wings for approx 9-11 minutes each. Don't crowd the pot or the temperature will drop. I kept my stove on med- med high and let the wings cook 6 minutes on the first side and 3-4 minutes on the second side. If the wings are browning too fast turn your heat down.  

5. As soon as the first batch comes out of the oil, put them on a clean dish lined with papertowels and sprinkle on some salt. Salt makes a HUGE difference right here. 

6. Repeat with the next batch of chicken wings until they are all cooked. 

Serve with green salad, crunchy veggies, and or corn on the cob - all good summer warm weather fun eats

Until next time @ Stephanie's Az Kitchen