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

Chicken Wings & Happy New Years Day

Happy New Year's Day to you. Hello January 1, 2014. It feels weird typing that. I was just getting used to typing/writing 2013. What can you do? Nothing exactly. Well you could finish off some chicken wings with me. They are awesome. I took the same sauce I used on some regular sized chicken and used them on wings instead. It was right before we sent the kiddo to bed, proceeded to drink too much, and stay up watching like 10 episodes of "How I Met Your Mother". Yeah I am exhausted.  It was legend wait for it airy. So back to the chicken wings.... you know the Superbowl is coming up. You are going to need to have some good snacks/apps. Just sayin'. 

Asian Chicken Wings

prep + bake time: 1hr & 5 minutes* if wings are already divided the wing from the tiny drumstick

Ingredients: 
raw chicken wings, divided at the joint if they aren't done already - I used half the tray so like 12 maybe
1 Tbs veg oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs chipotle ketchup
3 Tbs hoisin sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375. 

2. Mix the chicken, oil, salt, and pepper in a large ziplock bag or equivalent. Make sure the wings are coated.

3. While the oven is preheating mix the lime, ketchup, and hoisin sauce in a large bowl for tossing the wings in later. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray a rack with nonstick spray. Put the rack over the foil for good air and heat circulation (ie...the perfect crispy baked chicken wing). 

4. Bake the wings for 50 minutes - 1 hr and then toss them with the sauce. 

5. Serve immediately & eat while still warm like this cutie munching away at his new years eve feast :)

Enjoy 2014

Happy Jan 1 to you & your family