I've suffered the eggy fingers of double dredging and more splatter burns than I care to admit to to get to this glorious point.
I found it. The ultimate wing.
Now, children of the interwebs, I gift you with the secrets of super crunchy wings.
The holy trinity of chickeny deliciousness:
- Buttermilk (Make your own with full-cream milk and a little lemon or vinegar)
- Baking powder.
- Salt.
While I'll give you my secret spice mix, you can mix and match your seasonings as you choose.
Also, no double dredging, no fiddling with eggs and breadcrumbs. Just a good buttermilk marinade and a quick shake in your seasoned flour.
It could not be easier.
Let's get right to it.
Ingredients:
4 full portions, or 8 sides.
- 16 chicken wings, cleaned.
Seasoning mix
- 2 tsp white pepper
- 1tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried oreganum
- 2 tsps fine sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
Mix and divide in 2.
Marinade
- 1 Cup whole/full cream milk
- Juice of 1 Lemon or 2 tbsp white vinegar
Or - 1 cup buttermilk
- Half seasoning Mix
Dredging Flour
- 1 cup wheat flour (cake or bread flour works fine)
- 1/2 cup fine cornflour (Maizena)
- Half seasoning Mix
To fry:
- 500 ml canola oil
Tools:
- Heavy-based pot
- Ziploc bag
- Kitchen paper
- Cling Film
Method:
- To Make buttermilk, add acid (vinegar or lemon) to whole milk and allow to curdle. Alternatively, use store bought.
- Add seasoning mix to buttermilk and mix thoroughly.
. Clean chicken wings and cut them in half at the joint. I like leaving the tips on because more crunchy. Feel free to remove. - Add to buttermilk mixture to chicken and massage, ensuring each piece is covered.
- Cover with clingfilm and let it marinade in the fridge for at least and hour, the longer the better though- I mixed mine the day before and left it to do its thing overnight.
- Heat oil over medium gas until a pinch of flour dropped into the oil bubbles lightly.
- Add remaining seasoning mix to the flour mixture in a large ziploc bag.
- Shake excess buttermilk off the chicken wings and add to the flour mixture in 2 batches. Close ziploc bag and shake to cover each piece thoroughly.
- Carefully place chicken in oil, ensuring pan isn't over-crowded and fry for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Check that oil isn't too hot and adjust accordingly.
- Once cooked, drain on kitchen paper and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Soooo crunchy.
I made a batch of chips and a quick coleslaw to serve.
Thrice- Cooked Chips:
Ingredients:
*4 large potatoes
- 500 ml canola oil
Seasoning:
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt
Kitchen paper to drain.
Method
- Peel and cut spuds, rinse and dry with kitchen paper.
- Heat oil to medium and fry for 2-3 minutes
- Remove and turn off heat. Allow to cool completely.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3.
- Turn heat to high and fry until golden and crispy.
- Drain on kitchen paper and season.
Quick Slaw:
- 1/2 cup red cabbage, shredded
- 1 large carrot, sliced into ribbons (use a veggie peeler if you don't have a mandolin)
- 1 green pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tbsp mayonaisse
- 1 tsp english mustard
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Slice veggies as above and mix with dressing. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Born up a tree, Kids!