Move on over deep-fried Buffalo Wings. There’s a new kid in town!
This is the perfect fodder to get messy with with a couple of friends in front of the telly on a relaxed Saturday night in. Great served on individual plates, but even better plonked onto a great big sharing platter for everyone to tuck into.
This is a variation on the classic hot buffalo wings, the ubiquitous snack of choice in sports pubs and on game-days in the US. I don’t much care for the sports or game-days, I do care about the wings.
Buffalo wings are often too vinegary for me though. And not half as hot as I’d like!
The best ones are usually made with Frank’s Hot Sauce, which is not that easy to get hold of in the UK. Sriracha is easier to find outside of the US and it’s my go-to hot sauce. Then I add lime and coriander instead of vinegar to add freshness and extra zing.
Buffalo wings are traditionally served with a blue cheese dip. But I’ve gone all out European with my version using English Stilton and thick and creamy French crème fraîche. You could use a good thick Greek yoghurt if you prefer.
And mayonnaise. Good thick luscious mayonnaise, preferably homemade. It’s a doddle, trust me. And the lift it creates to anything you use it in is worth the small effort 10 times over.
The most important bit though, is the cooking of the wings themselves. Buffalo wings are usually deep fried, But I find baking these takes nothing away from a beautifully crispy wing. In fact, I prefer them baked, as they are far far less greasy, letting the chicken flavour shine.
You’ll find a lot of recipes online which promote the “Toss in corn flour and bake” method. Nothing wrong with that, but the resulting skin can get a bit leathery rather thin crisp at times.
My preferred method is to parboil the wings for 7 mins in hot boiling water to render the fat, then patting dry and air-drying in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, if you’ve got the time.. This is a method similar to what the Chinese do for crispy duck (parboil, then air-dry or use a hairdryer!)
This means these crispy wings are gluten free and fairly fat-free. Bonus!
The wings then get baked on a naked oven tray or roster for 20 mins, turned and baked on the other side for another 5-10 mins or so. I say “naked tray” as a silpat or silicon mat could affect how crispy they get, and I have found my beloved greaseproof paper actually gets sticky rather than non-stick with these. So I use a good sturdy uncovered tray from Tala for mine. The remaining fat in the wings helps to easily remove them from the tray after baking.
The crispy wings get tossed in the sauce just before serving. Serve straight away before the skin risks to go flabby. With the gorgeous blue cheese dip on the side
An insurmountable pile of seasoned sweet potato fries wouldn’t go amiss here either.
THE RECIPES
Baked Sriracha and Lime Chicken Wings (serves 4 – GF DF LC RSF )
The Americans advise a pound of chicken wings per person. It’s generous, but not far off unless you’re serving them with chips. I’d say 400 gr pp is probably plenty, 250-300 if serving with chips.
If the wings come whole, separate the tips from the drummette, and the drummette from the wing bit itself. Reserve the tips to make stock for anther time. We’re only using the drummettes and the wing bits in this recipe.
You could use small chicken drumsticks or thighs, but do adjust the baking time accordingly by adding 10 mins or so due to their larger size.
These are HOT! If you want to tone things down, replace 1/4 of the sriracha with runny honey or tomato ketchup. But remember, the lime and the dip refresh things. So you may like it hotter than you think…
Ingredients
1.4 – 1.8 kg chicken wings separated in drummettes and wing-bits, tips discarded
8-10 generous tbsp sriracha hot sauce
8-10 generous tbsp butter, melted
Juice and zest of 2 limes
a handful of fresh coriander, including their stalks, finely chopped
To Serve: Stilton Dip and a few finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish
Method
Parboil the wings in hot boiling water for 7 mins. Drain and pat dry with kitchen roll.
Allow the wings to dry out uncovered in the fridge for a few hours or overnight if you have the time.
Preheat the oven to 200 C. Bake the wings for 20 mins. Turn and bake for another 5-10 mins until golden and cooked through.
Meanwhile make the sriracha sauce: blitz or blend together the melted butter, sriracha, lime juice, zest and coriander.
When the wings are done, toss through the sriracha sauce to coat thoroughly.
Serve immediately with the blue cheese dip and a scattering of chopped coriander.
Stilton Dip (serves 4 – GF LC RSF)
You need a fairly assertive blue cheese here like Stilton, Gorgonzola Picante or Roquefort. I find St Agur, Dolcelatte and similar to meek for this.
This creamy dip can be thinned out with water or milk to use as a delicious salad dressing.
It’s easy to scale up or down too, as it’s basically 1 part mayo, 1 part crème fraîche or yoghurt, 1 part blue cheese (garlic optional)
Ingredients
4 generous heaped tbsp good mayonnaise
4 generous heaped tbsp crème fraîche
4 generous heaped tbsp Stilton, roughly chopped or crumbled, keeping 1/3 – 1/4 behind for garnish
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed, grated or finely chopped (optional)
Method
Blitz everything together in mini food processor or with a stick blender. Else it can just be smashed together in a bowl or pestle and mortar. Go as smooth as you like, but I personally like to leave a little texture.
Garnish with the reserved Stilton.
