Boy, do I love fried chicken. I also love chicken wings. They’re so tasty and gelatinous and the meat to everything else ratio is just right. So a while back it occurred to me that I could just fry the wings and not bother with the breast and all that. Now that was a really good idea.
This is not something I do frequently at all. It requires some forethought, it’s usually messy, and hot oil in the kitchen makes me nervous. But the trouble is worth it now and again. Especially if I don’t try to make too many other dishes to round out the meal. Last night all I managed was a salad. I planned to make olive oil mashed yukon gold potatoes, but it was too hot and we didn’t really need them. Another ideal accompaniment would be Trader Joe’s refrigerator biscuits with honey.
I have a great little book called Fried & True by Rick Rodgers and I use his technique for Double-Cooked Fried Chicken from the book. This is a great way to go because one of the problems with deep frying chicken is making sure the meat gets cooked before the crust burns! By finishing the chicken in the oven, you eliminate this problem.
Double-Cooked Fried Chicken Wings
- 8 large chicken wings
- 2 c buttermilk
- 1 T Tabasco
- 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
- 1 t salt
- 1/2 t freshly ground pepper
- oil for frying (I used canola)
Use kitchen shears to cut your wings at the joints (this is so much more fun to do with shears than with a knife) and toss the tips or use them for something else. Cover your chicken with the buttermilk and Tabasco (mixed together) and refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours.
Drain the chicken and toss it (a few pieces at a time) in a mixture of the flour, salt and pepper. Let it stand on waxed paper at room temperature for 15 minutes to set the coating.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a wire rack on top of a jelly roll pan to finish the wings in the oven. In a deep skillet, heat a depth of about 2″ of oil to 375 degrees and fry the wings (don’t crowd them; you may need to do this more than once), turning once until golden, about six minutes. Transfer wings to wire rack and bake until chicken shows no sign of pink when pierced at the bone, about 15 minutes. Best served within 2 hours of frying.
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