This is a guest post from personal chef and culinary instructor Kathryn Furman
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and maybe you are thinking about serving wings–a definite football staple that needs a bit of shaking up.
Here are 2 easy recipes that will impress your guests.
Crispy Potato Wings
–3 1/2 lbs chicken wings ( I use drumettes)
–1 bag (8oz) potato chips – any flavor
–1/2 tsp garlic powder
–1/4 tsp paprika
–1/2 tsp pepper
–1/2 cup olive oil
–2 sheet pans, aluminum foil, 2 cooling racks, rolling pin, cooking spray, 2 wide, shallow bowls
Pre heat your oven to 425 degrees.
Line both sheet pans with aluminum foil, top with the cooling racks and spray rack with the cooking spray.
Pour olive oil into one of the bowls. Keep oil near by incase you need more.
Open the bag of chips to let all of the air out of the bag, then secure with a clip. Use the rolling pin to crush the chips. You want them crushed finely but not to dust. (If you start to crush the chips without letting all of the air out, insert cleaning-up-chips-from-all-kitchen-surfaces and purchasing-more-chips as part of your preparation).
Pour chips into the other one of the bowls. Add garlic, paprika and pepper to chips, use a spoon to mix all ingredients together. Taste a small amount and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Using one hand, place chicken into oil bowl and coat all sides. Using the same hand, drop chicken into the chip mixture.
Using the OTHER hand, coat all sides of chicken with chip mixture and place on racks.
* Any time you are battering an item, keep a hand for wet items and one for dry.
Bake wings for about 40 minutes. If you want to check if they are done, remove one and cut meat away from the bone. If the meat is no longer pink, they are done. Eat tester wing.
Balsamic Glazed Wings
–3 1/2 lbs chicken wings
–1/2 tsp salt and pepper ( I have a shaker of salt and pepper mixed that I use to –season food)
–1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
–1 small shallot diced small
–1/4 cup sugar
–1 tbsp butter
2 sheet pans, aluminum foil, cooking spray, a small sauce pan, wire whisk, a small bowl, basting brush
Pre heat oven to 425 degrees.
Cover bottom of sheet pans with aluminum foil and coat foil with cooking spray.
Place chicken on sheet pans and season with salt and pepper. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. The chicken will not be cooked all of the way through. You will be glazing the chicken then will finish cooking it.
While chicken is cooking, add shallots to sauce pan and cook until slightly translucent. Add sugar and vinegar. Boil mixture for about 5 minutes. Mixture will start to thicken and reduce by about half. If chicken is still cooking, remove glaze from heat until chicken is done.
At 30 minutes, pull the chicken out of the oven. Put glaze back on heat and bring to a boil, add the butter and stir until melted. Pour about 2/3 of the glaze onto the small bowl*. Using the basting brush and the glaze in the bowl, brush the glaze on to the chicken, covering both sides.
* You need to separate out the glaze so that you are not risking cross contamination. The first 2/3 of the glaze is being used on chicken that may not be completely cooked.
Put the chicken back into the oven for 10 minutes, then pull out oven rack and coat the chicken again with the rest of the glaze in the bowl, and cook for another 5 t0 10 minutes.
Remove 1 wing from the oven and cut the meat away from the bone to test for doneness. If the meat is no longer pink, they are done.
Before serving, drizzle with remaining 1/3 of glaze.
Both of these recipes can be served with a dipping sauce but will be great on their own.
I do recommend having wet naps close by.
Hope you all enjoy and that your team wins. My team has been golfing for most of the season.
One of my favorite ways to prepare meats (especially in the winter) is by braising. When braising any meat you first want to sear the meat at a high temperature to lock in all the delicious juice (but not cook all the way through). Then the meat is submerged into a liquid and cooked slowly.
