Happy Saturday ---
Today is the very first day and definitely the first Saturday that we have had as a family in ages upon ages. With Lent, Holy Week, First HC classes, History competitions, piano festival... I could go on...it's been a long time since we've had family time on a Saturday morning.
This a.m. we got up leisurely. I first woke up at 6:15am feeling as if I had slept in, but after a quick trip to check the kids and to check the news I was back in bed and slept until everyone began waking up at 8:00am. It was glorious. We took the kids out to breakfast at our favorite breakfast place (Tico's) and amazed GDG with the fact that we had barely settled in when our coffee and decaf arrived without speaking a word to anyone. (I guess we have breakfast there, and an occasional lunch, fairly often. Does this make us 'regulars?') After breakfast and a brief stop home we went to the park (the big one in McAllen) and played for a hour+. It was delightful. Once home, MELG laid down to rest (which now I'm beginning to think she's getting Strep...which is going around her school...she's running a fever), GDG worked on his computer a bit and Ken and I proceeded to sweep and straighten the garage a little AND... took all of the recyclables to the Recycling Center. Impressive, wouldn't you say! And to think that some people get two days in a row of this kind of thing each and every single week. What luxury. Later, as MELG continued to rest Ken went to HEB to pick up a few groceries for the weekend including... WINGS. Yes, it's going to be a Hot Wings night!!
Thus, realizing that I've not ever blogged my yet to be famous wings recipe I decided today was the day.
A little background to begin. Ken and I are huge wings fans (hot wings and Red Wings) and have had a difficult time finding a place in the valley that does wings. The solution...make our own. You see, we were spoiled when we lived in South Bend. We had a place called Wings, etc (2 of then, actually) that had the best wings ever (though mine come pretty close now). Incidently, our favorite of the 2 Wing, etc was right next to Wild Birds Unlimited. Does anyone else sense a certain irony here? Well, as much as Ken and I like Hooters wings (which we went to eat in Bay City every so often when we lived in Midland), we like Wings, etc even better. Their TNT sauce is fabulous and made my mouth burn and eyes water. Sensorial food! When I was pregnant with MELG I used to crave them. On Friday afternoons, before picking GDG up from school we would belly up to the bar (that was a pregnancy joke) and order: TNT for me and Regular for Ken. Oh...and cajun curley fries, plus a Diet Pepsi (the one a week). When there was a new bartender and the orders would come, each in its own basket, the TNT order would be placed in front of Ken and the Regular in front of me. Nope. Other way around. We would smile at the bartender, switch the baskets and then point to the belly. Then everyone would laugh! It was a hoot. To this day MELG loves strong flavors (in the same way GDG loves garlic, which I ate a ton of when I was pregnant with him) and in time I'll put money on her eating wings. The long and the short of this story (get to the recipe....) is that out of self preservation we had to learn how to make wings. Here's my method and recipe.
2.5 lbs (approx 24 portions) wing portions (I buy only the middle section because we both like those best and they seem to cook most evenly and crisp most completely)
1 1/3 C flour*
2 T cayene pepper*
2 T black pepper, coarse ground*
1/3 C (plus a little) Chili powder*
2 1/2 tsp onion powder*
1 1/2 tsp salt, sea prefered for its fine grain*
*each of these measurements is approximate -- I tend to cook by eye, but this time tried to measure while eyeing the amount
1 large bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce
1 stick of butter
Combine dray ingredients in gallon Ziploc bag. Mix will look approximately as above.
Place 12 wing portions in the bag, close and shake until all portions are completely covered in the spice mixture.
Using a sieve, shake off the excess flour-spice. I generally put 3 or 4 in the sieve at a time and shake until only a thin layer is left. By the way, I usually put a paper towel in the sink and sieve over it. When I'm done most of the flour-spice is contained on the paper towel and goes easily into the bag with the leftover flour and into the trash.
Place wings on a standard plate and refrigerate for 30 - 40 minutes.
Toward the end of the 30 minutes, pour about 1 1/2 T vegetable oil onto a standard cookie sheet (jelly roll pan, technically). Spread oil all over pan by brush or just by moving the pan back and forth.
After the 30 minutes of refrigeration is finished, repeat flour-spice process for a second coating. Shake off excess and place side by side on the oil-prepared pan.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Flip the wings over once on the pan to coat both sides with oil.
Place in the 375 degree oven and set timer for 60 minutes.
After 30 minutes of cooking, remove briefly from the oven and turn each portion over to crisp and cook on the reverse side.
Combine 1 bottle of Frank's RedHot sauce and 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan. Warm until butter melts.
After 60 minutes (total) has passed, remove chicken from the oven and let rest 5 minutes.
During the 5 minute rest, prepare "serving dish" and "refuse dish." Long ago, I began putting a paper towel inside a grocery/plastic bag and place it in a bread pan. Clean up is quick and easy!
After 5 minute rest, place all wings in a metal or glass bowl. Pour sauce mixture over the wings.
Place them in the serving dish. Grab a beer or margarita and ENJOY!
These ARE the best wings in the Valley, perhaps in the nation!
