Chicken wings are a great party snack food. They are perfect when you have a group over to just hang out or to enjoy during an afternoon or evening watching football. Traditional Buffalo wings are covered with a spicy sauce that goes well with blue cheese dressing and crunchy celery. But, in addition to traditional buffalo, I thought a little variety would be nice as well. So, I've added some Asian spice wings and tangy barbecue wings. All three versions start out the same way, but the spices and sauces give these two new additions a unique flavor that compliments the original. Make one or make all three. They are always a hit.
Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
3 lbs Chicken Wings (just the drumettes or both drumettes and mid wing section)
5 tbl Butter
1 cu Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 stalk Celery, cut into 6 inch sticks
Method
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add hot sauce, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Keep mixture
warm but do not let it boil. Rinse wings and then pat them dry on a paper towel. In a large stockpot, heat about half-gallon of vegetable oil until hot. Working in two or three batches, fry the other wing pieces until cooked through and golden brown. Remove wings and drain on paper towels.
With each batch, put a third to one half of the wing sauce in a disposable container. Add an equal amount of cooked wings. Seal the top of the container and shake vigorously to coat the wings with the sauce. Serve wings hot with blue cheese dressing (recipe below) and celery.
Asian Spiced Wings
Ingredients
3 lbs Chicken Wings (just the drumettes or both drumettes and mid wing section)
1 tbl Asian Five Spice Powder
5 tbl Butter
1/2 cu Hoisin Sauce
1 tbl Soy Sauce
2 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated or finely minced
1 tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
3 tbl Pineapple Juice
1 tsp Srirachi Hot Sauce
2 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
3 Green Onions, chopped
Method
Rinse Wings in water and then pat dry on a paper towel. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with Asian five spice powder. Set aside.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, vinegar, pineapple and srirachi sauce. Keep mixture warm but do not let it boil.
From this point, follow the buffalo wing recipe above by frying the wings and then tossing them in the sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
BBQ Wings
Ingredients
3 lbs Chicken Wings (just the drumettes or both drumettes and mid wing section)
1 tbl Chili Powder
6 tbl Butter
3/4 cu BBQ Sauce (your favorite brand)
2 tbl Brown Sugar
2 tsp Onion Powder
3 tbl Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tbl Molasses
2 jarred Banana Peppers, finely chopped
1/4 cu Cilantro Chopped
1/2 cu Canned French Fried Onions, optional for garnish
Method
Rinse wings in water and then pat dry on a paper towel. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with chili powder. Set aside. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add BBQ Sauce, brown sugar, onion powder, cider vinegar and molasses. Keep mixture warm but do not let it boil.
From this point, follow the buffalo wing recipe above by frying the wings and then tossing them in the sauce. Garnish with chopped banana peppers, cilantro and friend onions (each optional).
Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
1 cu Mayonnaise
4 oz Blue Cheese, crumbled
3 tbl Milk
2 tbl fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Shallot, finely minced
2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard
1/4 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
Method
Mix all ingredients together, stirring well. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve.
If you have any comments or questions, please send me an email at wayne@waynesweekend.com or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
