Seeking Chicken Wing Nirvana by Ted Slater on Apr 4, 2008 at 9:19 AM

As some of you who listen to The Boundless Show podcast know, I'm into chicken wings.

I wasn't always this way. I used to think they were only for football-watchers. Not being a football-watcher (that said, "Go Packers!"), I felt chicken wings were not for me.

And then I had some really good ones from a place called Wing King back in Virginia Beach. So, while I'm still no fan of football, I have become a fan of good chicken wings.

There are no remarkable chicken wings to be found in Colorado Springs restaurants (believe me -- I've sampled most of them), and so a year and a half ago I made it my mission to personally bring about the best chicken wings this world has ever known.

I've been doing my research over the past 18 months, reading online and in books. I've gone through perhaps dozens of different wing sauces, comparing each one, sometimes mixing two or three together. I've tried deep frying, baking, broiling and a combination of the three. I've tried both fresh and frozen chicken wings. I've tried them with breading and without. I've cooked them at temperatures ranging from 350 degrees to 500 degrees. I've tried marinating them and brining with vegetable broth, kosher salt, brown sugar, EVOO, and a variety of spices. And through it all I've been keeping accurate notes of ingredients and times and temperatures.

I'm not prepared to release my results yet -- I've just ordered a collection of sauces from two online stores, and am still tweaking my cooking technique -- but the day I do publish my recipe is not too far off. In the meantime, I am open to any suggestions from fellow wing aficionados -- whether you're a football-watcher or not.

Comments

[1. kaj had the following to say on Apr 4 at 10:14 AM:]

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I'm a vegetarian (although I used to eat meat when I was younger). While I respect your choice to chew on chicken, my cooking expertise is limited to plant-based material, so I am unqualified to offer any advice on the subject.

However, having said that, in my former carnivorous days, my grandmother made a wonderful batch of fried chicken using ground up Rice Krisipies as the coating. And it was tasty. It might work for wings. Good luck.

[2. Nelson had the following to say on Apr 4 at 10:20 AM:]

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Do you own your own deep frier? I do, but my friends very strongly insist that I don't bring it over for potlucks :)

[3. kaj had the following to say on Apr 4 at 10:32 AM:]

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FWIW, I also forgot to mention the two common staples of chicken-cooking, Pacific Islands style: Vinegar with soy sauce.

[4. obewan had the following to say on Apr 4 at 12:02 PM:]

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I don't like fried/breaded coatings on wings because the texture does not go well with the sauce. For sauces, I eat them right on the skin or skinless. Sometimes, I do eat barbaque sauce on KFC style breaded chicken, but it usually gets me how it is "soggy".

[5. farmer Tom had the following to say on Apr 4 at 12:21 PM:]

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It's Friday, I'm about to get my first vacation days since Christmas, and I'm feeling ....well ornery.

I have little understanding of your pursuit. While you may have at one time tasted some "good" chicken wings in Virgina Beach, you seem to be a slow learner. After all this time and effort spent on trying to master the art of cooking chicken wings,(how much money have you spent on this endeavor?) I as a dispassionate observer can render a verdict.

Here's the problem. You are approaching this mission while looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

Ted, you can do all kinds of expensive sauces, seasonings, vary the temperature, and time you cook them, but in the end, your trying to make the useless appendages of a "yard fowl" taste good, and therein is the problem. You're trying to make fowl taste good.

"Beef, it's whats for dinner."

"Chicken, what's been scratching through what the cattle left behind."

Save your money, instead of wasting it on sauces, spices and recipies to make the chicken taste better, just buy beef instead.

Oh and for kaj, "Beef, because the west wasn't won on salad."

[6. tom had the following to say on Apr 4 at 12:33 PM:]

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farmer Tom (#5)

I'm with you. I mean, did man claw his way to the top of the food chain just to eat chicken wings?

Give me a good ol' medium-rare slab-o-meat at Outback and I'm a happy man.

[7. Gary had the following to say on Apr 4 at 12:46 PM:]

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Ted,

Have you ever been to Buffalo? If not, that's where your search should start and end for the best wings. I live in a suburb of the city, and you can go to many different places and find better wings than anywhere else in the country. I know a bunch of guys from Texas who loved wings and swore that their favorite wing place was down south, but then came here and tried the wings and were instantly converted.

Also, breading on chicken wings is basically sacrilege, so you can cut out that idea. Around here, the most common sauce used is Frank's Redhot sauce http://www.franksredhot.com/recipe/franks/home.jsp
A basic (but good) recipe is to deep fry the wings (crispier is better IMOP), then mix the sauce and a little butter together (depending on your preference) and coat the wings with the sauce...that's not a bad way of doing it at home. For the best wings though, Anchor Bar or Duff's are both really good.

[8. P&P had the following to say on Apr 4 at 12:48 PM:]

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Outback for steak? Hah. I pick up pennies off the street to have one meal a year at Morton's.

And y'all thought us East Coast Liberals eat nothing but granola and sprouts.

[9. a sassy sister had the following to say on Apr 4 at 12:50 PM:]

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well, chicken, beef, or vegetables, I would hope that each person makes an attempt to be flavorful and creative with cooking. My sister would be thrilled to know if there were any great places for wings where we live.

[10. Sarah22 had the following to say on Apr 4 at 12:58 PM:]

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Chicken wings are the BEST!

However, I hate breading on hot wings, yuck.

Ted: While my family generally prefers deep fried hot wings from our favorite restaurant we sometimes grill our wings on the BBQ and it's a nice change every once in awhile. We grill them naked and then toss them in the sauce right before eating.

Of course, as any wing aficionado knows, the most important part of the chicken wing meal is the RANCH! I’ve found the “homemade” ranch made with the hidden valley ranch packet is the best tasting.

Oh and to the men who are downing fowl...I love love love chicken, red meat is fine to but I especially enjoy chicken and it's helped me stick to my diet and lose 30 lbs so it can't be so bad :)

[11. Christina (in green) had the following to say on Apr 4 at 1:04 PM:]

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...hmmm...

Steak. cravings kicked in

Thanks boys, appreciate it.

[12. tom had the following to say on Apr 4 at 1:17 PM:]

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P&P (#8)

Wow. I ate at a Morton's last year (someone else was picking up the tab, too!) and had the ribeye. If I remember right, it was $52.00.

It was worth every penny. Best steak I have ever had in my life, hands down.

[13. Tami had the following to say on Apr 4 at 1:19 PM:]

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A couple Super Bowls ago, a friend made some garlic and parmesan wings. I could not stop eating them. INSANE.

[14. Chris B. (VA) had the following to say on Apr 4 at 1:29 PM:]

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I am fortunate to have a great wing place in my town that offers several (about two dozen, if I had to guess) different sauces for their wings.

For me, the perfect wing is something with moderate heat and a strong savory flavor like garlic. I have never tried to make wings at home, but if anyone has a great recipe I will consider it.

Concerning dipping sauces, I dislike both rance and bleu cheese. I come for the wings, not for salad dressing.

[15. BDB had the following to say on Apr 4 at 1:31 PM:]

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Personally, I prefer my chicken boneless, raised on an organic boneless chicken ranch...

Seems like the best place to start is with a Weber grill...

[16. Jacob had the following to say on Apr 4 at 5:21 PM:]

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I'm not a big wings fan (though I will eat them, along with most anything else, for that matter, save for tofu), and I give a hearty "Amen" to the beef. It might kill us all in the end, but at least we'll die happy!

[17. hxcjf had the following to say on Apr 4 at 8:44 PM:]

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Quaker Steak and Lube. Best wings in the US.

[18. Ashley had the following to say on Apr 5 at 9:47 AM:]

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Wouldn't Chicken Wing Nirvana be the state of not having Chicken Wings?

Jus' Sayin...

[19. Chris had the following to say on Apr 6 at 8:01 PM:]

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If you're going to take the time to cook or eat something, why waste your time on little, tiny, teeny, itsy-bitsy things that needs tons of sauce just to give them some flavor so you know you're eating something?

Be a man. Eat some ribs. All you need is a smoker, some ribs, some hardwood chips, and your favorite beverage to kill a few hours.

[20. Louise had the following to say on Apr 7 at 9:25 AM:]

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I haven't eaten a steak or chicken wings for a long time and I'm gettting hungry!

[21. Candice Watters had the following to say on Apr 7 at 10:15 AM:]

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Ted,
You're a regular Alton Brown!

[22. BDB had the following to say on Apr 7 at 1:12 PM:]

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Ashley #18 wrote:

>>Wouldn't Chicken Wing Nirvana be the state of not having Chicken Wings?<<

Perhaps it is the state of no longer desiring Chicken Wings...

[23. Jo had the following to say on Apr 7 at 3:42 PM:]

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"Perhaps it is the state of no longer desiring Chicken Wings..."

Then I've reached it! Bones = bad. I'm too lazy for all that malarkey.

[24. farmer Tom had the following to say on Apr 7 at 9:28 PM:]

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Mrs.farmer and I celebrated 17 years of marriage yesterday. For the special occasion I took her to Ruth's Chris Steak House. We won't be going back soon, cause now we are seriously broke, but oh man was the steak good.

Filet seared on the outside at 1800 degrees, cooked till pink in the center, served on a 500 degree plate, seasoned with salt, pepper and parsley, then covered in melted butter.

Now that is good food. You can eat all the chicken wings you want Ted, give me some steak.

[25. Carrie (the original) had the following to say on Apr 8 at 3:15 PM:]

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You know, I've been meaning to try Chicken wings with BBQ sauce and brown sugar cooked in the Crock Pot for a couple months now.

I am a huge fan o' the wings.

[26. gwynn had the following to say on Jun 18 at 12:22 PM:]

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although spice is very important when calling it a "hot" wing your true wing lovers will look for taste as well. I recommand adding a salsa to the mix for flavor. My favorite wing place does this and I love eating a wing that has heat and taste. After all anyone can through a wing into the hottest spice or pepper mix.