Have a Wing Night

Chicken wings have been a long time favourite pub grub fare.  Traditionally, cheap wing night was held on Tuesday nights but that varied from pub to pub.  The going price was 10¢ per wing several years ago but now that has more than tripled to 35¢ per wing.  Still, even at the higher price it is still a cheap at only $3.50 for 10 wings.  Wings tend to come naked (no coating) or breaded, sauced or sauce on the side and a choice of usually mild, hot or suicide sauce although new and exciting sauces like chili lime and honey garlic are quickly becoming popular.  We love chicken wings so get together with the guys quite often on Tuesday nights to enjoy wings at one of our favourite bars.  Wing nights are fun because the focus is on the wings, with wings making up most or all of the meal.  It's quite common to order a big plate of wings and a drink.  That's it!  The price of drinks greatly increases the cost of the meal as does ordering a side salad as I like to do.  The biggest complaint I have with this particular bar and their wings is the lack of consistency.  One week the wings will be large and nicely cooked, the next week the wings will be small and over cooked.  The sauces are never the same!  Seriously, how difficult can it be to make the same honey garlic sauce the same way so it tastes the same from week to week?  At any rate, the place remains popular with the guys because it is the only place in town with a wing night.

I decided to experiment with chicken wings as a potential candidate recipe for my Hidden Valley Ranch^TM Ranchify Recipe Challenge. I've tried naked and coated wings.  Coating in the pubs tends to be more on the thicker breaded side.  Quite frankly, I am not a huge fan of anything breaded but when it comes to wings, some type of coating helps make the sauce stick better.

I started with 16 large chicken wings then removed the tips and cut at the joint for 32 pieces.  I used a light breading mixture consisting of 1 c organic unbleached flour, ½ c homemade breadcrumbs and seasonings.  I placed this in a large container, mixed well then added the wings to coat.  The easiest way to coat the wings I found is to lightly shake the container then let sit for five minutes and shake again.

I left the coated wings in the container until ready for frying.  I heated the deep fryer to 356°F then fried the chicken wings in small batches until golden brow, about 7 minutes.  It took three batches to fry the 32 wings.  Once the wings were fried, I drained them then set aside for the various sauces I was testing.

I used  ½ c of each sauce in separate bowls then divided the cooked wings into four equal amounts (8 pieces per sauce).  I added each portion of the cooked wings to the respective sauces then used a slight flipping motion to coat the wings well with the sauce.  I used tongs to remove the wings to be plated for serving.

I made four varieties of chicken wings.  Three were ranch based creation stage recipes for the contest, the last was Sweet Baby Ray's.  Of the four versions, bottom left with garnish and the Sweet Baby Ray's were definite keepers.  Watch for the creation stage recipe to be posted.

The beauty of using the light breading method for homemade chicken wings is virtually any sauce desired can be used.  They are good left without sauce then sauce on the side for dipping as well.  You can experiment with the seasonings added to the flour and breadcrumb mixture as well so the possibilities are endless! 

The homemade chicken wings came in at 37¢ each but the wings were quite large.  Chicken wings seldom go on sale here so that price likely won't change much.  However, drinks and salad were a lot cheaper at home.  This is really a quick and easy meal as the sides can be kept quite simple.  It is a sure to please meal as well since each family member can choose their own sauce or just mix and match.  Having a wing night is a fun activity the whole family will enjoy!