When Sam and I dream about the day we have our own restaurant or pop up food van Wings are what always keep coming back.
Wings are an absolute staple in our kitchen, there's not a month that goes by without us buying a box of wings from Tesco and getting our sauce on. We sit on the floor in front of the telly, surrounded by chicken and dip and within seconds they're demolished.
I don't know if its just me or not but every time I cook something delicious at home I wonder if I'm just blinded by my love of cooking with the taste, or if it is actually that good and other people would be drooling too, well this weekend my boyfriend and I FINALLY cooked our infamous wings for some friends, and boy was it a good verdict. We haven't heard the end of it since they've been over. Recipe requests, more parties at ours, (only if we're cooking) and genuinely more chicken wings are needed at every event now.
So here are the weekends recipes for you all to try!
We've got
BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS & BLUE CHEESE DIP
BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER (Vegan Friendly)
KOREAN GOCHUJANG WINGS
REGGAE JERK WINGS
BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS & BLUE CHEESE DIP
INGREDIENTS
10-12 chicken wings
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp paprika / smoked paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp olive oil
300ml franks redhot wings sauce
50g butter
150g blue cheese
150g buttermilk
150g sour cream
100g mayonaise
1tbsp lemon juice
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
dash of worcester sauce
METHOD
In a bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder.
Place the raw chicken wings in a large bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and the sprinkle over the dry rub, mix with the chicken until all of the skin is coated in the rub. Set aside and marinade for at least an hour, over night works best (don't worry if you didn't leave enough time to let the wings marinade in the dry rub, just carry on and cook them anyway, they'll still be a treat, just make sure you remember for next time).
Preheat the oven to 180'C.
Place the wings on a wire rack and put in the oven, make sure there is tin foil underneath the wire rack to catch any excess skin juices.
After 20 minutes of cooking take the wings out and flip over, cook for another 20 minutes.
Whilst the wings are cooking, put the buffalo sauce and butter in a pan and cook until warm and the butter has melted and start the blue cheese dip.
In a blender, combine the blue cheese, butter milk, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt pepper and Worcester sauce and blend until the cheese has broken down and the sauce is cheesy and creamy. Leave in the fridge until serving.
Once the wings have been in the oven for 40 minutes, remove from the wire rack and transfer them to a snug fitting tray, coat in the buffalo sauce, save any left overs for dipping later.
Return to the oven for a final 10 minutes of cooking.
Garnish with chopped coriander and spring onion and serve with the blue cheese dip.
WARNING you'll need some napkins when eating these.
BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER PIECES
INGREDIENTS
1 large cauliflower
150g plain flour
300ml plant based milk
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
150g panko / normal breadcrumbs
200g buffalo hot sauce
60g dairy free butter
spring onions
coriander
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180'C
Put the flour, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, sat and pepper in a bowl and whisk together.
Break the cauliflower into florets and bite size pieces. Tip the cauliflower into the batter and toss to coat.
Pour the breadcrumbs into a separate bowl and a few pieces at a time coat the battered cauliflower in the breadcrumbs until well coated. Put the breaded cauliflower on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile melt the dairy free butter and hot sauce in a saucepan until warm and combined.
After the cauliflower has been in the oven for 20 minutes pour over the hot sauce, give them a mix around until fully coated, return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes.
KOREAN GOCHUJANG WINGS
INGREDIENTS
10-12 chicken wings
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsps sesame oil
2 tsp 5 spice
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp Gochujang Sauce (I got mine from an oriental store in Brixton, but google says Sainsbury sell this too).
80g butter
2 1.2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp mirin
2tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp ginger paste / 1 thumb size piece of ginger, grated
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 tbsp sesame seeds
METHOD
In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, five spice, ground ginger, salt and pepper, pour the marinade over the chicken, stir until all of the chicken is coated and leave to marinade for at least an hour, over night works best.
Preheat the oven to 180'C.
Place the wings on a wire rack and put in the oven for 20 minutes, make sure there is tin foil underneath the wire rack to catch any excess skin juices.
After 20 minutes of cooking take the wings out and flip over, return to the oven and cook for another 20 minutes.
Whilst the wings are cooking, put the remaining ingredients in a saucepan, stir and heat over a medium heat until the butter has melted and it has just come up to boil.
Once the wings have been in the oven for 40 minutes, remove from the wire rack and transfer them to a snug fitting tray, coat in the Korean sauce, save any left overs for dipping later. I like to dip the wings in the sauce and then put in the tray as then I know they're fully coated in the sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and return to the oven for a final 10 minutes of cooking.
WARNING you'll need some napkins when eating these.
REGGAE JERK WINGS
INGREDIENTS
10-12 chicken wings
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bottle of your favourite reggae bbq sauce
1/2 lime juice
coriander
spring onions
METHOD
In a bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients to make the dry rub for the chicken.
Place the raw chicken wings in a large bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and the sprinkle over the dry rub, mix with the chicken until all of the skin is coated in the rub.
Set aside and marinade for at least an hour, over night works best (don't worry if you didn't leave enough time to let the wings marinade in the dry rub, just carry on and cook them anyway, they'll still be a treat, just make sure you remember for next time).
Preheat the oven to 180'C.
Place the wings on a wire rack and put in the oven, make sure there is tin foil underneath the wire rack to catch any excess skin juices.
After 20 minutes of cooking take the wings out and flip over, cook for another 20 minutes.
Once the wings have been in the oven for 40 minutes, remove from the wire rack and transfer them to a snug fitting tray, coat in the reggae sauce, save any left overs for dipping later.
Return to the oven for a final 10 minutes of cooking.
Garnish with chopped coriander, spring onion and a squeeze of lime.
WARNING you'll need some napkins when eating these.