Rhys' Quick Crispy Chicken Wings
This is one of my favourite foods! The trouble is, i live in Norway, and it is really really difficult to buy raw chicken wings, and when you can, the best bits -- the tips -- are always removed. You can buy "Pre-grilled" vinger (wings) and sometimes you can get them raw but "marinert" (marinated). And due to the norsk fascination with all things-american, they always resemble buffalo wings. But these wings are NOT buffalo wings, definitely. No red sauce in sight!
Sadly, as i write this at my desk in Norway, all i have is a grainy image from when i lived in Scotland. But the next time i encounter these babies, i will photo them in all their glory!
What i like about them is that they are very quick -- you can be eating them 45 minutes after you get home from work. And they are very crispy on the outside but still tender inside. And, once you do the prep, you basically just wait.
Every time i visit my friends in the UK or North America, i beg them to let me cook these -- that is how much i miss them!
I was inspired by a recipe from English food writer Nigel Slater, which i came across in a newspaper when i was living in Bristol. It was for 'Slow Wings', involving cooking them at a low temperature for a fairly long time. I can't remember if i just got impatient or what. I liked the idea, but not the slow cooking. And thus my favourite recipe of all time was born! Enjoy!
Rhys’ QwikWings
Turn the oven as high as it will go – at least 225 C.
Take a dozen chicken wings and cut them apart at the knee(!) joint. Cut the ‘wrist’ joint a little bit – only half way to make them easier to pull off when cooked. Now you will have what the norsk call 'klubber' (little drumsticks) and 'vinger' (the forearms and tips, still joined). Throw them together into a big bowl.
Strip the leaves of three or four twigs of rosemary, Chop the leaves roughly (so the rosemary needles are cut in half or quarters).
Dump them on the chicken.
Put a teaspoon of the Spanish sweet smoked paprika over them in the bowl if you have it.
Squeeze 2 inches from a tube of garlic paste over the wings
(Garlic paste is a great ingredient. In Italy and the UK it comes in a tube like tomato paste. In other places you can get it in small jars but often it isn't ground as fine. I use it for all sorts of things and every trip to the UK sees a couple of tubes in my bag on my return).
Pour about two tablespoons of lemon juice (fresh or bottled – whatever you got) over the wings and mix them together for about 30 seconds – until each wing is evenly coated. Let the flavours mix and soak in for a few minutes.
Just before cooking, pour a little bit of olive oil (1-2 tbls) over the wings and mix again.
Put the wings on a rack over a baking sheet covered in foil, not touching each other if possible. (the foil is essential or you will curse it when you come to clean the tray!)
Take salt (coarse flakes like Malden Salt are best) and by hand, put a pinch on each wingtip, and a little on the skin part of the rest of the wing. Dust with coarse black pepper.
Pop them in the oven for exactly 30 minutes, pull out and let cool for at least 5 mins.
Now enjoy the crispy outside and the tender insides! My favourite bits are the wing tips. I save them for last and crunch my way through the caramelized tips. It reminds me of fighting over the crispy bits of the roast with my sister when i was a kid!
They are best with garlic mayonnaise. Take a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise and squeeze 2 inches of the garlic paste into it. Pour a tablespoon or so of lemon juice in and mix till it is really smooth. Dip the wings in it. [It great with fries, too].
Turn the oven as high as it will go – at least 225 C.
Take a dozen chicken wings and cut them apart at the knee(!) joint. Cut the ‘wrist’ joint a little bit – only half way to make them easier to pull off when cooked. Now you will have what the norsk call 'klubber' (little drumsticks) and 'vinger' (the forearms and tips, still joined). Throw them together into a big bowl.
Strip the leaves of three or four twigs of rosemary, Chop the leaves roughly (so the rosemary needles are cut in half or quarters).
Dump them on the chicken.
Put a teaspoon of the Spanish sweet smoked paprika over them in the bowl if you have it.
Squeeze 2 inches from a tube of garlic paste over the wings
(Garlic paste is a great ingredient. In Italy and the UK it comes in a tube like tomato paste. In other places you can get it in small jars but often it isn't ground as fine. I use it for all sorts of things and every trip to the UK sees a couple of tubes in my bag on my return).
Pour about two tablespoons of lemon juice (fresh or bottled – whatever you got) over the wings and mix them together for about 30 seconds – until each wing is evenly coated. Let the flavours mix and soak in for a few minutes.
Just before cooking, pour a little bit of olive oil (1-2 tbls) over the wings and mix again.
Put the wings on a rack over a baking sheet covered in foil, not touching each other if possible. (the foil is essential or you will curse it when you come to clean the tray!)
Take salt (coarse flakes like Malden Salt are best) and by hand, put a pinch on each wingtip, and a little on the skin part of the rest of the wing. Dust with coarse black pepper.
Pop them in the oven for exactly 30 minutes, pull out and let cool for at least 5 mins.
Now enjoy the crispy outside and the tender insides! My favourite bits are the wing tips. I save them for last and crunch my way through the caramelized tips. It reminds me of fighting over the crispy bits of the roast with my sister when i was a kid!
They are best with garlic mayonnaise. Take a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise and squeeze 2 inches of the garlic paste into it. Pour a tablespoon or so of lemon juice in and mix till it is really smooth. Dip the wings in it. [It great with fries, too].
