BUFFALO WINGS

Yesterday I made Buffalo wings for the first time. We do not recall to have ever eaten them before, not even as take away. I made my own adaptation using about 3 recipes I found online. They are usually fried with a lot of oil, but this recipe is healthier as they are baked and with almost no oil. One trick I learned yesterday is that if you want them to come out crispy as if they were fried, add a teaspoon of baking powder to the flour. It really worked and they were crunchy and delicious! We loved them! 😍😄😋

Ingredients

Wings

1kg chicken wings, cut into sections and discarding the tips
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda or bicarbonate) 
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

Sauce

2 Tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
1/4 cup sriracha sauce (or Frank's Red Hot)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt

a big dash Worcestershire sauce

Blue cheese dip

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, softened (I used gorgonzola dolce)
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove small garlic, minced
1 - 3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper

To serve
Celery sticks

Method

Pat dry the chicken wings with paper towels.

Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place a rack on top. Spray it with a little bit of oil.
Place the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag or a small bowl, and mix. 

Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. 

Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to120°C. Put one oven shelf in the lower quarter of the oven and one in the top quarter.

Place the wings skin side up on the rack. Bake on the lower shelf in the oven for 30 minutes.

Then move the tray up to the higher shelf and turn the oven up to 180°C. Bake for a further 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through. The wings do not need to be turned over.

The wings are ready when they are dark golden brown and the skin is very crispy.

To make the hot sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well and cook until it starts to simmer. Reserve and warm up again if necessary before using it to coat the wings.

To make the blue cheese dip, mash the blue cheese with the crème fraîche until smooth (or to your taste) in a medium bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well until combined, using milk to get it to the consistency you want.

Using the Thermomix

Place all ingredients into mixing bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 4. Transfer into a serving bowl, cover and place into refrigerator. 

Store in the fridge until required. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before serving.

When the wings are ready, toss with the hot sauce.

Serve immediately with the blue cheese dip and the celery sticks.

Enjoy!

Serves 4