OMG I Made These Wings?!

My family loves Wings. Hot Wings. Buffalo Wings. Chicken Wings.  Whatever you call them, in our house, they are Wings.

When we lived in SoFlo, we used to go to a place called Miller's Ale House because their wings, while deep fried, weren't one step up from a "nugget".  It was awesome, TVs everywhere, every sport known to man, plus a lot of cheer leading competitions, good menu selections, good service, good prices, crayons for the kids.... you see where this is going.  The problem is, we moved. And there's no Ale House in our new town.

While grocery shopping one day, we tried some of the "IQF", cook at home variety. Banquet Brands makes a good frozen wing, assuming that you buy the "Hot and Spicy" flavor, not the "Honey BBQ" kind (ew).  We fired those up, and they became our "go to choice". But they're expensive - $10 for 18 wings - and I still had to clean up and do dishes? no.

So, one recent day, reading over on The Pioneer Woman's blog, Ree Drummond - you might know her for her Food Network Show on Saturday mornings or her "Food From My Frontier" cookbook (new one just out on March 13) - had a magical recipe  for Wings and their Buffalo hot sauce.

I thought "Wow, I might be able to do that!"
I tried it. I loved it. My family love it. I adjusted it for my family and they loved it more...
Here's my version - try it this way once and make your own adjustments .... post it on your blog - YUMMY!

Ingredients:
1 gallon size ziploc
Big Bottle Canola Oil
2 packages "chicken wingettes" for my 3 person family for dinner (mostly for hubby)
2/3 C all purpose flour (I recommend King Arthur, but just b/c it's what I use)
2 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Seasoning in the green container. Find it in the spice aisle. My friend, Charlotte introduced me to this ingredient and she knew the real Mr. Chachere, so add an extra sprinkle in her honor. You'll be happy that you did.

For the sauce, you will need:
1 stick butter
1 12 oz bottle Louisianna Hot Sauce (or Tobasco).
*Optional: Sriracha Sauce - preferably the one with the green top so the sodium doesn't kill you

In an electric frying pan, heat about 1" of canola oil to 350 degrees. I pour the oil into the cold pan up to the depth of the 1st knuckle on my index finger. I assume it's an inch.
You will need metal tongs.

Rinse and place the chicken pieces on a couple of layers of paper towels to dry. All of my paper towels say "Home Sweet Home" because I love my house. I make sure that all of my paper towels say "Home Sweet Home" on them on purpose. My house is old and the pachysandra in my garden is a plague so I like to remind Big Daddy that I love my house. You should see me in the paper towel aisle. People walk on the other side of the aisle when I'm there, and give me the "side eye" when they walk by.

In the ziploc, mix the flour and Mr. Chachere's seasoning - just throw 'em in there, zip it and shake it up.
Add the chicken to the ziploc and shake it - who remembers "shake and bake"??? - until the chicken is coated. This will create a crispy coating with out being southern fried.

When the oil comes to temperature (the light on the electric frying pan will shut off), gently shake extra flour off the chicken pieces and place them into the hot oil, piece by piece. Be careful because the oil can splatter. You can use the tongs to do this, if you are afraid of the hot oil.  Move the chicken around a little so the chicken doesn't stick to the pan.

Don't walk away. The oil is hot and stuff is cooking. Walking away can result in problems. Your children may end up with stories that they will tell to every fireman they meet for the rest of their lives. Preferably when they are in your presence.

After about 10 minutes, turn the pieces over and let them cook on the other side.  You want to cook the chicken for about 25 minutes total.  The chicken should be cooked to 160 degrees.

While the chicken is cooking, over low heat, melt the butter. This is done on the stove, if you misunderstood and thought maybe you should do it in the same frying pan as the chicken.

When the butter is melted, add the entire bottle of hot sauce. I like to whisk it together until it's combined. Or, if you don't want to dirty a whisk, just jiggle the pan (carefully!) until it looks mixed up.

Back to the chicken:
Using the tongs, remove the chicken from the oil and place on a couple of layers of paper towels on a tray or a cutting board.

Pour the prepared sauce into a bowl. I use my stainless salad/mixing bowl.

Throw a few pieces of the cooked chicken (as many as you dare) into the bowl of sauce and jiggle them around until they are coated with sauce. Do this with all of the chicken then eat it up. ** for those that like a little more spice, coat half the chicken in the regular sauce, then add a few drops of Sriracha Sauce, mix then add the rest of the cooked chicken and coat. Firey!

Serve with a tray of baby carrots, celery sticks and blue Cheese salad dressing.

or not.

And lots of napkins. And a Diet Coke. I believe Diet Coke has superpowers that automatically negates whatever naughty stuff you eat with it.

Awesomeness, Sister (and you too, Brother)!!! Think of that next Superbowl Sunday - or Next Wednesday, while you are rooting for your favorite American Idol!