Dear VR,
This post will be a departure from the previous fascinating subjects that have come up over the course of the past years. Instead of scintillating discussions about movies, world events, the cabino de misterioso, Stuff that Matters, 'n stuff, we will delve into something that I've been struggling with for most of this year. I have been mildly depressed over it for some time.
Have you ever tried to make some variation on Buffalo Wings that was an acceptable alternative to the ones you get from Original Buffalo Wings, or Wingstop and the like?
I have. And I wasn't able to come up with anything until now.
The problem is, at least for me, that Deep Frying is Unacceptable. And that's what makes 'em tasty.
Big problem.
My thinking was, the wings had to cook hot so they'd get crispy and the sauce would brown up a bit, thereby simulating deep frying-ness.
I had the help of my taster/critic daughter Reer, who graciously gobbled down a number of false starts I had attempted utilizing oven baking, broiling, grilling and such. All received the thumbs down. Enjoyably edible simulacrums all, but not nearly close enough.
Finally, I hit on it. This time, with the ever-helpful dude kibitzing, I was able to produce, if not a replica of actual buffalo wings, a close alternative that elicited yummy sounds from dude as he ate 'em up. Although, it could have been the mashed potatos.
Whatever! They were good.
This is what I did:
Mixed a bottle of Frank's BW sauce with a big splash of Chaka's Mmmm sauce and several shots from the Tabasco sauce bottle.
Rinsed the whole wings and blotted them a bit.
Mixed up some flour with some Cajun spices and shook 'em up in a plastic bag to lightly coat (this was dude's genius contribution, which was what finally turned the tide).
Placed in a large mixing bowl, and poured the sauce over the wings and gently mixed them to coat.
Had the grill fired up, and fairly hot (400 degrees). Set the wings on the grill and closed the lid.
Waited.
Turned after a while. Crispyness! Saucey brownness! Closed lid.
Waited.
Looked after a while. Turned again. Closed lid.
Waited.
Turned again. Closed lid.
Waited.
What I was after was well browned, not burnt, very well done.
Removed from heat to a lage bowl, poured more sauce over.
Et 'em. Yumm, yummmy, mmmm....
Yeah buddy.
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17 comments:
OK, that's it , I'm comin out there and I'm bringin my appetite with me. P.
Hey, Vance:
I can testify to all of the ass-kickin wonderfulness of those Buffalo wings, but I think you give me a bit too much credit for the flour thing...In any event, it deserves entry onto my most recent favorite website: http://www.happynews.com/index.aspx, which I think will soon be replacing CNN as my homepage, disgusted with how journalism in all of its forms has taken to tabloid formats in order to make a few bucks. I have been inundated with so much bad news and negative energy that its starting to seep out of my pores and poison my surroundings, not to mention my inner well-being and, god-forbid, tastebuds.
So, I have decided to become shallow, and delight in happy, positive news, standup comedy, and cooking epiphanies, which brings me back to the wings (fond as I am of the full-circle thing):
I think the next batch could benefit from a mixture of wings and mini-legs, and then my happiness will then know no bounds, and I will be able to internally compete with images of suicide bombers, plus-size models, and the like...
The dude.
Dear VR,
Unbelievable! As usual, The dude has channeled my thinking of the past couple weeks!
Two words: Swine Flu.
Did the media have a field day on that one, or did they not?
Sheee-it. Did they scare the bee-jeezuz out of middle America? Did they not make a buck doing it?
Am I right, or am I not right?
I spoz.
Ass-wipes.
Yours,
Vance
what about the buddah?
Dear VR,
Gahh, who has shamelessly broken th anonymous-ness of the post, may have hit on something:
Tonight, I made Buffalo legs (sit up 'n take note, dude!!!) with another slight variation. I oiled up the legs a bit with vegetable oil, then dredged 'em in flour!
They were awesome?
But, what if you used buddah, instead of oil?
I guess you'd better had as well deep fry 'em I spoze.
But, maybe?
Vance
I meant melting buddah with the franks, but coating the wings (drummies) sounds good too. -- gahh
Franks?
WTF?
http://www.franksredhot.com/
BTW, you even mention Franks in your original post. Vance? WTF?
Did you think I meant weenies!
VR,
This is what makes "What Do You Mean, Mace?" the best blog going.
The Vast Readership can veer off a subject at any time, in any which way, and lead us who knows where?
Do you get that with those other blogs?
Peh.
Vance
VR,
Of course, when I said "...Frank's BW sauce" I figured you'd know that I was talkin' about Frank's Original Buffalo Wing Sauce.
Jeez.
But, hot links are kew.
VTP
Vance:
RE: the recent confusion of Frank's vs. franks, this I think is precisely how great leaps of knowledge occurs in the human experience:
Given your (and my) penchant for pigs in blankets, what if you did the flour thing with the pigs, then an egg wash w/Frank's, then another flour thing, then on to the grill?
4th of July is calling!
the dude
Mr. Vance,
Thangew verra mush for that Buffalo Wings recipe. I don't know what the Buddha has to do with chicken treats, but I'm guessin you and The Dude have some inside info. I think the magic ingredient you're missing for the perfect Buffalo Wings is a cast iron pan on a campfire in the middle of a beautiful and pristine wilderness. Lack of the proper spices and possibly burning the bejeezus out of them doesn't make much difference in such a setting. Hope this helps.
By the way, are you gonna review the movie "Under the Yum Yum Tree"? I was kinda hoping that your heading meant you were and then you started talking about Buffalo Wings.
I very much would like to talk about pigs. I think there was a previous Vance Blog that talked about pigs. Maybe not. Anyways, alls I'm sayin is pigs are useful, specially when grilled. Pigs in Blankets were mentioned but not Tater Pigs. Tater Pigs are delicious. You bore a hole the long way through a tater (I use a spade bit) and fit in a breakfast link. Not one of those gawdawful precooked things with maple syrup flavoring. Those will make a dog bork. Get Breakfast Links. So then you bake the tater with the sausage in the middle. That's a Tater Pig. Yum. Now this is important. Use the spade bit to drill through the tater, not the sausage. That's makes all kinda unnecessary mess. It is a good ideah to poke the sausage all over with a pin so it releases it's juicy goodness into the tater. That's alls I'm sayin.
By the way -- I know this doesn't have to do with pigs, buffalo wings, sauces, or the Buddha -- but I'm just wondering if we should start our own Teri Garr fan club? I'm just askin.
Teri Garr? Liked her in Tootsie and Close Encounters...not so much as to want to join her fan club, though...Now I could see a Jennifer Garner fan club...
And speaking of fans, ENOUGH ABOUT FUCKING MICHAEL JACKSON ALREADY!!! Jesus H., aren't there important things going on in the world!?! Hardly a peep in the media when Oscar Peterson died, and he was a giant among giants. Didn't "moonwalk," though, or mutilate himself as a result of some bizarre self-loathing. Skin disease, my ass...
the dude
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