Hot Wings
My friends request my hot wings all the time. Seriously, I’m renowned for my hot wings and I’ve earned that respect.
But if you think I’m greedy and I’m not going to share my secret with all of you, you’re dead wrong. I’ll tell you all I know because that’s the kinda guy I am.
Now, keep in mind that this is something you need a few hours to do, so prep in advance.
The Wings
To start, get your wings and prepare them by cutting off excess fat and separating the drummie from the wingette. I like to leave the tip on the wings, that third section that almost never gets used. I think it’s tasty, it adds to the flavor, and it makes the wings look bigger. Win.
Once all of your wings are prepped, wash them and then pat them dry. Set them aside so that you can prepare your breading.
In a large tupperware container, mix together 1 cup of flour (you can use gluten free flour for your celiac afflicted friends and, trust me on this, it will taste exactly the same), 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper. Shake it so that everything is nicely mixed together.
Go ahead and dump in your wings into the breading. Put the lid on that tupperware so that you can shake the absolute shit out of it. Seriously, put your shoulders and back into it. I want those wings coated evenly.
Once you’re done shaking it, dump the wings evenly onto a baking tray and ensure that every wing is coated all the way over. If they’re not, rub a bit of breading on there. Then put some tin foil or cellophane over the top and stick it in the fridge for an hour. Patience is a virtue here.
About 10 minutes before you take the wings out of the fridge, take that same pot of oil from the sweet potato chips and heat it up to just over medium heat (same as the chips). If you already used the oil for chips, don’t fret. That will give a nice little added flavor that is actually really delicious.
After an hour, take out the wings and check the temperature of the oil by dropping a tiny, tiny bit of water into it. If it starts splattering, you’re good to go.
Drop in enough wings to cover the bottom of the pot but no more. Do NOT stack them. Set a kitchen timer for exactly 12 minutes. Again, commence waiting.
Once that time goes off, take out the wings and put them somewhere where you can pat them dry of all the oil that’s still clinging to them.
Put in the next batch of wings and set for 12 minutes. I’m sure by now that you see this a “rinse and repeat” process where you will keep doing this until you’re out of wings that need frying.
Once you’re all done, you can eat them plain (trust me, they’re tasty enough to do this) or you can make your own sauce to go along with them. Here’s my sauce:
The Sauce
Grab several cloves of garlic and mince them up. I recommend 3-5 cloves, depending on how much you like garlic. I’m pretty much a vampire slayer, so I use 5-6.
In a small sauce pot, melt a little bit of garlic. We’re not going for a huge amount here, just enough so that when the garlic is dumped in, each little minced piece has a tiny, tiny pool of butter around it.
Sauté the garlic for a little bit, just long enough to get the slightest bit of browning on the edges. When that happens, dump in an entire bottle of Franks Red Hot and let it all simmer together. Don’t let impatience win here, take your time.
Let it bubble a bit and really mix all together. That butter garlic flavor is going to melt into the Red Hot and the Red Hot is going to imbue itself into the garlic chunks. Basically, it’s flavor bliss.
Once it’s ready, put it to the side and let people ladle however much they want onto their wings. Or you can put the wings into a very large bowl, dump in the sauce, and then toss them so that the wings are all flavored all over. Whatever your heart desires.
Trust me when I say that this recipe will have all of your friends loving you and wanting you at every event. After all, who doesn’t like wings?