EricMBloggie

Every once in a blue moon, I’ll put on my hunting gear, grab my pump-action Remington 870 shotgun, and ruthlessly track down and murder a flying buffalo.  Leaving everything save the wings to rot in the redwood forest in which they live, I roast them and toss them in Frank’s Red Hot sauce.  Let’s talk about how to make these things without resorting to the artery clogging goodness of a deep fryer.  There are countless variations on the buffalo wing, but I think this slightly healthier version is pretty bomb.  This recipe was an experiment that turned out really well.

** I doubt it’s actually healthy **

Ingredients:

some      Chicken Wings
1/2 cup  Franks Red Hot Sauce
1T           Butter
1/4 cup  Stock / Water
2T          Maple Syrup
pinch     Cinnamon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare the chicken wings by cutting off the wing tips and separating the mini drumstick part from the other part.  Pat them dry with paper towels.  Make sure they’re really dry.  Dry chicken = crispy skin.  Heat up vegetable oil on medium-high in a pan big enough to hold all of your wings.  Season wings with salt and pepper, place them skin down in the pan.  When the skin browns, flip the wings with tongs.  If they don’t release from the pan, let them brown for a little while longer.  They should release easily once the skin browns enough.  Transfer to the oven until they’re done.  Let’s say 20-25 minutes.

Sauce:  Combine the rest of the ingredients into a saucepan.  Reduce until saucy.

Be careful with the cinnamon– don’t add to much.  It should be far in the background.  I didn’t plan on adding it, but I tried it with a small spoonful of the sauce, and decided it was a good idea.  Using stock in the sauce thins it out a bit at first, but it takes the edge off of the hot sauce, and makes it go a little farther.  You could probably use water to the same effect, or omit it.  Traditionally, buffalo sauce uses way more butter, but I’m trying to live past 30.