Sweet 'n' Spicy Wings & Frickles
Two sauces, one tray of wings, and a bowl of battered pickles on the side. Half hot, half sweet, so nobody has to negotiate.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
For the wings
2kg chicken wings, cut at the joint (or chicken nibbles)
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cornflour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
1/3 cup mayonnaise
150g stilton
148ml Frank's Red Hot sauce
60ml Tabasco
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
200g butter, divided in half
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup malt vinegar
celery sticks, to serve
For the frickles
8 pickles
1/3 cup plain flour
1/2 cup cold soda water
750ml vegetable oil, for deep frying
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup toum
lemon wedges, to serve
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 240C fan forced.
Combine the flour, cornflour, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder and salt, and toss with the chicken wings.
Place on a lightly oiled baking rack, evenly spaced, over a paper lined baking tray. Bake for 35 minutes, turning carefully after 20 minutes.
Combine the yoghurt, mayonnaise and stilton in a small food processor until smooth. A few chunks left in is fine.
For the hot sauce, combine the Frank's, Tabasco, tomato sauce and brown sugar over medium heat, then whisk in half the butter until melted and silky.
For the sweet sauce, combine the barbecue sauce and malt vinegar over medium heat and whisk in the remaining butter until melted and silky.
Divide the wings and toss half through the hot sauce and half through the sweet. Serve with the blue cheese sauce, celery and frickles.
For the frickles, cut the pickles in half lengthways, then into quarters, and dry them well.
Combine the flour and soda water in a bowl until smooth.
Heat the oil over medium high heat in a deep pot, not a frypan - deep frying oil boils over easily when the pan is shallow. Once the oil is hot, drop in a little batter to make sure it bubbles and browns.
Dunk the pickles into the batter and lower into the oil, turning gently as they start to colour. Drain on a rack and season.
Combine the mayonnaise and toum for a quick aioli, and serve with the frickles and lemon wedges.
HINTS
Dry the pickles properly before they hit the batter, or it slides straight off in the oil.
Space the wings out on the rack. Crowded wings steam instead of crisping, and the coating is doing all the work here.
Use a deep pot, never a frypan. Shallow oil is how kitchen fires start, and the batter drops the temperature fast.
NUTRITION (per recipe total, serves 4 - guide only):
Energy: approximately 34000kJ (8100 calories)
Protein: 380g
Fat: 570g
Saturated fat: 230g
Carbohydrates: 230g
Sugars: 110g
Fibre: 8g
Sodium: 14000mg
Note: most of the deep frying oil stays in the pot, so actual fat consumed is lower.
This nutrition information is a guide only and may vary depending on brands, exact quantities, and ingredient substitutions used.