I’m not the biggest American football fan (except… go Jets!). But I love Super Bowl parties. Because of the time difference, it’s a lot harder to justify hosting a party for a game that starts at 11pm (British time) on a Sunday. And it’s even worse when it’s hosted on the West Coast. Woe is me, I know.
Don’t worry about me, though. It is not going to stop me from feasting, especially since Super Bowl food is so good.
Im going to admit to enjoying some of the finer “junk” foods in life, including saucy wings and 7 layer dips. I’m also going to admit that I don’t have a deep fat fryer, and something about dumping that much oil into anything feels … expensive.
So here’s a recipe for those of you who want wings but don’t want a vat of sizzling oil hanging around. Or for anyone who wants to feel a little more saintly by telling everyone these are baked chicken wings, rather than fried.
I learned the tip that makes this recipe from one of my favorite food celebs, Alton Brown. It’s clever, it’s easy and it works. Steam your wing pieces to render out the fat, making for crispy oven-baked skin. Don’t worry, you won’t dry them out, because the steaming helps with that, too.
It’s worth noting that the steamed wings must sit in the fridge for at least an hour to cool off and dry.
Crispy baked chicken wings will be yours before you know it.
Since I find it hard to make a decision, I make 2 different sauces to keep it interesting. You can go any direction you want. Sweet sticky barbecue, lip-tingling spice, deep and smoky…
Well … on to the recipe.
Technique based on Alton Brown’s buffalo wings.
5
Serves 4
30 minPrep Time
45 minCook Time
2 hr, 15 Total Time
Save RecipeOn the Counter
- 10 chicken wings, or 20 wing pieces
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp (about 50 g) butter
- 3 tbsp chipotle paste
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- salt to taste
- 3 tbsp (50 mL) cayenne sauce, like Frank's RedHot (my personal choice)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- salt to taste
What to Do
- If you're starting with full wings, segment them into 3 pieces, at the joints. You can save the wing tips for chicken stock, but you won't need them for this recipe.
- Set water boiling in a steamer pot. Once the water is at a boil, place the wing pieces, in one layer, in the steamer. Cover. Steam them for 10 minutes, turn them over, and steam them for another 5-10 minutes to render out the fat.
- Take pot off the heat, and carefully remove the wings. With paper towels, dry them and set them onto a cooling rack, sitting above a tray.
- Refrigerate the steamed wings for at least 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make or prepare your wing sauce, or sauces.
- Heat the oven to 200 C (390 F).
- Cover a tray with foil, and lay out the wing pieces. Season them with salt and pepper.
- Set the tray on the oven's middle rack and bake the wings for 15 minutes, skin side up. Flip them and roast for another 10 minutes. They should be at least 74 C (165 F) internally and the skin should be golden.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter and put it in a small bowl or jar.
- Brush the chicken wings with butter, and then toss them in with the wings sauce or sauces.
- In a medium bowl for each sauce, combine all the ingredients. If the sauce needs to be thinned out, add some water, 1 teaspoon at a time and stir it together.
If you want a veggie-friendly Super Bowl snack, why not try vegetarian nachos instead?
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So if you’re keeping track… it’s definitely not Caribbean Food Week anymore. But sometimes memory cards go on different vacations from you, and you only see them again after they’ve done a road trip through Europe. Either way, do you really need an excuse to make some succulent, spiced baked chicken? I’d like to think not.
Jerk chicken is what you make of it, and as long as you’ve got the basics and time to marinade, you can tweak it as you please. Just make sure you have some citrus, some (all)spice, and some saltiness. By the way – allspice goes by a few other names, including pimento. If you have a spice mix that includes pimento, you are in the right place. Don’t worry, it won’t make your chicken taste like pumpkin pie or Christmas pudding.
Technically, to get the closest to real Jamaican jerk chicken, you’d need to slowly smoke it over pimento wood. But if you’re like me and live in an apartment, or don’t have the resource to slow smoke, you can bake it and still have some really good chicken.
So there’s one more thing I need to tell you about. I got the spices I used from Grace Foods, who gave me the chance to play around a bit with some Caribbean flavors. I used their hot curry spice and ginger pimento in this recipe. You can find their products in British supermarkets, particularly in the international food section. (Plus… they’re usually more affordable than even the store brands, with just as much, and often even more quality.)
On the Counter
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
½ tbsp ginger pimento spice
½ tbsp hot curry spice
¼ tbsp ground nutmeg
1 green or spring onion, finely minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 tsp table salt or 2 tsp kosher salt
2 (or 4 if you like it really spicy) scotch bonnet peppers, finely chopped
juice of ½ lime
One 1 kg/2.2 lb free range chicken, cut into eighths, skin-on, OR 4 skin on drumsticks and 4 skin on thighs, OR 12 wings, OR any mix you want!
What to Do
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. If you don’t feel like chopping up the ingredients, you can chop coarsely and put everything into a food processor until it’s combined and as close to a paste as you can get. There might still be some bits, which is ok.
Coat the chicken outside and under the skin. Getting it under the skin is important so that your actual chicken tastes great, and not just the skin. Cut through the skin to make some pockets, if you need to.
Put all the chicken pieces into a big zip-top bag, and let it marinade for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, and ideally for 8 hours if you can. You can make the marinade the night before and get the chicken ready in the morning for night-time cooking.
When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 200C/395F. Rub a little bit of oil on the inside of a roasting tray or baking dish that’s big enough for all the chicken to be in one layer. Get the chicken out of its bag and into the roasting tray.
Bake the chicken, uncovered, for 25-35 minutes, or until the juices run clear and the temperature inside is 74C/165F. The time difference depends on the size of the pieces you use – wings and boneless breast pieces will take less time, while thighs and bone-in breast will take the longest.
Serve it up with some coconut rice and beans and garlicky sautéed spinach for a full on Caribbean-inspired feast.
]]>I have to admit, I surprised myself when I first tried this recipe from the Able & Cole cookbook. It’s not what I’d normally go for, and I’d never try it if it was on a restaurant menu. But we had every ingredient (and not much else), and it was actually really good.
Thinking back though, it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that I’ve been scared off from anything orange flavored.
About 6 years ago, I went to Rome for the first time. There was some really amazing food, but there was also some really dreadful food. One of those meals included the absolute worst dish I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant, and maybe even ever. Tortellini and salmon in a peppercorn sauce.
Doesn’t sound too bad, I know. Bear with me.
So we chat, we drink wine, we watch fellow tourists roam the cobblestone alleys around the Spanish Steps. (Note: don’t eat so close to the big tourist spots.) Dinner comes out.
What’s that? Is that my dish with the 3 shredded pieces of smoked salmon? And a gloopy orange sauce? Well, I’ll give it a try. What have I got to lose?
Except maybe a tooth because… yep… those are whole peppercorns trapped in thick, gooey bright orange sauce, like future fossilized amber.
And what does the goo taste like? Imagine the cheapest, fakest orange flavored marmalade in the world. And then put the saltiest cheap cuts of smoked salmon in it.
You can understand why it’s taken me a while to embrace oranges again.
Thankfully, for whatever reason, my mental aversions to orange flavor is fading slightly. After all that, I hope I haven’t put you off trying this easy weeknight meal, because it really is good. I promise.
Some recipe notes: You can cut down on the amount of chicken you use if you’re going to bulk it up with sides, like rice and vegetables. I tend to include steamed broccoli, or green beans, and maybe rice if it’s a small portion of chicken.
Adapted from the Abel & Cole Veg Box Companion
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
On the Counter
4 (free range) chicken breast pieces, about 900g or 2 lbs, total
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oranges, cut into 4 segments each
1 red chilli pepper
pinch of milled rock salt or kosher salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper
handful of fresh parsley
What to Do
Preheat the oven to 200 C/390 F.
Season (aka rub up on) the chicken with oil, then salt and pepper. Put the chicken pieces in a roasting tray, not touching. Lay the orange segments around it.
Bake the chicken for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the chile and mince or crush the garlic. Chop the parsley, too, but set it aside for the end.
When the 15 minutes are up, drizzle honey over the chicken, then sprinkle the garlic and chilli pepper over it.
Put it back into the oven and cook it for another 10 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 80 C/180 F.
Squeeze one or two of the orange segments onto the chicken. Remove it, stir up the juices in the roasting tray, and top the chicken with sauce and parsley.
PS: What was your worst restaurant meal ever?
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