Wings 4 Ways

Wings 4 Ways Dish Guide (Ranch and Blue Cheese Dips Included)

For The Ranch

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 minced/crushed garlic cloves

¼ cup minced chives

1 T minced dill

2 T minced parsley

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (about 1-2 t)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients to combine. Taste for flavor balance and seasoning and refrigerate for up to a week.

For the Blue Cheese

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

¼ cup buttermilk

1 minced/crushed garlic clove

1 t white vinegar (more if you prefer a more acidic dip)

2 t Worcestershire sauce

½ t sugar

2 oz crumbled blue cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients to combine. Taste for flavor balance and seasoning and texture. Adjust as needed and refrigerate for up to a week.

For a Basic Buffalo Sauce

Mix hot sauce of choice in 4:1 ratio with unsalted butter for hot wings, 2:1 for medium and 1:1 for mild. Experiences may vary greatly depending on hot sauce. Melt in microwave or saucepan over low heat and keep warm.

For ANY Wings

Wings

Salt

Plan on 1-1/2 to 2 lbs of wing sections per person.

Cut into drums and flats and remove wing tips (discard or save for stock), season with kosher salt (about 1/2 t per lb roughly) and place on baking sheet or plate in fridge to dry brine for 1 hour up to 24 hours. This seasons the meat and dries out the surface helping to crisp the skin no matter the cooking method.

For Grilled Wings

Grill wings over low/indirect heat at 275 degree for 80-100 minutes flipping once until cooked through to at least 165 up to 195 (the wings have enough fat to withstand “overcooking” in the name of flavor). Use natural wood/lump charcoal if possible. Gas grills do not impart the same flavor.

For Fried Wings

Heat a neutral oil to 375 degrees. Dry the wings. Place them in the oil one at a time stirring occasionally and fry for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through to 165.

For Oven Baked Wings

Toss the wings with baking powder - a couple teaspoons up to a tablespoon per pound until each wing is coated. Place on a wire wrack over a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 45-60 minutes or until as brown and crispy as you like. If you do not have a convection oven, raise the heat to 450 for the last 15 minutes for maximum crispification.

For Air Fried Wings

Toss the wings with baking powder - a couple teaspoons up to a tablespoon per pound until each wing is coated. Preheat your air fryer to 360. Place the wings in a single layer in the basket of your air fryer and fry at 360 for 12 minutes. Flip wings and fry an additional 12 minutes at 360. Flip once more and fry at 390 for 5 minutes.

Toss any of the above wings in the sauce of your choice, dip as you like and enjoy!

Dish Notes

We (and Ryan) were specific to say grilled and smoked wings even though we didn't add any actual smoking wood (hickory, pecan, etc.) to the lump charcoal, natural wood coals give a smoky flavor to the wings the simple gas grilling will not. If you simply grill wings over low heat on gas grill your flavor results will not be the same. You can mimic the smoky flavor by soaking some wood chips in water for 30 minutes, placing in a baking dish, covering with foil and poking some holes in the foil. Place this dish over the warm side of your gas grill to add smoke to the grill environment. Each cooking method has its advantages and disadvantages depending on your time constrains, how many you are cooking for and the flavors you want. Try them all and let us know what you think!