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18

Apr

Homemade Buffalo Wings with Lemon Parsely Dip

Sean Sellers  in Sparkling Wines, Pinot Noir Chardonnay, Blow the Bank, Meat & Poultry , , , , , ,

InterWined Food
Each Friday, InterWined.com pairs one great wine with one great meal and publishes the results along with the recipe in a little feature it likes to call ‘Blow the Bank’.

This week, ‘Blow the Bank’ continues InterWined’s All American, a month-long celebration of some of American cuisine’s greatest dishes from classic comfort foods to the unsung greats of American soulfood, with InterWined’s Own Homemade Buffalo Wings with Lemon Parsley Dip.

Homemade Buffalo WingsLemon & ParsleyLemon, Parsley & Pepper Dipping SauceBreaded and Floured for Fans of Each

You could write a book about Buffalo Wings…and, indeed, someone has. Two someones, if fact — Aaron Reynolds and Paulette Bogan. They are a children’s author and an illustrator, respectively, and the book is called — surprise, surprise — Buffalo Wings. It’s the story of a rooster and quest and a recipe by woman named Bellissimo and made famous by a guy named Frank at a place called the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York.

And, if a story about what must surely be a cannibal rooster hungry for some chicken wings doused in a sauce created by a woman named beautiful in a bar in Buffalo doesn’t mark out a recipe as an American classic, nothing will. Let’s be honest, shall we?

Now, controversial tales of cannibalising roosters aside, the story of Buffalo Wings still finds itself in the midst of a minor controversy. To bread or not to bread…

Breaded wings are able to absorb more of the sauce into the breading and maintain the fiery kick of the peppers; they are a little more civilised and only slightly messy to eat, the breading coming free on the tips of one’s fingers and easily picked away. Un-breaded wings somewhat prevent the sauce from fully absorbing into the meat of the wing; sauce drips from wings and stains the fingers and lips a bright orange. Given our rooster friend’s rather shocking predilections, this is surely his preferred method of feasting, feathers ruffled and orange stains everywhere.

Now, whatever your choice in all things chicken wings, InterWined is here to help. (I was going to write “swings both ways”, but was worried what kind of spam comments those words might generate. But, since I just wrote that I wasn’t going to write it, I’ll guess I’ll find out soon enough.)

Regardless of how you take your wings and which way InterWined swings, the Brown Brothers Non-Vintage Pinot Noir Chardonnay & Pinot Meunier (13%), £9-10 from Waitrose, is a treat. It’s not a sophisticated as a sparkling white wine could be; it’s not a dazzler to save for a special occasion — even if it did recently win the 2007 Yarden Trophy at International Wine and Spirits Competition in London. It’s a non-vintage, after all. It’s a sparkler to enjoy any day at any time for any occasion that I discovered in 2004, while looking for a bottle of wine to take to BYOB Vietnamese in Newtown, Sydney Australia. There’s a light, green-apple tinge perfectly in keeping with its pale yellow-green colour. It’s light and unfussy without being forgettable, fruity for a dry wine, and marked with a creamy sweetness to it. The creamy fruit flavour makes for an excellent balance to the spicy, hot zing of the Buffalo Wing sauce and the citrus and herb flavour of the lemon parsley dip. A winning wine for a winning recipe: 9.5.

InterWined’s Own Recipe in Full

Homemade Buffalo Wings with Lemon Parsley Dip

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
11 chicken wings, raw and untrimmed
Several tbsp Vegetable oil

Breaded Chicken Wings
Breadcrumbs (homemade, as was used in the recipe, or store bought)
1 egg, whisked
Flour

Un-breaded Chicken Wings
Flour

Buffalo Wing Sauce
100g unsalted butter
5-10 tsp Tabasco sauce
2-4 tsp white wine vinegar
1-2 tsp ketchup

Lemon Parsley Dip
150g Greek Yoghurt
1 lemon, squeezed
Freshly chopped curly parsley
Cracked black pepper to taste
1-2 tsp cumin

Preparation:

1. Place the chicken wings on a chopping board and chop at the joints, separating the wings into three parts. Be sure to discard the tips
2. If preparing breaded and un-breaded wings, separate into two batches
3. If breading, dust the wings lightly in flour, before coating in the egg mixture and covering in breadcrumbs; for un-breaded wings, simply dust in flour
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep skillet or pan
5. Once the oil has heated fully, carefully add the wings in batches and fry until golden, being sure not to burn the breaded wings
6. Reserve to cool slightly
7. In a separate saucepan, quickly melt the butter, before whisking in the remaining ingredients to the Buffalo Wing Sauce. Cook for approximately 1 minute, adjusting to taste. If you find the sauce too spicy, balance the flavour with pinches of sugar or additional tsp of ketchup
8. Plate the wings and cover in the sauce fresh from the stovetop
9. In a small serving bowl, mix the yoghurt, parsley, pepper, cumin, and lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately

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