Game Day Wings

You can prepare delicious crispy wings right at home! Allow for about 3/4 lb of wings per person for hungry eaters. You can get away with 1/2 a pound if it's more of a side dish. 

 
 

Bellair chicken wings are packed ‘whole’ so first, part out your wings into drums & flats (save the wing tips for chicken stock! See recipe below.) You may also just leave them whole if you don't want to bother! If you do decide to separate them, practice cutting exactly between the joint so you don't dull your knife on the bone.

Once your wings are parted, preheat your oven to 450 F. DRY OFF the wings as much as possible to remove the moisture. Salt them heavily (and I like to dry again as the salt will draw out moisture). If you like, you can also add garlic powder or black pepper to the wings. 

When the oven is hot, spread the wings out on a baking dish and put in the piping-hot oven. Bake for 15 minutes and check them. If there is significant liquid in the pan, pour it off. Fat is ok (and you can actually baste them with the fat, but juice/liquid will cause them to steam instead of crisp up). You can reserve this liquid for soups and broth! If the wings release easily from the pan, it's time to flip. If not, give them a bit longer. Once they are flipped, give them a similar amount of time on the other side.  Since they are so fatty, it's not as likely to dry out as a cut like the breast. Keep them in the oven until there is some caramelization on the skin and crispyness forming. Your total cooking time will likely be 30-40 minutes.

Once cooked, immediately toss wings in the sauce of your choosing and serve hot! We ate these during the "big game" and my guests were happy :)

Teriyaki Sauce
2 oz soy sauce
1 oz syrup or honey
1/2 oz rice wine vinegar
dash of sesame oil

Buffalo Sauce
equal parts melted butter to mild hot sauce — Frank's Red Hot is best but other similar types can be used.

Easy Chicken Wing Tip Stock 

 
 

After parting out the wings, I was left with the wing tips. I put them in a ziplock in the fridge and then the next day I cooked some veggies and so I had some scraps. The timing worked out great for me this time to make stock a couple days later. But an easy standard procedure is to keep a gallon-sized ziplock in your freezer for stock-making purposes. When you accumulate items like chicken wing tips, veggie scraps, beef or pork bones, chicken carcasses, etc, you can put them in the bag. When the bag is full, you have enough frozen material to make a large batch of stock!

For the best broth, cover your wing tips, veggie scraps, or what have you with water. I do like to salt my broth for flavor. I have actually been using a spoonful of my homemade vegetable bouillon for the salt but you can just add regular salt. Bring to a full boil then reduce heat to the lowest setting and apply the lid. Simmer for about 8 hours at that lowest heat before straining. If there is a large fat cap on top, you can lift it off after refrigeration and use that for cooking with. Use the finished broth immediately or refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. You can also freeze it for longer storage! 

Here are some more tips for good broth:

  • Limit brassicas (greens and the broccoli family) - a little is great and too much will give a sulfury taste

  • Don't overcook or your broth will be cloudy and not as good. Use LOW heat and don't go longer than 12 hours.

  • Don't undercook either! Your broth will be thin and you won't get your full nutrient value.

  • Do use onion and garlic skins! This is a great way to utilize this "waste."

Michelle McKenzie