You might be here for a wing recipe. You’ll definitely get that. If you’ve stumbled on here and want more sometimes-scientific delishnessness in your inbox, subscribe:
On paper, developing recipes and filming myself cooking them sounds pretty boring.
But in the past few weeks, I unexpectedly found joy in doing so.
It’s indefinitely creative. It’s fun. It’s a whole new medium to breakdown science and deliver weirdness to you. Yes, we’re getting weird on these videos. Do you not know me by now??? Ah, and perhaps most importantly, it makes me really happy to cook and share the love.
I even hand a grand time doing voiceovers.
I heard myself say, “alright so now we” 100x times. There’s nothing like hearing yourself speak for too long to know your isms.
Here’s the room where it happened:
Let’s be clear though, this would be a lot less fun and 1000x more challenging if I didn’t have the best producer in the world in my corner creating world class videos and turning scientific explanations into simple soundbites. Thank you to Michelle who’s doing the real work.
Today we’re debuting some delicious, simple and oh-so-crispy wings!!
Chicken wings that will make your guests say:
“I can’t believe it’s not fried!”
To that you say, “Nah, it’s dry-brined.”
These wings are best paired with a can of whoop ass confidence and maybe even the slaw from last week.
Perhaps your favorite NFL team is playing this weekend and you’re looking for just the thing to make. If your friends are Jets fans, at least they’ll have this to look forward to!!! Anyways, they’re delicious and need no special occasion.
The key is in planning for your future self.
These wings bring together a classic Peruvian marinade and a touch of my mediterranean side. All made better because of one important step: dry brining.
Without using any scientific lingo (the video handles that), dry brining is simply a gift to your future self.
I promise this technique will make your meat crispier and more tender. It’s the secret weapon to this recipe.
The best part: it takes under 2 minutes to prep. The rest of the recipe is oh-so-simple too.
But before I get ahead of myself, let’s get to my favorite part - THE VIDEO!!!
🎥 The Video Part:
Grab your popcorn and take a seat, we’re debuting our coolest (and second) YouTube video to date. Share it with the world if you please!!!
📝 The Recipe Part:
Shopping for your wings:
I think most of the ingredients are right in your pantry for this one. Well not the chicken, of course. Here’s the handy list you can take with you on your next grocery run:
Buying your meat: Wings are like dumplings, everyone says they’ll eat a couple and then eat 8. I always buy more than I think for this recipe (and really any wing recipe). I went with just over 3 lb and it fed three of us along with a side.
Choosing air chilled: Basically chicken needs to be rapidly cooled before being packaged. There are two methods for doing so: one involves dunking it in a water tank and one is air chilled. Air chilled wings can be slightly more expensive because of this, but they do have an advantage of having less excess moisture in them. I exclusively pick these. You can find it labeled or ask your butcher!
People who saw mustard and freaked out: If you’ve never marinated your chicken in mustard - fear not. It won’t taste anything like it at the end. If you’ve eaten any Peruvian chicken dish, there’s a high likelihood there was mustard in the dish. It’s just how we do it.
An important, non grocery store tool: Lastly, I’ll note that it’d be best if you have a baking tray with a rack for this recipe. My preference is Nordic Ware.
Cooking it all up (aka the Recipe):
Serves: 3-4 (depending on hunger level) | active time: 12 min | cooking time: 45 min | dry brine: for a few hours or up to 24.
For the wings:
3+ lb of chicken wings.
3 tbsp of kosher salt (Diamond crystal is my favorite)
For the marinade:
Juice of 1 lime
~1/4 cup of canola oil
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1.5 tbsp of yellow mustard (I’ve never tried with dijon and not sure I’d recommend that, but it’s worth giving it a go. Your marinade will be a touch more acidic when tasting)
3 cloves garlic - microplaned, diced, mushed through a garlic press. Up to you.
Steps:
Dry brine your chicken:
Coat chicken in kosher salt (1:1 ratio - 1 tbsp salt to 1 lb meat) and mix in a bowl. Optional: add baking powder at the same ratio (extra crisp).
Place chicken on baking tray with a rack, ideally without crowding it.
Place all that at the bottom shelf of your fridge, uncovered for several hours or up to 24.
**I usually do this the day before planning to cook it. It does get better with more time.
⏰ After dry brining…..
Make the marinade:
Juice of 1 lime (helpful if you roll it before)
~1/4 cup of canola oil (can use other neutral oil like peanut or light olive oil)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1.5 tbsp of yellow mustard
3 cloves garlic - microplaned, diced, mushed through a garlic press. Up to you.
Whiskkkkkkk!
Cooking the chicken:
Preheat oven to 450F
Coat the chicken in said marinade
Put foil under your baking tray (between the rack and the tray). Helpful for your future self (we love future self planning)
Place chicken that is marinated on the baking tray (the lined one) and into the oven in the middle rack. Ensure that the chicken is placed with the skin side up.
Cook for 20 min
Remove from oven, flip, and put back into the oven for another 20 min. *Note, the oil might be a bit jumpy, just be sure to be careful around it, but it’s nothing to be worried about!
Remove once more, flip again and put back into the oven for 5-10 min until the crispy levels are reached.
Remove, let rest for 5 min and serve immediately.
I eat these without any sauce - that’s how we grew up eating it! But do you, of course. It pairs incredibly well with the cabbage slaw from last week!
If you go this route, you can work on the slaw while the chicken is in the oven and dress it when you remove the chicken at the end.
aaaaand that’s it.
Thank you for tuning in. These videos are truly a labor of love and a whole lot of fun. Hearing from you makes it all the better.