Honey Old Bay Wings

The Stuff You Hate On A Stranger’s Food Blog

Super Bowl Sunday is my favorite holiday. People think I’m kidding when I describe it as a holy holiday, but I’m genuine when I make that statement. It’s just the perfect day. Filled with friends and family, no obligations to buy or receive presents, and the food selection isn’t a dry bird with bland sides. The bird you get on Super Bowl Sunday is the best bird. The only bird. And prepared the way our ancestors from Buffalo handed down. Deep fried and drowned in sauce.

Brining wings is a POWER MOVE. I only do it for special occasions, so just skip that part unless you’re trying to impress somebody. The garlic/ginger/coriander in the brine was flat WRONG for this recipe. I stole that from The New York Times recipe for Chinese Mustard Wings (which I highly recommend)..

The breading/coating is compulsory. I’ve found a very light coat of potato starch is what I prefer. You could coat it again after the 30 minutes if you want a thicker coating, or you could even batter them if you’re into weird stuff. Corn starch just doesn’t hit right for me in this application. Potato Starch is another HMart buy.

The photo for this post was not intended for wide distribution, rather just sent in a text. Between the end of The Waste Management Phoenix Open, guests arriving, and a massive bet on the Super Bowl coin flip, I didn’t get a chance to snag a proper photo of these wings, the other wings, the “Pretzeled Supreme Pigs in Blankies”, or the potato skins. So we’ll have to wait until the next high holy day to get those on the blog.

Process

Brine - Make a day ahead.

1. Dissolve salt and sugar in 1 ½ quart of water. Bring to a simmer.

2. Add Scallions, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, and coriander. 

3. Kill the heat and let come down to room temperature.

4. Add the wings and refrigerate overnight. 

Sauce - Day of, or ahead of time. 

1. Melt butter over low heat. 

2. Add hot sauce and combine.

3. Add honey and get it simmering/bubbling to get those sugars starting to carmelize. Don’t overdo it. 

4. Add cracked pepper and garlic, stir.

Wings

1. Drain the brine and remove any large pieces of the spices and stuff that were in that brine. 

2. Try to get the wings as dry as possible. I don’t go through the trouble of using a paper towel, but you could.

3. In a plastic bag, add the wings and the potato starch. Coat the wings with the potato starch. 

4. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, mixing occasionally. 

5. Heat your oil in a dutch oven to about 375. We’re aiming for 350 but the cold wings are going to crush your temps. 

6. Working in batches, fry until just brown - about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack on a baking sheet. 

7. Let the oil temp come back up. 

8. In larger batches (like 2 instead of 4 or 6) fry the wings to your desired doneness. Mine were about 10 more minutes, maybe a bit less. 

9. Transfer to a large bowl with your wing sauce (heated if you had made it ahead of time) and combine. I like to toss, but this sauce was THICC so it needed some coaxing. 

Ingredients

• Party Wings - I did about 4 lbs.

• 4qts oil for frying - I use peanut. 

• 1 Cup Kosher Salt

• ½ Cup Granulated Sugar

• 4 Scallions, 1.5” chop

• 5 Cloves Garlic, smashed

• 2 in ginger knob, sliced skin on

• 1 Tbs Whole Black Peppercorn

• 1 Tbs Whole Coriander Seed

• ⅔ Cup Potato Starch

• 4 Tbs Salted Butter

• 2 Tbs Old Bay Hot Sauce

• ½ Cup Honey

• ⅓ Cup Old Bay

• ½ tsp Black Pepper

• 1 tsp Garlic Powder

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