Tailgatin' Thursday: Confit Chicken Wings with Homemade Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel Sauce, Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dessing, + Italian-Style Shaved Carrot and Celery Slaw

Confit Chicken Wings with Homemade Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel Sauce, Buttermilk
Bleu Cheese Dessing, + Italian-Style Shaved Carrot and Celery Slaw

Tailgatin' Thursday is back and it's back with a bang, my friends!! I'm going to go ahead and tell y'all that this is an-honest-to-goodness-fancy-ass game day treat. Fried Chicken wings are a staple at any table on a Football Saturday. And it's not specific to any region. It is just good 'ole American comfort food at its' best. We don't feature many wing recipes around PLC, but when we do, it's always worth the effort. Wings are sometimes brined, most of the time coated with flour, and always deep fried in a vat of hot oil. What's not to love? Well then, how could these be any different from all the others, you may ask. Y'all, the answer is simple, and that is they are CONFIT CHICKEN WINGS. We are lovers, cough cough, obsessors of duck confit or anything confit (if we're gonna get technical). So, when I ordered a confit duck leg at one of our favorite local sandwich places, Muss + Turner's. It just suddenly clicked... I wonder if I could do this with chicken wings. I am positively, genuinely, and overwhelmingly happy to report that this oddity of an idea is completely + utterly deep fried perfection. To make cooking easier, we did most of the work the day before (a.k.a Friday afternoon and night), so that we wouldn't have much to do while the games were on. This meant we needed to place all the chicken into a deep pot, place it on the stove, cover with canola oil, and slowly bring it up to 200 degrees. Then you place it into a preheated oven to cook for roughly an hour. This will cook the meat, slowly but surely, making them super moist on the inside, yet leaving the skin slightly flabby + soft, rendering out a bunch of excess fat that isn't even needed. THIS IS A GOOD THING DO NOT FEAR.

the wings after slow-cooking in their big pot of oil, see the excess fat at the top??

After slow-cooking, remove the wings from the hot oil and drain on paper towels, making sure to remove access moisture and oil as much as possible. I actually let my wings sit on the paper towels at room temperature for about an hour or so to cool down a bit and aid in draining. Then y'all just pop those suckers into a container and refrigerate overnight. This is possibly the most important step in the entire recipe because, technically, you should be able to fry the wings after about an hour or two of resting & drying, BUT DON'T. When I did this, my wing skin just never ever ever ever got crispy. I believe it is was due to the fact that there was still so much leftover moisture. Now that the wings are-a-chillin', it's time to make the BEST part of the whole-damn-dish, and that's the Homemade Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel. Yes, I didn't mess that up... sriracha. caramel. bourbon. sea salt. All in one sauce. We were literally drooling over this concoction; our minds were racing with ideas of how to use it next (sriracha caramel over pumpkin ice cream... apple cider floats with sriracha caramel... sriracha caramel apple pie). This shit is gonna get weird. But, weird in a good way, believe you me. It's a salty-sweet-boozy goodness that must be kept in your fridge at all times, and if not, at least it should be made for these wings. 

homemade sriracha-bourbon caramel wing sauce + confit chicken wings (pre-cornstarch)

Making the caramel is a cinch; however, I certainly recommend whipping it up while the wings are in the oven because it will be that much easier on you the next day... just make sure you refrigerate it as well. The last step of preparation is totally up to you and that's the making of the Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing. It's is overly easy to prepare as well and letting the flavors meld for a little bit ain't neva hurt a thang, butter bean. OKAY OKAY, enough about the prepping, now onto the next day (a.k.a. Football Saturday). Pull the chilled wings out and once again dry as much as possible, and then toss them in a light coating of cornstarch. Bring the 1Q of Peanut Oil to 400 degrees that way the wings will get finger-lickin'-skin-pickin' crispy. 

deep frying, the south's favorite, and most famous, past time

While the wings are frying in the golden goodness that is oil, it's time to make the caramel sauce that will coat the wings. I simmered the prepared caramel, Asian chili-garlic sauce, red pepper flakes, and butter until a cohesive sauce was made and it was thick enough to coat a wing. I left the amount of spice + butter up to you, as we are so spicy-friendly that we tend to overdo it. So add a little bit of chili-garlic sauce and red pepper flakes at a time, tasting to your preference. If it does get a little too spicy, add a little more butter. If I could share one tidbit of life advice with you, it would be not to be afraid of butter, it's the elixir of life. Toss the fried confit chicken wings in your extra-special-it-should-only-be-used-on-special-occasions-it-is-so-good caramel sauce and garnish them with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and a pinch of red pepper flakes. 

fried + sauced + tossed

resist the temptation to gobble these down before you can even plate them

Serve the wings with some of the Homemade Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing to cool the wings down a bit. And if one fancy ass twist on the original isn't enough, I decided to revamp the whole boring "side of carrot and celery sticks" into a slaw. I shaved carrots and celery, minced green onion, and then tossed it in a light vinaigrette. It is the perfect acidic component to partner up against the decadent wings and rich dressing. To seal the deal, I got a "these are the best wings I've ever had in my whole life" outta my Mountain Man. And that's one hell of a stamp of approval, y'all!! Enjoy :)

up close + personal of the fancy "carrot + celery stick" slaw

For the Homemade Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel:

1C Sugar + ¼C Water

½C Heavy Cream + 3T Sriracha Sauce

1T Bourbon

Heavy Pinch of Salt 

For the Confit Chicken Wings:

4lbs Chicken Wings + Drumsticks

2Q Canola Oil + 1Q Peanut Oil

Cornstarch, For Coating (after chilling)

For the Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel Wing Sauce:

1C Homemade Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel (room temperature)

1-2T Asian Chili-Garlic Sauce

½t-1t Red Pepper Flakes (depending on how hot your like it)

4-8T Unsalted Butter (the more better you add, the less spicy it will be as well)

For the Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing:

½C Homemade Mayo + ¼C Sour Cream

2T Buttermilk Powder + 1T Well-Shaken Buttermilk

2T White Wine Vinegar

¼t Worcestershire Sauce

1t Sugar  

¼t Garlic Powder + Onion Powder

1T Fresh Chives + Fresh Dill

½C Crumbled Buttermilk Blue Cheese

 

For the Italian-Style Shaved Carrot and Celery Slaw:

½C Shaved Carrots (using a vegetable peeler)           

½C Shaved Celery (using a vegetable peeler)

1 Green Onion, Minced

2T White Wine Vinegar

1T Olive Oil

1T Sugar

¼t Dried Oregano + Dried Basil

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Directions:

1. For the Confit Chicken Wings: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 225°F. Place 2Q canola oil and chicken wings in a large oven-safe Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it registers 200°F on an instant-read or deep-fry thermometer. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook until chicken wings are tender but not browned, 40 minutes to 1 hour (chicken should be tender but not falling apart). Remove pot from oven. Transfer chicken with a wire mesh spider to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels. Allow chicken to rest in the fridge, covered, overnight or for at least 12 hours.

2. Making the Homemade Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel: Simmer sugar and ¼ cup water on medium heat, swirling pan (NOT stirring) for about 15 minutes, or until a deep amber color is reached. During that time, whisk together the heavy cream and Sriracha sauce until smooth and incorporated. Then turn off burner, remove from heat and slowly add Sriracha cream while stirring. Add pinch of salt and bourbon and place back on still-warm burner for another minute while stirring. Transfer to a heat-safe dish or bottle and let cool. Store covered in the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature or heat in a warm water bath before using (if needed).

3. For the Buttermilk Bleu Cheese Dressing: Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk powder, and buttermilk in small bowl; mix until smooth. Stir in vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, seasonings, and herbs until well blended. Fold in cheese. Refrigerate until ready to use.

4. Frying the Wings: Once the wings have chilled, lightly coat them in cornstarch, making sure to shake off any excess. Meanwhile, heat the 1Q of peanut oil in a deep fryer to 400°F. Carefully add the wings, in small batches, and cook until golden brown + extra crispy, about 10-12 minutes (depending on your fryer). While the wings fry prepare your sauce.

5. For the Sriracha-Bourbon Caramel Wing Sauce:  When ready to serve, combine caramel, chili-garlic sauce, red pepper flakes, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is completely melted and the sauce is smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and immediately toss the hot, crispy wings in the sauce until they are completely coated.

6. For the Italian-Style Shaved Carrot and Celery Slaw: In a medium mixing bowl, toss together the shaved carrots, shaved celery, and minced green onion. In a small bowl or Mason jar, whisk or shake together the vinegar, oil, sugar, and seasonings until fully incorporated. Right before serving, toss the slaw with the vinaigrette until coated. Serve on the side with the wings.

7. Serving: Place the wings onto a serving plate and drizzle over any excess or leftover caramel for extra flavor. Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and red pepper flakes on top for garnish. Spoon some of the homemade bleu cheese dressing onto the plate and finish with a pile of the slaw. Enjoy while the wings are still hot and crispy!!

source: homemade blue cheese dressing.

Read. To. EATTTTTTT :)

Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Ranch Dressing Base, Roasted Chicken, Hot Buffalo Sauce Swirl, Crumbled Bleu Cheese & Bacon, and Crispy Chicken Skin Cracklin's

We have really been on a pizza kick recently. And I really am not that big into pizza. I don't know why, but it's never technically been a meal that I would ever crave. But, I do know one thing, I love me some buffalo chicken pizza. And every buffalo chicken pizza up until this point was good, but this pizza I made finally did it justice. My pizza has all the traditional fixin's... ranch, bleu cheese, chicken, and buffalo sauce. However, I did decide to kick it up a notch by adding some crispy chicken skin cracklin's. I mean, what's better than some crispy chicken skin. It's like chicken bacon to me. And even though I have always loved buffalo chicken pizza, it was always missing something fried & crispy to resemble a real chicken wing. Well, my friends, these cracklin's are the answer. Sooooo amazingly good. Don't forget to garnish the pizza with some crumbled bacon and most importantly, fresh chives, which I think provide a nice herb-y component to this otherwise-decadent pizza. Obviously, you could leave off some of these ingredients to make it slightly easier to make, but trust me, don't. Just don't. We loved this pizza and it really perfectly resembles a basket o' buffalo wings at your favorite bar!! Enjoy :)

Over-the-Top Buffalo Chicken Pizza with all the Fixin's

Can you see the crispy chicken skin cracklin's? They are those gorgeous golden-brown nuggets!

A Must: Garnishing with Fresh Minced Chives

For the Roasted Chicken Breasts:

2 Chicken Breasts, Skin On & Bone In (reserve the chicken skin)

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Crispy Chicken Skin Cracklin’s:

Reserved Chicken Skins, Partially Cooked & Dried

Vegetable Oil, For Frying

For the Buffalo Chicken Pizza:

Homemade Pizza Dough

Roasted Chicken, Cut into Cubes

Homemade Ranch Dressing

2C Sharp Yellow Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

1C Mozzarella, Shredded

Crumbled Bleu Cheese

Hot Buffalo Sauce, For Drizzling

Bacon Lardons, Cooked until Crispy

Crispy Chicken Skin Cracklin’s, Roughly Chopped

Fresh Chives, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. For the Roasted Chicken Breasts: Wash and dry the chickens breasts and toss them in the olive oil and salt & pepper. Roast the chicken breasts in a pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Once they have cooled, remove the skin and press the skins between paper towels to dry them and remove excess moisture. Set these aside until you are ready to cook them.  Roughly cut the roasted chicken into cubes, and then set it aside.
2. For the Crispy Chicken Skin Cracklin’s: Heat some vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the pressed, dried chicken skins and cook until they are golden brown and crispy, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Roughly chop the cracklin’s and set them aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and roll out half of the pizza dough as thinly as possible and place onto a large baking sheet (the other half can be used for another pizza).
4. Making the Pizza: Spread the homemade ranch dressing generously across the dough. Scatter the yellow cheddar on top of the ranch, and then sprinkle the top with the roasted chicken pieces. Lay the mozzarella on top of the chicken. Continue to layer on the crumbled bleu cheese and bacon lardons. Bake the pizza for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Remove from the oven and immediately garnish the pizza with a buffalo sauce drizzle, chicken cracklin’s, and fresh chives. Cut into squares or slices and serve immediately.

The Best Fried Chicken I've Ever Made

I'm back folks, and I'm another whole year wiser (debatable). Yesterday was my birthday, and it was actually really great. I know I might sound crazy for saying this, but I kinda hate birthdays. Like a lot. In the past, I always had something go wrong and just completely ruin this celebration for me all together. So, when deciding what to do about my birthday this year, I just went with the flow and enjoyed a relaxing day of shopping, lunch, and a birthday dinner out in the garden with my Mountain Man. In my family, the birthday girl or boy always got to pick what we would have for dinner. Initially I thought I might want to go out to a fancy restaurant, but all of a sudden, I got a serious cravin' for fried chicken. My Mountain Man didn't quite comprehend at first that I just wanted fried chicken for dinner. Yep, no sides or nothin'. Just a big ole' plate of delicious fried chicken, some mint juleps, and a couple slices of birthday cake. I took it upon myself to really write a recipe for the best fried chicken that I could ever make. And it was. I took many different ideas from other popular fried chicken recipes and combined them into one power combo. I brined the chicken in a simple salt-sugar brine because I find the chicken is wayyyyy more moist when soaked in a brine as opposed to marinating it in buttermilk. After I brined the chicken, I made a seasoning spice mixture to completely coat the chicken and make it super tasty. I also like this technique of no seasonings in the flour because they can burn, which is just no good. I coated the chicken in flour and cornstarch, dipped them into a buttermilk batter, and then back into the flour again. The battered chicken was fried in vegetable shortening (or peanut oil) until golden brown & crispy on the outside. Yet, the chicken was so moist and flavorful on the inside. This was seriously the perfect fried chicken, and exactly what I wanted for my birthday. After we fried up the chicken, we threw them onto a newspaper-covered table out in the garden and just went at 'em. I love my fried chicken with some hot sauce and honey, so definitely give that a try. I mean, what's better than mint juleps, fried chicken, and birthday cake? Nothin'. I will be making this recipe over and over again in the future!! Enjoy :)

The Best Fried Chicken I've Ever Made

mint juleps + fried chicken

For the Brine:

4C Lukewarm Water

½C Sugar & Kosher Salt

2-3lbs Chicken Wings & Drumsticks

For the Dry Rub:

2t Pepper

1 ½t Paprika

¾t Cayenne

½t Garlic Powder & Onion Powder

Prepared Brined Chicken, Completely Dried

For the Flour Coating:

2C AP Flour

½C Cornstarch

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Prepared Dry Rubbed Chicken

For the Wet Batter Dip:

½C AP Flour & Cornstarch

1t Baking Powder

1C Buttermilk

½C Water

1 Egg

Hot Sauce

Pinch of Salt & Pepper

For the Fried Chicken:

2-3lbs Chicken Wings & Chicken Drumsticks

Brine

Dry Rub

Flour Coating

Wet Batter

Peanut Oil or Vegetable Shortening, For Frying

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Honey, Hot Sauce, Pepper Vinegar, or Maple Syrup, For Serving

Directions:

1. For the Brine: Place the chicken into a large Ziploc bag. Combine the water, sugar, and salt in large bowl and whisk until the sugar and salt dissolve. Pour the brine over the chicken and refrigerate for 4 hours (no longer because the chicken will become too salty). Once brined, drain & dry the chicken, and then set aside.
2. For the Dry Rub: Whisk together all of the seasonings until combined. Rub this mixture all over the dried, brined chicken until completely coated. Place the chicken into a bowl, cover, and chill overnight. Once the chicken has marinated, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
3. For the Flour Coating: In a dish, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Dredge the rubbed chicken in the flour mixture and shake the excess flour from the wings, and then place them onto a baking sheet that is lined with a cooling rack. Let the coated chicken rest for 30 minutes to an hour. This helps the chicken hold onto the crust better when it’s fried. Set the remaining flour mixture aside because the chicken will need a second coating.
4. Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees while your chicken rests.
5. Battering the Chicken: Whisk together all of the wet batter ingredients until a smooth, thin batter is formed (this should be the consistency of a thin pancake batter, if the mixture is not thin enough, then add some water for a thinner batter). Once your chicken has rested in the flour coating, dip the chicken into the wet batter let the excess batter drip off, and then finally dredge it once again in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour.
6. Frying the Chicken: Fry the wings until they are a deep golden brown and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Once the wings are fried, remove them to a wire rack to drain, sprinkle with a little salt, and keep the chicken warm until ready to serve.

And here's some pictures from my birthday...

Classic Fried Chicken & Buttermilk Waffles with Honey & Hot Sauce

As of recently, we've kinda had an obsession with chicken & waffles. We made Nashville Hot Chicken & Waffles, and they were insanely good. Like so good. But then I thought to myself that we hadn't even made a classic chicken & waffles combination first, we had just skipped right to all of the crazy combinations. So we back tracked a little and had to make the essential Southern dish. Instead of making overnight yeasted waffles, we went with slightly sweet and tangy buttermilk waffles. And for the chicken, we marinated them in buttermilk, and then rubbed them down in a spice mixture before coating them with flour. When you order these at a restaurant, they normally come with maple syrup, butter, and hot sauce. But, I seem to like mine way more with honey, but I'll leave that up to you. However, either way, you really can't beat the sweet-heat taste that they provide. These classic chicken and waffles were everything we were hoping them to be. I really can't decide what I like better... chicken & waffles or shrimp & grits. Such a hard decision!! Anyway, enjoy :)

Classic Fried Chicken & Buttermilk Waffles with Honey & Hot Sauce

For the Buttermilk Brine:

1Q Buttermilk

¼C Hot Sauce

2lbs Chicken Wings & Chicken Drumsticks

For the Dry Rub:

1T Salt

2t Pepper

1 ½t Paprika

¾t Cayenne

½t Garlic Powder & Onion Powder

Prepared Brined Chicken, Completely Dried

For the Coating:

2C AP Flour

½C Cornstarch

1C Buttermilk

1 Large Egg

½C Water

Hot Sauce      

Prepared Dry Rubbed Chicken

Peanut Oil, For Frying

For the Fried Chicken:

2lbs Chicken Wings & Chicken Drumsticks

Buttermilk Brine

Dry Rub

Coating

Peanut Oil

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Buttermilk Waffles:

¾C AP Flour

¼C Cornstarch

½t Baking Powder

¼t Baking Soda

½t Salt

2t Sugar

½C Milk & Buttermilk

1/3C Vegetable Oil

1 Large Egg, Lightly Beaten

1t Vanilla   

  

Directions:

1. For the Buttermilk Brine: Whisk buttermilk, hot sauce, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add the chicken and refrigerate, covered, for 8 hours. Once brined, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and pat the chicken dry and set them aside. 
2. For the Dry Rub: Whisk together all of the seasonings until combined. Rub this mixture all over the dried, brined chicken until completely coated. Place the chicken into a bowl, cover, and chill overnight. Once the chicken has marinated, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
3. For the Coating: In a dish, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. In another dish, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, water, and hot sauce until combined. Dredge the wings in the flour mixture and shake the excess flour from the wings, then place them into the wet ingredients, and finally back into the flour, shaking off excess.
4. Frying the Chicken: Heat the peanut oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees. Fry the wings until they are a deep golden brown and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Once the wings are fried, remove them to a wire rack to drain, and then keep them warm in the oven while you make the waffles.
5. For the Buttermilk Waffles: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Whisk together to blend.  In another mixing bowl, beat together the whole milk, buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk just until incorporated and few lumps remain.  Set aside to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat a waffle iron.  Fill waffle wells and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Cook until crisp and golden. Serve immediately with the fried chicken.
6. To Assemble the Chicken & Waffles: Place the buttermilk waffle in the center of your plate and spread with softened butter. Top the waffle with the crispy fried chicken. Serve with honey or sorghum syrup & hot sauce.