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Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings

I enjoy the secret to getting my salt and pepper chicken wings super crispy crunch and the first thing I do is begin with the pepper part. I use three peppercorns but you could totally just choose one like just a normal black pepper would be fine. Place your black pepper, white pepper and for a really tangy spiciness, add some Szechuan peppercorns, so just grind those up because the pepper is such an integral part of the flavor for this dish. Grinding the peppercorns resh makes a huge difference, you get a really beautiful fresh flavor. Take half of that pepper mixture into the chicken wings and begin to cure the chicken wings, so instead of writing them in liquid, we are going to just add salt and a little bit of garlic powder. By using this sort of salt cure rather than doing like a liquid, brine it means that we are keeping the chicken wings really nice and dry and that’s really important when they come to the crispy frying part.

Once you are done, get your chicken wings in a tray with a baking rack sitting under it. What that does is that it allows your chicken wings some time to dry out a little bit while that salt is working its magic. Place the chicken wings in the fridge for a minimum of four hours or preferably overnight. Once they have had their time with all the salt and flavor, they are ready to be deep fried. Now, there are a couple of things that you are going to do that is going to help you get that extra special crisp. The first thing is to make a batter with some cornflour and plain flour, use cold water to make the batter, smoothen that butter to look like coconut milk.

Dip your chicken in the batter then straight in frying oil, you really want to keep this oil clean so just remove the excess batter that has fallen off away and that means you won’t get any dark burnt bits on your chicken. We are going to double fry our chicken so that the first part is to release th moisture that’s inside that chicken so, after the first part of frying, you can leave your chicken cool down a little bit. You can place them in the fridge, it’s great if you are doing a party because you can make them in advance because its the next frying stage that is really important. Heat your frying oil once more to around 180 degrees celsius then take your wings back in the oil.

Give your chicken around three to four minutes in the frying oil until they are super golden and super crunchy. To the other half pepper mixture that we left earlier, add some chili flakes and now sprinkle that all over your fried chicken. Serve with a little chili sauce on the side and that my friend is the salt and pepper chicken wings, enjoy.!

Ingredients;

  • 1kg (2 lb) chicken wings
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp white peppercorns
  • 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1½ tbsp sea salt, plus 2 extra teaspoons
  • 3 tsp garlic powder
  • oil for deep frying
  • ¼ tsp chili flakes

Instructions;

  1. Use a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder to grind the peppercorns to a fine powder.
  2. Take half the pepper mixture and place it in a large bowl with the chicken wings.
  3. Add the 1½ tablespoons of salt and garlic powder and toss until well combined.
  4. Place wings in one layer on a tray lined with a baking rack to allow air circulation around the wings.
  5. Cover loosely with cling film and place in the fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours.
  6. Fill a saucepan or wok to about 1/3 capacity with the vegetable oil. Heat over high heat.
  7. The oil is ready for the first fry when it reaches medium-hot
  8. While your oil is heating up, make the batter so that it is still cold when you come to the frying part.
  9. Place the cornflour and plain flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
  10. Add the water into the well and slowly whisk in the flour until smooth.
  11. When the oil comes to temperature, dip each wing in the batter, shaking off the excess.
  12. And then carefully place each battered wing into the hot oil. Cook wings in batches for 5-6 minutes or until lightly golden.
  13. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a tray lined with a clean baking rack. Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove any excess batter from the oil.
  14. Wait for the oil to heat for the second fry. The oil is ready when it reaches a high heat of about 180°C.
  15. Cook the wings in batches for another 4-5 minutes or until golden, crunchy and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.
  16. Mix the remaining peppercorn mixture with 2 teaspoons of salt and chili flakes.
  17. Sprinkle warm wings with the salt and pepper mix then serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

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