Bourbon Caramel -Glazed Wings

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Welcome to the Flavor of the Month for July….Bourbon!  I’m really excited to try out food and dessert recipes with this spirit, but don’t worry there will still be cocktails also!  I did a little research on Bourbon, so here’s what I know:

• Bourbon has to be made with over 50% corn.
• It can be made anywhere in the U.S.
• It has to aged in new and charred oak barrels
• Has to be a minimum of 80 proof

There’s a place here in Seattle called Tanaka San that makes insanely tasty chicken wings.  They are crispy and coated in a salted caramel sauce.  It’s amazing!  Well, when I started brainstorming ways to use Bourbon, caramel was one of the first things that came to mind.  Then these wings popped into my head.  After several iterations, I’ve perfected the recipe and you should be warned these wings are totally addictive!  They are the perfect combo of sticky, crispy, sweet and salty.  This recipe will also feed a crowd, so it’s ideal for your 4th of July gatherings next week!

So let’s get to the wings!

The process will actually start at least 8 hours before you’ll be eating the wings.  You’re going to coat the wings in salt and baking powder and let them sit on a cookie sheet in the fridge, uncovered.  I know this sounds strange, but it helps make the wings crispy and I promise you don’t taste the baking powder once they’re cooked.  Kenji Lopex-Alt recommends this method and I can see why.   The first time I tried making these wings I didn’t do this step and they just weren’t what I wanted them to be.

You’ll start by heating the oil.  My experience has been that oil takes FOREVER to heat up, so you’ll get it started now while you’re making the caramel sauce.  Put the oil in a pan with high straight sides and cook over medium.  You’re looking to get it up to 375°.

Now onto the caramel.  Put in the sugar in a small saucepan.

Cook it over medium heat until it melts completely and turns an amber brownish color.  Don’t step away because this can do from tasty to torched in seconds!  Once the sugar has reached that perfect shade, gently whisk in the butter.

Once the butter is completely incorporated, turn off the heat and whisk in the heavy cream.

Finally, whisk in the bourbon and soy sauce.  You’ll see the sauce appear in at least one other recipe (minus the soy) this month so stay tuned.

Preheat the over to 400° and cover a large cookie sheet with foil and a rack.  The rack will ensure the wings don’t get “soggy bottoms” as they cook.

Time to fry the wings!  In batches of 6, carefully place the wings in the hot oil, turning them occasionally.  I wouldn’t fry more than 6 at a time unless you’re using a really large pot because it will cool the temp of the oil too much.

Fry the wings about 5 minutes, or until they start to turn golden brown and float to the top of the oil.  Take the wings out of the oil and put them on a paper towel-lined plate.

Repeat with the rest of the wings.  You may have to wait between batches for the oil to come back up to temp.

Now put all of the fried wings in large bowl and pour in all but about 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce.  Stir to coat all of the wings in the sauce.  Almost there!

Put the sauce-coated wings on your cookie sheet and cook in the oven for 5 minutes.  Now crank up the broiler and cook another 3-5 minutes.  Keep an eye on the wings.  You’re looking for the sauce to start to bubble and brown a bit.

Take the wings out of the oven and serve with a little more sauce drizzled on top and the rest served on the side in a bowl.

The wings truly define the phrase finger-licking’ good.  Enjoy!