Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings with Parmesan Dipping Sauce Recipe
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In the pantheon of things we love to eat, the Chicken Wing is high on our
list. Crispy, crunchy and easy as all
get out to make, I could likely put these on our dinner menu once a week. As wing lovers, I’ve tried all kinds of
recipes for these delicious little finger-licking goodies and almost without
fail, we love the results. But in terms
of simplicity, nothing comes close to this take on wings: 10 minutes tops in
prep and 45 minutes undisturbed in a hot oven and that’s it. The recipe was
brought to my attention by Tyler Florence in his “Tyler Florence Family Meal”
(Rodale 2010). Tyler subheads this book
“Bringing People Together Never Tasted Better”.
And I couldn’t agree more. Tyler attributes the recipe to The Wayfare
Tavern in San Francisco (558 Sacramento St. Tel: 415 772 9060). And like
every chicken wing recipe in America, it owes at least something to the
ubiquitous Buffalo Wing. In fact, every
recipe for Chicken Wings pays some homage to the original because if it hadn’t
been for Buffalo, we might never have tasted wings at all. The Anchor Bar, Buffalo where it all began
In a post I wrote in
January 2015, (See http://www.chewingthefat.us.com/2015/01/balsamic-soy-glazed-chicken-wings-and.html),
I gave a history of how the first Buffalo Wings came into existence. Prior to their invention in 1964, the wing
was pretty much confined to the garbage can or to tasks like making chicken
stock. People did not actually eat wings
unless under duress. The Buffalo wing, born out of the necessity of feeding a hungry crowd of
college boys at a place called The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, took a long time to
become the bar staple it is now. I
distinctly remember running into a rather famous Broadway impresario in my
super market in the early 1970s who extolled their virtues to me almost in a
whisper so that no one else would hear.
And oh, what I’d been missing. Parmesan Dipping Sauce The only problem the
Buffalo wing faced in our house is that Andrew is no fan of the essential blue
cheese dipping sauce that’s as integral to the Buffalo wing as the carrot and
celery sticks no great wing is served without.
But once I craved these Salt and Pepper Wings, I was determined to serve
them with something Andrew would be happy with.
Lo and behold, there’s a world of blue cheese haters out there just
longing to eat wings with a dipping sauce of some other kind of cheese. There’s actually a website called
CheeseRank.com that headlined a section called “5 Cheese Dips for Buffalo Wings
that are NOT Blue Cheese”. It was here
that I found the suggestion to substitute Reggiano Parmigiano for the
blue. The author claimed “Parm
and its relatives pack enough tangy, umami flavor to stand up to the spicy,
garlicky goodness of any wing.” So off I
went and put together a recipe for the dressing that follows. It was superb, if I say so myself. Tangy, creamy with a little texture and a
wallop of cheese flavor. Now if you don’t have
any Parm on hand, CheeseRank.com suggested Cheddar, Goat Cheese, Feta and
Triple Crème. Take your pick but I’d prefer the Parmigiano. Here’s the recipe for both wings and dip. Recipe for Salt and
Pepper Chicken Wings
Adapted from Tyler Florence
Serves 4-6 Prep Time: Under 10 mins. Cooking
time 45 mins.
Tyler made his recipe
with Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper. I used both of those but also added
several grinds from Trader Joe’s Garlic Salt Grinder which is a great mixture
of Sea Salt, Roasted Garlic, Onion and Parsley. For the Chicken:
3 pounds chicken wings, left whole OR cut, tips discarded and wing and
drummette separated (as shown)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Trader Joe’s Garlic
Salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 400. Toss chicken wings with olive oil and season liberally
with salt, pepper and . Spread wings on aluminum foil covered baking sheet and
roast for 45 minutes, or until they are crispy and golden brown.
Recipe for Parmesan Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely grated Reggiano Parmigiano cheese Kosher Salt to taste.
In the bowl of a food processor, grate the cheese. Then add the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon
juice, and pepper and process until smooth.
Taste and then add salt. Season
the mixture well.