#24 Wings & Ranch
Chicken Wings
These are super easy and a crowd pleaser! Figure at least a half pound per person. More if you’re light on side dishes.
Ingredients
2 lbs chicken wings
2T oil
1t garlic powder (optional)
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2-4T hot sauce (I used Frank's)
2 T honey
4 T butter
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400*. Prepare a sheet pan lined with foil. If you have a wire rack use it to allow air flow under wings, which will create crispy texture.
Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, separate the 3 sections of the wing. Blot dry with a paper towel. Reserve the tips for broth making.
Toss chicken with oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Transfer to baking sheet (or rack on top of baking sheet).
Bake until chicken is crispy and golden, about 45 minutes. Turn chicken after 20 minutes and this will give you an idea of how fast they’re cooking. It depends on your oven and chicken temperature when placed into oven. Rule of thumb, let meat come to room temp before cooking for best results. I don’t always remember enough in advance. Heck, some days I’m doing good to remember to thaw the meat!
As wings bake, whisk together sauce, butter and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer then boil for about 2 minutes to reduce and thicken this goodness.
When wings are crispy and cooked, remove from oven and slather with the sauce. You can do this with a brush or toss them in a bowl.
Change the setting on your stove from oven to broiler. Place saucy wings back on the rack under the boiler until sauce caramelizes. Each oven is different (3-10 minutes). This can be quick so pay attention.
Serve with extra sauce, ranch or blue cheese dressing and veggies.
Be sure to save/freeze the bones for broth making. Don’t worry about cooties, they all boil off as the broth cooks.
Easy Homemade Ranch
1 cup sour cream (or mayo)
1/2 t. dried parsley, or fresh if you have
1 t. dried dill weed (flavor intensifies the longer the dressing is refrigerated)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt, add more to taste
1/4 t. black or white pepper
dash red pepper
Combine above, taste and adjust then refrigerate for an hour. This makes a fairly thick consistency, so if you are wanting it to be thinner, add milk or water. It also thickens the longer it's been in the fridge. The above recipe will need considerably more liquid for salad dressing.
Enjoy your weekend!
Julie