Strange wing experience

[bmillin]

I set out to do some twice-fried wings using Kenji's method The Best Buffalo Wings Recipe (seriouseats.com) which has always been a winner. Winco had some Tyson wings on sale so off we go.

I used the oven method, so got the wings in the oil in a 5 qt DO then into the oven for about an hour. Got them out and onto a rack for the cool down. Put the rack in the fridge. They looked..ok. Not the par-fry I expected. Kinda damp looking.

Getting the DO ready for the last fry, and it just looks odd. I finally realize there is a significant layer of what must be water at the bottom. Let it cool enough to go through the de-fatter and wow what a bunch of junk was down below the oil. The wings in that part of the pot must have been more boiling than frying.

Cleaned the oil up, did a second fry at around 400 but the wings still felt too wet. They were falling off the bone done but had trouble getting them to crisp up.

Checked the package and it was something like "up to 20% solution" so from now on it's fresh wings for me.

[Jfrosty27]

I had some wings from Wild Fork that had a similar solution pre applied. When cooking them in the kettle with Vortex, they also wouldn’t crisp up. Now I know why. I stopped buying those and now only buy fresh locally when I can find them without needing a second mortgage which isn’t very often these days.

[Finster]

True dat 👉

[WillTravelForFood]

would sitting the wings for a day in the fridge, uncovered on a wire rack, have helped?

[acorgihouse]

I wondered same, would have dried them out but would it have been enough?

[jfmorris]

I just did a double fry for 5 pounds of fresh whole wings on Friday night, cut into sections myself, and they were great. I didn't do this "confit" method Kenji outlines in the oven - I did a par fry for 7-8 minutes in 325F oil, in batches, and then let them rest until I knew my wife was on the way home, and cranked the oil up to 375F, and did the second fry, again in batches of about 12 sections, for 7-8 minutes. Pulled, let rest for 2 minutes, then tossed in sauce. They were absolute perfection...

I've never had wierdness like you describe unless trying to fry wings from frozen.

[DTro]

Jim, did your wings contain a solution?

[jfmorris]

DTro I didn't think they did, but I put another 5# flat of them in the deep freeze, and just went to look. "Contains up to 15%" of a solution. So yep. Fresh, not frozen, but still brined at the processing plant I guess. I doubt they are injecting wings, so it's gonna be a brining process.

I know the Tyson bags of frozen wing sections I've used in the past are like that as well.

[DTro]

Thanks for posting. I have some in the freezer that include a 15% solution. Gonna have to experiment before Sunday.

[Clawbear57]

How about a write-up after. I remember buying some that had some kind of glaze on them that I tried to wet brine in hot sauce. The HS came off in the grease none on the wings. Was wondering if they could have been pre brined. Thanks.

[DTro]

Clawbear57 -see below

[bbqLuv]

This is good to know.

[RonB]

I used to buy air cooled instead of water cooled chicken, but it's now a half hour drive to the closest grocery that sells the air cooled. And their selection of parts has gotten smaller. The best I can find now is 5% added water.

And when you buy water cooled, it has passed through water that has had thousands of carcasses pass through it and God knows what else was in that water. There is a much greater chance of water cooled chicken being contaminated with something bad.

Jerod Broussard - am I close?

[RonB]

FireMan - yes, and I prefer VW Bug chicken.

[Jerod Broussard]

Actually, just the opposite. The microbe counts are way higher on air chilled chicken. Water chilled, depending on weight, experience 2 hours of physical and hydro action with compressed air keeping things stirred up. The water turns over as well and contains antimicrobials.

[texastweeter]

FireMan RonB put me in for a bag of Corvair wings.

[RolfTaylor]

I am really getting pissed that the USDA allows this nonsense.

It started with a few items where maybe it made sense (hams, turkeys) but it's severely abused.

I have also noticed that the juice absorber pads are now abused as well. Instead of dry meat with a pad that is just a tad wet the pads appear to have been soaked in water and then put in the package.

I wish the IRS good luck in bringing in more revenue so essential government agencies like the USDA can be properly funded. I am sick of getting ripped off.

[DTro]

bmillin Thanks again for posting this. Circling back to the recipe and reading the reviews, it seems that many people had the same results after the confit step as you did. The method may be flawed. You were smart to remove the liquid from the fat. Others didn't and created a dangerous mess. Some suggested using water instead of oil for the first cook. I like that idea cause you can control the temp and not get the water oil sludge.

I have a 10-pound bag of wings in the freezer. They are with a 15% solution. That concerned me after your post. Last night I took a dozen pieces from the bag, thawed them, and cooked them indirectly over charcoal. They were crispy and delicious. I want to try the double fry method but may not have time before Sunday. When I do, I might try jfmorris method and skip trying a confit.

[jfmorris]

Yeah - I've done many a double fry, even from frozen Tyson wings in those 10# bags, where I just rinsed the ice off the, before dropping in the oil for the first fry. If you go from frozen, do 15 minutes for the first fry - until your oil temp recovers to 325F for a bit, and limit how many you do in the batches for the first par-fry step.

The second fry at 375F will be much faster, basically until the wings are floating and have the color you want.

[Clawbear57]

Thanks