How Do You Deep Fry Frozen Chicken Wings?
Whether you’re preparing for the Super Bowl or are just planning an appetizer for a nightly dinner, chicken wings are always a tasty choice. You can glaze them in an array of sauces and serve them up with celery and carrots. It’s simple to deep-fry frozen chicken wings at home, provided you have the right tools and follow a few simple guidelines. Read on to learn how to deep-fry frozen chicken wings safely at home for a treat that is sure to please everyone at the table.
Understanding a Little Chemistry
Before you start thinking about which sauces to use or what to garnish your plate with, you should refresh on a few safety tips. If you’re familiar with your deep fryer, no doubt you already know the safety basics. However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that oil and water do not mix — ever. Mixing oil and water at a high temperature is a severe safety hazard. Water is a denser liquid than oil, which causes it to sink. If there is water in your deep fryer oil, this will cause bubbles to rise to the surface. These bubbles can pop, splattering you and your kitchen with scalding hot oil. The bottom line is that frozen chicken wings are full of ice crystals (water), so defrost them completely before using your deep fryer.
How to Prepare the Chicken Wings
Once the wings are defrosted completely, pat them dry. Before adding them to the deep fryer, you may want to season them with salt and ground black pepper or shake them with a seasoned flour mixture to make them crispier on the outside. A simple way to do this is to mix flour along with your favorite seasonings, such as garlic powder and cayenne pepper, in a resealable plastic bag. Add the wings, close the bag, and toss them until they are coated. Once you remove them, shake off the excess flour.
How to Prepare the Oil
Whether you have a deep fryer or are heating oil up in a large Dutch oven or pan, the oil should reach a temperature of between 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit to cook the wings thoroughly. Wings should stay in the oil from approximately 10 minutes, although larger wings may need more time to cook throughout. Once wings are cooked, place them on a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.
How to Prepare Wings With Sauce
You can either make your own buffalo wing sauce with hot sauce and butter or buy a bottled version at the store. You can also choose from an array of different sauces, such as teriyaki, chili sauce, barbecue, and more. Once the wings are cooked thoroughly, place them and your desired sauce in a container with a lid. Close the lid and shake well to coat the wings with sauce. A word of caution, however. If the wings have just come out of the fryer and are extremely hot, this may cause a lid to burst. In this case, toss them in a bowl and mix them with a cooking utensil like tongs.
How to Serve Buffalo Wings
Buffalo wings are generally served with either blue cheese or ranch dressing (or both), even if you’ve used sauces other than buffalo. Restaurants also commonly serve buffalo wings with celery and carrot sticks, to soothe the palate in between bites of spicy wings. You may want to experiment with buffalo wing sauces and levels of heat so that you can serve mild, medium, and hot selections.