Deep Fried Chicken Wings Question

[Andy M.]

I deep-fried chicken wings tonight for buffalo wings. They were delicious!

However, SO and I have different priorities when it comes to chicken wings. Her top priority is crispy skin. Mine is that they're cooked through and not dried out.

The last batch I made was unintentionally over cooked and crispy. SO loved them. I cooked that batch at about 365º F.

Trying to think logically, I lowered the temperature to 350º F so they would cook longer to be done and the skin would have time to crisp. I used a thermometer to check for doneness. I took them out when they were done but not overcooked. They were not as crispy as SO likes. But they were delicious.

Should I be going in the other direction and cook them at a higher temp? Recipes usually call for 350º F to 360º F.

 

[Zhizara]

Personally, I prefer crispy.

 

[kadesma]

When I do them I put them in the oven for 25 min at 350 then turn and cook other side for another 25 min at 350 That's it mine usually come out semi crispy and I think the evoo salt, lemon-pepper does it.
kades

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Deep fry in two batches, yours come out like you enjoy them, increase the temp and overcook SO's...

 

[taxlady]

Deep fry in two batches, yours come out like you enjoy them, increase the temp and overcook SO's...

Or pre-cook hers and then do them all at once. Heck, French fries are fried twice

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Or pre-cook hers and then do them all at once. Heck, French fries are fried twice

That would work, too! Better idea!

 

[pacanis]

One of my friends used to own a bar and had pretty good wings. I asked him his method and he told me he started with thawed wings and cooked them at 375 for 13 minutes. He went on to say that he could not duplicate them at home.
Knowing that, I would start out with a higher temp, Andy, because the wings will lower the oil temp anyway. This way they should crisp up when they initially hit the oil.

ETA, his wings were on the small side. I never see them that small anymore.

 

[powerplantop]

What works for me is to double fry them. First I cook a small batch at 330F until they just start to turn brown. Take them out and cook the next batch. After they all have had the first cooking I crank up the oil to 375F. Then I cook them in larger batches.

When I do them this way they are always cooked thru and crispy without being hard as a rock.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Andy;

You already know how to do this. C'mon man, you're one of the experts at this site.

The texture of your food is governed by the way it is cooked, and at what temperature. Simple physics comes into play here. The crispy skin texture is achieved when the water in the skin has been displaced hot oil. But you don't want that oil seeping into the meat. And the meat texture is determined by the final meat temperature.

Try this. Heat one pan of oil to 350' F, and one to 370'F. with equal amounts of cooking oil. Have two same sized chicken wings brought to room temperature, and two still frozen. Place the room temperature wings into the hot oil, one in each pan, and cook until the meat is cooked through. Salt and taste.

You will find that the chicken wing cooked in the hotter oil will be more crispy, but tougher and less succulent. Now, take the two frozen wings and do the same thing. You will find that the wing placed in the hotter oil will have crispier skin by the time it is cooked through, but the wing in the cooler oil will simply take longer too cook.

The area where the skin touches the oil super-heats as heat is transferred from the oil to the skin. That heat then migrates into the chicken meat. Since the flesh is frozen, it takes a longer time to warm enough to be cooked through. All the while, the skin is releasing its moisture and you see it bubbling out. The result is a crispy outside with a still succulent inside.

Another way to produce a crispy outer surface is to dust the wing with seasoned flour before fying. Don't use an egg-wash, just the flour.

If you want hot wings, rather than frying the wings, and then dousing with hot sauce, marinate the wings in a mixture of Sriracha pepper sauce, Tobasco, a little soy sauce, and water for about 2 hours. Then coat and fry. You will have hot wings without the sauce making the coating gummy. Add a bit of cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic to the flour as well. For those who like sauce on the outside, place a squirt bottle of sauce on the table for people to use if they so choose.

Hope this helps.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Andy M.]

GW, I don't do a lot of deep frying. That's why I need assistance here. I am deep frying so cooking from frozen is out of the question as the wings are ice glazed and IQF.