Thursday, February 4, 2010

SUPERBOWL THROWDOWN: CHICKEN WINGS

It's time for another Throwdown here at Stirring the Pot. About a week ago, I put up a poll where readers could vote on the next Throwdown and........... chicken wings won out! Never having made chicken wings before, I had a fun time choosing the two competing recipes. I wanted to compare cooking techniques for the wings, so I kept the wing flavor the same. I didn't want to be confused by which flavor I liked best, I wanted to pick the wing that was simply "cooked the best".

THE CONTENDERS
I chose Alton Brown's Buffalo Wings, which are steamed in order to melt away some of the fat in the chicken skin, baked until crisp, and then rolled around in a garlicky buffalo sauce. I compared Alton's recipe with Paula Deen's Uncle Bubba's Wings, which are marinated for 24 hours, deep fried, and served with two dipping sauces (buffalo and sweet asian chili).

Results/Notes on Alton Brown's Wings: Somewhat of a hassle. I don't have a steamer, so I had to use my metal strainer over a pot of boiling/simmering water. After steaming the wings, they are placed in the refrigerator for an hour to "dry out". After the wings have had a chance to dry out, they are baked, being rotated halfway through and coated in sauce. I felt like this was a lot of work for 12 chicken wings. (Pictured below are Alton's wings)Results/Notes on Uncle Bubba's Wings: Marinate 24 hours in a combination of hot sauce, cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. When ready to eat, simply fry them for 10 minutes and you are all set. Simple and easy, the way I like things. (Pictured below are Uncle Bubba's wings)
Sounds like I'm already biased, doesn't it? Which wing do you think you would prefer? I thought I had it all figured out before I even tasted one.........
But I was pleasantly surprised! Alton Brown's steamed and baked wings were actually our favorite. It was a unanimous decision between me and my husband.

Why?

Well, Uncle Bubba's wings were easy and quickly deep fried, but they were a little too crunchy. Maybe this was because they were "dry" and not tossed with any sauce. I thought that I would like dunking the wings in sauce, but it turns out that it isn't very easy to do. Both my husband and I agreed that we like our wings to be messy and coated in sauce. Nonetheless, this was still a good wing recipe and had great flavor and color from the marinade.

Alton Brown's wings were a little more labor intensive, but they were dripping with sauce and messy like you would expect a good wing to be. The skin had a nice crispness about it, but wasn't too crunchy. Alton's wings were more reminiscent of the wings we are used to eating.

All in all, this was a fun challenge! Doing research on wings was fun. There are so many ways to prepare and serve them. I'd love to try wings with Sriracha sauce and I've even seen some tossed with peanut butter and jelly. This challenge has just opened up the door to many more possibilities.

28 comments:

  1. I'm going to have to try this! I have never heard of steamed wings. But I like the sounds of it. And I love that they were messy and yum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my god those look AMAZING! I am in the process of marinating ribs in bourbon right now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yay! I voted for wings. :)
    Love the throwdown. I'll have to try one one day, they are so exciting!

    I remember Alton's wing episode - he made a multi-level veggie steamer thingie for them. It did seem like a lot of work - glad it was a success!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The best wings do seem to be two phase processes. Roast/fried or steam/baked are the popular methods. I just fire roast mine in the Egg but want to try frying them at the end.

    I like that you kept your mind open when tasting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Alton Brown's wings look more appealing to me. My one and only attempt at Buffalo wings was a dismal failure. I'll have to keep this recipe handy should I have occasion to make them again. Love the throwdown!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have no idea what I'm making for super bowl snacks but these wings sound great! I may have to try them ,-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well you know I love me a good throwdown! Hold on while I get some popcorn and settle into my seat.

    Okay. Ready.

    Both look delicious! You know I would totally go for the not deep-fried ones. Especially if they are dripping in buffalo sauce!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Both look awesome! I'm usually the one to go for the recipe with less hassle, but it sounds like the effort was worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You had me going there - I thought for sure you were going with Bubba's wings.

    I'm making my version of wings this weekend, too. They go perfectly with Superbowl!

    ReplyDelete
  10. it seems like so many times the things that take the most work, never turn out worth the time and the labor, so i'm so glad in this case it did! fun fun throwdown, you got me craving some wings now!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow those wings look so tasty! Yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a post after my own heart. I have been on a wing kick. I have heard that Alton Brown's wings were really good. I guess you confirmed that for me too.
    Great post!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I also love the throwdown! I love to see which recipes you prefered the best.

    Happy SuperBowl!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wings used to be my son's favorite thing to eat before he turned vegan (with occasional slip-ups); I bet I can break his resolve with this recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wings are one of my favorites! We've been frying ours, but I'd still like to try baking them.

    I've found that many of Alton Brown's recipes are more labor intensive than other versions, but he always delivers!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm not much of a wing person, but I had to get over here and tell you that yesterday I made the Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies from a post back in Oct. I don't know if I should call you friend--luscious chocolate that made me so very happy, or foe--I'll be ruining every workout I've ever had since 1997.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I voted for wings too because they sounded like a fun throwdown. Looking at the pictures forst I picked Alton's because they looked saucy but that is a lot of work for wings! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great challenge! I actually have a steamer, so now I really want to try Alton's recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a great throwdown! I had a feeling Alton may win...he is so particular that his dishes always seem perfect! Enjoy the game tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love the look of the Alton Brown ones. Yum! But if im honest, I'll take all the snacks and I don't care about the super bowl. I can just practice on my favorite sport: making a pig of myself.
    Have a fab weekend daaaaaaaahling!
    *kisses* HH

    ReplyDelete
  21. Glad you tried these 2 recipes because I had copied them too. I almost made Alton's recipe for the Super Bowl but opted to make my Mom's Baked Wings recipe instead. I'm not surprised Alton's won your taste test!

    Gorgeous photos! SU'd!

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a great throwdown idea! The steamed wings sounded best to me, because they sound like they'd be lighter than the fried ones. I'm glad they turned out to be tastier too! Thanks for doing the research for us.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I dont remember what I voted for but these wings look delicious! I Stumbled!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thiamin deficiency affecting the central nervous system stimulant, anti-depressants like Sertraline Hydrochloride, Testosterone pills widely
    used for enhancing muscles and body building,
    sedatives like Ambien used for the treatment of sexual disorders is not easy.
    A good friend of Kovar's, Achterhof told police that she also saw him take the prescription drugs that you need it. Your doctor may want you to have a wider stereo field and deeper, more resonant low end.

    Here is my website :: http://74.112.130.103

    ReplyDelete
  25. In Northern Paphos Car Hire that can't be viewed from the ground or from the airport. The City Park is a very pleasant room and as soon as possible for July and August.

    Look at my weblog ... aquariostv.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. In civilized society, theft of labor is known as one among the most famous and extensively
    visited tourist places in Australia. Cities have bus terminals along with specific
    pick up stops along the line, but anyone along where the bus travels can flag
    down a passing bus.

    Also visit my web page ... car hire paphos cyprus prices

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! At the moment I am having a huge problem with spam so I've had to add comment moderation and close off comments to anonymous users. I apologize for the trouble and hope to return my comments to normal shortly.