Smofried Wings
This time of year brings us more than just Thanksgiving Day celebrations… It’s also rivalry game time in college football! I won’t say which game it the biggest and best every year (GO BUCKS!), but we all have our favorite games.
What’s a big game without good food to go with it, though? And what goes better with game day than wings? There are other great foods, but wings just seem to fit the bill here! It’s easy to call up your favorite wing purveyor and order up a mess o’ wings, but it’s also easy to make them yourself, and I bet you’ll find they’re better than take out!
How, you may ask, do wings fit in with “Get Your Grill On”? Easy… Smofried wings! This is perhaps the best combination cooking method known to mankind! Ok, maybe that’s too much, but it’s a great way to get truly tasty tidbit for your game day eats! Both deep frying and smoking methods are used.
If you have a turkey fryer for outside, it’s a great tool to use for these wings, especially if you’re having a large group over for the game. The quantity of oil used means that the temps are easy to maintain, and the volume can still be kept down to avoid overflow (overflow = fire department visits your house!).
For more on how to make smofried wings, keep reading!
The first step in making smofried wings is to prep the wings. I buy whole wings and cut them myself, as I can’t get myself to pay for someone to do such a simple thing for the extra price the stores charge. To cut the wings apart, start by cutting along the joint where the drum is connected, cutting through the joint. This is easy to do if you slide your knife along the side of the bone, sheering through the joint cleanly. Then separate the middle section from the wing tip. This is done the same way as removing the drum, by sliding the knife along the wing tip and through the joint. I just throw the wing tip away. My wife likes the middle section of the wing while I prefer the drum, which makes splitting them very easy!
Once the wings are prepped, put them back in the refrigerator while the oil is being heated. The most dangerous part of making these is dealing with the oil, so be extra careful here. Keep a fire extinguisher handy… Better safe than in flames! If I fry inside, I get the oil up to about 375 F before frying, as the temperature will drop once the wings are put in the oil. Using a larger turkey fryer, I just get the oil to 350 F, as the larger volume will hold its heat better.
Once the oil is up to temperature, I use a fry basket, as this allows me to control putting the wings into the oil. When the wings first go into the oil, there will be a lot of bubbling as the water in the skin is boiled away quickly. This is where the oil can overflow, so keep a careful eye on this! Using a basket also allows for quick remove from the oil. I fry the wings in small batches if doing them inside, for 5 minutes per batch, ensuring the oil comes back up to temperature between batches; frying with lower temperatures will make the wings greasy instead of just crisping the skin. Once the wings have cooked for 5 minutes, drain them well.
Now comes the smoking part. Get the smoker up to temperature, using your favorite smoking wood (pecan is my personal favorite). Put the wings in an aluminum foil pan in a single layer and smoke until they reach 165 degress. Just before they’re done, apply whatever sauce you like the best. I usually do a variety of sauces, but my current favorite is Texas Pepper Jelly’s Spicy Peach Grilling Sauce. I also like straight Crystal Hot Sauce, which is peppery without being too hot. Have fun and try different sauces! The idea, though, is to get the sauce on the wings just long enough to heat it all up but not long enough to burn the sauce.
Take the wings off the smoker and serve, with or without blue cheese dressing… And watch the Buckeyes win the National Championship this year! (sorry, I had to go there!)
