Cajun Chicken Wings

I spend a lot of time cooking and eating chicken wings. So there will be frequent recipes here with new rubs and marinades and ideas for chicken wings. Just warning y'all...

I'll start with my go-to fried chicken recipe, a Cajun one so simple that it really shouldn't taste as good as it does. Most importantly I always have the 3 seasoning ingredients on hand. It still amazes me that such a simple combination should be so magical.

This is absolutely as easy as it gets. There's no brining, no soaking in buttermilk, no egg or other messy stuff (we'll get to all that in other recipes). Just a rub and a coating then deep fry them and yum.

(Yes I know. Deep frying. Oil. Health. I will also look at cooking wings in the oven sometime. But if you want those hot crispy mouth-watering wings of your dreams... get out the deep fryer.)

BTW, I find this is easiest if you just do it all in one big zip-lock plastic bag.

1 kg chicken nibbles

Or wings. If they're full wings maybe cut off the tip as they tend to burn quite easily.

Seasoning mix

2 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp cayene

Coat chicken with mix. Try rubbing it in with your hands. Wash them first and afterwards. Your hands, not the chicken. Leave for 4 hours. Overnight is best. 

NOTE: You can get away with about 1 hour if you don't put them in the fridge, but longer really is better.

Seasoned flour

1 ½ cups plain flour

2 Tbs baking powder

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

¾ tsp cayene

Coat chicken with seasoned flour. Leave for 20 minutes. 

NOTE: The baking powder is for extra crunch but is not essential. The longer you leave it the thicker the coating will become.

Cooking

Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees.

Shake chicken again to recoat it with the flour, then shake off extra flour.

Fry in batches. It really is better not to overcrowd these. You can keep some warm in a 120 degree oven while more are cooking. I find about 8 minutes usually does it but there are many variables - it might be a minute either side. Wings are very accommodating so don't worry! 

 

(And - hey! - I know these don't exactly look like KFC. They tasted great! I'm a crap photographer. So sue me.)