Longos BBQ Wings

Do you ever do something once, and then regret it? But for some explainable reason, you do it again and again. And each time you do you know you shouldn't but you do it anyway? Like a bad relationship, or alcohol.

I do, and it involves wings that are in-house at grocery stores.

Here's the thing, many grocery stores serve chicken wings as quick and easy to go meals. And they are often not very good. Often breaded, they either are put in the containers hot where they steam themselves until they are fall off the bone, but are mush messes OR they are semi-cooked at the plant, frozen or sent very cold and sit in the container in a gloppy mess. And because of my wing sickness I have to try wings where ever I am.

So I was at Longos, a nice grocery store chain, where my location is waaaay too small, and waaay too expensive for my likings. I don't even know why I was in there, but I was, and I saw wings for $6.99 and my love of wings and cheapness said, that looks like a good deal. So I got it.

The instructions read:

"Keep Refrigerated until ready to consume. Pre-heat oven to 425F. Remove from packaging. Bake on cookie shet for 10-15 minutes. For microwave, remove lid and heat on high power for 2-5 minutes"

Um, microwave? No. Please don't.

Above are the wings straight from the, uh, shelf. They were very very cold, seemingly just from frozen. Very saucy though.

I put the oven to 450 degrees and placed them in a circular pattern on a pizza pan, on parchment. The wings won't stick to parchment.

Here are the wings before putting them in the oven, and the wings after 15 minutes. I then flipped the wings so that both sides got somewhat crispy.

Because they come pre-sauced, they were much harder to get crispy. I kept a keen eye on them because I did not want all the sauce to caramelize, then burn at such high heat.

The wings were tiny. Tender, slightly meaty, but small.

How did they taste? Well, not great. They were a very sweet BBQ (and I use the term BBQ only because they did), kind of sickly sweet. An off ketchupy taste, very artificial.

So, what did I do? I added my own sauce. Hot. Very hot. Drowned out the other sauce. This made them better. 

So Longo's, I gotta say, tres disappointing. Tiny, terrible tasting wings. What you think of as BBQ is really sad. And the chicken going from factory to the shelves just doesn't seem respectful of the chicken medium. Please let your chickens grow so that you can serve decent sized wings.

If you were really craving wings, and you were willing to really doctor these up, these would be ok. I guess. For $6.99 it wasn't bad, but this is a product that really needs to shape up.

Longos.com

Randy's Review of Hot Pot Wings from Chengdu China

Dude is still over in China, eating it up. Literally. Ha! My birthday falls on the same day as National Day in China. So here is how he celebrated both events, with Vicky and Shirley,  in his own words:

"This year I thought I would give Lord of the Wings a belated birthday wing review.  I traveled to Chengdu, Sichuan Province here in China.  It was their National Day and let me tell you…so many people!!

Two things stuck out for me on this trip.  The pandas and the food.  Sichuan is famous for their spicy food.  We hit up this famous hotpot place and they of course served wings.

Us getting ready for the world famous Sichuan hotpot @ Shu Jiu Xiang
!

This is their famous hotpot.  One of the best meals I’ve had in China thus far.  I mean really really good!

This is us cooking.  So much fun!  Now its time for the wings….

It doesn’t look too tasty here, but they were pretty good. And hot.  

My Zoolander impression getting ready for the wings.

Sichuan hotpot is really hard to explain.  I mean yes its super crazy spicy but not in the normal sense.  It’s a burn that just overwhelms you with deliciousness. I really can’t handle the heat.  I mean I usually can manage Hot, but the not traditional Suicide sauces.  But this was so tasty that the spice took a back burner (excuse the pun).

This is us processing the heat, each of us had our own techniques:

Vicky with the classic drinking to cool down her taste buds.

I went for the “zoned out” approach.  Trying mind over matter.  I may look calm…but my mind is saying…”This tastes like the surface of the sun”.

Shirley went for the traditional eating bread to neutralize the heat. Well played Shirley, well played.

The girls out front of the restaurant after our meal.  

All in all, a fantastic meal.  But the wings were really small.  But it was a nice change from the wings I usually have in Xi’an.  In Xi’an they seem to have the same flavour at every place.

Of course we had to get rid of the burning in our mouths…and what better way than………Chicken Wing ice cream???

Ok, no this is just chocolate…but it helped the burning!

Happy National Day! AND Happy Birthday Wing King!"

Thanks Dude - looks like a fun and tasty time!

Birthday Feasting

Last weekend was my birthday and let me tell you it was a glutton food fest.

Meal after meal after meal.

It was soo good.

And I'm going to tell you all about it soon. But not yet. Because work has been keeping me busy. But I'm super stoked about re-living through the blog.

Sorry for being behind yet again.

Wing Long and Prosper

Lord of the Wings.

WWWWWW #50 - Merrick Petcare

Yes, World Wide Web Wacky Wing Wednesday. WWWWWW. This is where I will surf the Web, and find other people talking about chicken wings. The world is full of chicken wing stories, wacky and otherwise. Recipes, restaurant reviews, eating contests or whatever. Today's Blog relating to wings in some shape or form:

Merrick Petcare: "Comfort for the Soul!"

WWWWWW# 50 and today we are talking about wings and pet food. Yes you heard that right. Merrick makes pet food. But not just any pet food. We are talking 'gourmet'. I think this is a bit crazy, but I mean, they have dog food chicken wings.

From their website:

"Our mission statement is “Comfort for the Soul,” and we do that by offering you simple, nutritious and healthy products. You want to be a good pet guardian and our products give you comfort to know that you are giving your pet a healthy meal and treat. We feel the same way because we are pet guardians just like you. In fact, we don’t have just dogs and cats, we currently have llamas, ducks, chickens, emus, zonkeys (that’s right a cross between a donkey and a zebra), goats, koi and longhorns. When my father started our treat company, he put the following scripture from the Bible on our boxes, and we still display this Proverb today; “A good man is concerned for the welfare of his animals.” I don’t know many people who could argue with that, and we feel the same way. Knowing we are committed to this verse is “Comfort for the Soul”.

Wingaling



"Once upon a time there was a magical place called Wingaling and it had the best tasting chicken in the world. Nutty brown rice simmered in savory gravy that naturally marinates these delicious chicken wings on the bone to add flavor. The Merrick's would like to welcome your dog into this wonderland of flavor that is chicken paradise.

A NOTE FROM THE CHEF: please read before feeding. Our slow cooked whole chicken wings offer marinated tender chicken cooked on a softened bone. THIS SPECIAL COOKING PROCESS MAKES THE BONE MUSHY AND SAFE FOR YOUR DOG TO ENJOY. Feel free to serve whole or to break apart the chicken and soft bones for ease of pet consumption."

They also have it in a smaller serving. Cute.

Wild Buffalo Grill


"It's winter in the Rockies at a quiet cabin with the one you love, a good book and a warm fire. The taste of the west is on the menu tonight. Buffalo and a host of tasty vittles are warming on the stove. The Merrick family is happy to share this original taste with your canine friend. The Merricks say Howdy and thanks. Wild Buffalo Grill is prepared with Buffalo, Cracked Pearled Barley, Zucchini, Carrots, Snow Peas, & Fuji Apples."

This I misread. I was thinking Buffalo wings, not actual Buffalo.

Don't forget Turducken.

Or Burger Pie & Sweety Fries.

Or what dog doesn't love sports? So Gameday Tailgate naturally is the meal for them.



So how about you - would you serve your pet gourmet chicken wing food?

This Pizza Hut Wingnormous Commercial Bothers Me

I got an add in my inbox from Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut changed over to Wing Street not long ago, and I thought they weren't bad. The pizza isn't as good as it used to be in my opinion though. But decent new wings. And  I don't mind advertisement, especially about wings. But I got the one below and it bothered me. 

Can you guess what is wrong?

• The $25 Wingnormous deal is the same as their other Panormous combo - same amount of everything just re-branded.
• 10 wings should never be referred to as anything 'normous'.
• You can not have a Wing Eating competition with 10 wings. Unless its to see the minimum number of wings eaten by a person in 5 minutes.
• "It's a guy thing" - what is? A wing eating competition? Is Pizza Hut aware of Sonya Thomas, the 'Black Widow' who ate 183 wings in 12 minutes? (that is a wing eating competition).
• There are 4 cans of pop, which suggests this combo is for 4 people. Sure there is a lot of pizza for 4 people, but 10 wings divided by 4 is 2.5.      2.5.   How do you share wings like that? How is 2.5 a reasonable amount of wings. 

That's my rant. I know I'm ridiculous, but wings are my business. I understand what they are doing, trying to make it all 'bro' friendly and hip and macho, but they aren't hitting the mark in my opinion. Grrrrrr.

Anything make you irrationally annoyed?

Does this advert bother you?

WWWWWW #49 - Ice Cream Club

Yes, World Wide Web Wacky Wing Wednesday. WWWWWW. This is where I will surf the Web, and find other people talking about chicken wings. The world is full of chicken wing stories, wacky and otherwise. Recipes, restaurant reviews, eating contests or whatever. Today's Blog relating to wings in some shape or form:

Ice Cream Club

How would you like to to join a club that is all about ice cream? Well if you live in NYC, you can. The Ice Cream Club. What are they really about? Well straight from their website info:  "Ice Cream Club is a group in NYC that does a buncha things with ice cream. Take ice cream classes, subscribe to our ice cream CSA, or just show up to swap pints. We meet on the second Sunday of the month." Sounds tasty in my opinion. So what is the deal with them on LOTW? Ya, they did it. They did it. They made Buffalo Wing Ice Cream.

I have to include the whole post because, well I just do:

"Buffalo Wing: I am only telling you how to make this so you never ever ever do it. Cream about 1/3 cup sugar with 1/3 cup butter. Add enough Frank’s Hot Sauce until it tastes like buffalo sauce. Combine with 1c cream, 1c milk. Add bits of blue cheese when it’s almost done in the machine.

I mean, it does taste like buffalo wings, but there’s a time and a place for that flavor, and I’m not sure it’s in ice cream. I am not tough enough to mix in the celery I bought."

I like all things wings, but this might be the one thing I would really have to be in an experimental mood for . . . but awesome that it was tried.

Ruffles Buffalo Wing Chips

One thing that is great about potato chips is the endless possibilities of flavours. And I love that the chip companies have been jumping on the wing wagon.


Ruffles have been making Hot Wing chips for a while. And to admit to some unprofessionalism on my part, this was a review from 2010 that I found recently. Actually my good friend Julianna was the first to tell me about these.

First off, I'm glad they called them Hot Wing. Buffalo wings are very specific in smell and taste. But Hot Wings . . . a hot wing sauce is just hot and tasty.

I have to say I prefer a ridged chip, and in my opinion Ruffles chips are crunchy and flavourful.

Those wings on the package look not too bad.

That's ah, that some ingredient list. At least hot sauce is in there. Before salt even.

This was a regular sized bag. As usual, half full of air.

Some things about the chips to point out. First you can notice the size. That's a big chip. Good ridges, however you can see the browning and/or burning. For 'specially selected potatoes' I wonder what their selection process is.

Let's look close up. Reeeallly close. Lots of flavour powder on that chip. Its the kind that helps tingle the lips and tongue. There was a little bit of a burn, but nothing crazy. The flavour is a mix of all dressed, salt and vinegar and bbq. Did it really taste like hot wing? Not in a blind tasting. But I think this is a tasty chip with a minor kick.

In the States I've seen "Molten Hot Wing" chips, and the next time I go, I'm gonna buy some and see how they compare. For now, these are a decent 'wing' chip.

Crispy Baked Wings?

As you know, I love wings. I like lots of different styles and sauces. I respect different methods of preparation  for wings from smoking to stir fry, to deep frying and grilling. But one method I regularly scorned was baking wings. I hated baked wings because they were never crispy. Crispy wings are very important. When people wrote Buffalo wing recipes and listed baking them, I would lose my @#$. Partly because a Buffalo wing has very specific criteria, but mainly because baking doesn't make for crispy skin. 

Or so I thought.

But I've come to realize that under the right conditions, you can have a very-close-to-deep-fried crispy baked wing.

First thing - get some fresh wings. Do not get frozen. Go to your butcher, go to your poultry dealer, go to where ever you can and get fresh, not frozen wings.

Next step, toss them in some flour. Maybe some flour and spices. Maybe even corn starch. Some say baking powder. Do it.

Then take those wings (knocking off excess powder) and put them on parchment paper. Parchment paper is key here. In the past I used tin foil and the chicken sticks and never cooked right. Parchment paper is magic, magic I say. And I know there are some out there who are like, what about wax paper? No. Parchment. Wax and parchment are not the same. Parchment will not burn in the oven, the chicken will not stick to it, and it will help in the crisping process.

Then put it in the fridge. At least 30 minutes. I do it for an hour. Or more. Then when your ready, pre-heat the oven for 450 or higher. Hot.

See those wings in the oven? Baking (middle shelf). High heat, fresh, dusted, parchment. This is the way.

Here is the wings after being flipped after say 15-20 minutes. Ya, baking takes a long time. But you can see how the skin is browning. The photo makes the wings a little pink, but they didn't look that pink. Weird. Keep baking for another 15-20 minutes or until they are crispy.

Here's a finished drummette. I took a bite. You can see the layers of crispy skin. Yes, that chicken is baked.

While the wings were baking I made up some Buffalo-style sauce. For some reason I put it in the bowl first. It's sitting on the burner that gets hot when the oven is on (but the burner is off). I don't like my sauce cold, but the Frank's sits in the fridge. Heat it up.

Then toss it up. Mix mix mix. Flip flip flip. Sauce sauce sauce. Until completely coated.

And there, baked Hot wings. Can you tell that they weren't deep fried? No, no you can't.

Look - each one of those wings looks nearly perfect. And they were crispy, and tasty and pretty darn good. I still prefer deep fried, but this is as close as you are going to get.

So remember:

• Fresh chicken
• Dust in flour/corn starch/baking soda (one or all)
• Place on parchment paper
• Air chill in fridge for minimum 30 minutes.
• Cook in oven at 450 degrees. Flip once after 15-20 minutes. Cook for another 15-20 minutes. Or until skin is crisp.
• Toss in sauce, enjoy.

First Wings in the Caf

What's for dinner?

Well tonight in the dining hall at work it was the first wings of the year (the work year here starting in September).

Tonight they were serving them up honey garlic and bbq, with hot & more honey garlic on the side. I asked for the wings sauceless. The wings tonight had a heavy flour dusting. They were deep fried, and because they are serving hundreds of pounds, weren't straight from the fryer. They weren't the crispest at this point, but still good fried chicken.

On my wing journey were four lovely ladies. Mel, Lisa, Kat and Claire. Claire refrained from wings this night, but she normally loves them. As you can tell, the rest enjoyed their meals.

 I took the dry wings and poured a bowl of some Frank's sauce. I added some Sriracha, some Tobasco and some vinegar. I took the dry wings in a bowl, poured the sauce mix over, then put another bowl on top and shook.

On the left, the wings sauced (poured over). On the right, 15 seconds of tossing.

The final product was a super saucy wing. The meat just fell away from the bones, so I basically dissected each wing, and could dip the meat into the sauce bone free.

I started off with a double order of wings (over 10 wings). I was still hungry so I went up for more. I just grabbed a plated wings of BBQ, and then did the whole sauce thing again. Tasty.

The wings were good. They weren't the best I've had in the caf, but they were good. I was very satisfied at the end of the night.

Here is our collective bone basket. May all those chickens rest in piece.