If you are like me, you have probably wondered why buffalo wings are so named. (When I first heard of them, I pictured a buffalo with wings!) Well, I went digging to find out more about these delicious spicy chicken morsels and, apparently, the name comes
from the town of Buffalo in New York, where they were first created. So, now we have
that out of the way, let’s get into the real delight of creating these wings at home.
BUFFALO WINGS
Serves 4
1.2 kg chicken wings
coconut oil, for deep-frying
120 g tapioca flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150 ml Hot Sauce (see recipe below)
Marinade
80 ml (1/2 cup) melted Smoked Lard (see recipe below) or duck fat
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon honey
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together well.
Toss the wings in the marinade and turn to coat well. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or, for best results, overnight. Heat the coconut oil in a wok or large saucepan to 160°C. (To test, drop a small piece of chicken into the oil – if it starts to bubble around the chicken immediately, the oil is ready.)
Place the tapioca flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. One at a time, add the chicken wings, turn to coat and shake well to dust off any excess flour.
Carefully add the wings in batches to the hot oil and deep-fry for 6–6 ½ minutes until cooked through and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain.
Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the wings to a bowl, pour over the hot sauce and toss the chicken to evenly coat.
Arrange the buffalo wings on a platter and serve.
HOT SAUCE
Makes 500 ml
2 tablespoons coconut oil or good-quality animal fat
1 onion, finely chopped
6 long red chillies, chopped
2–3 habanero chillies, deseeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
200 ml apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons tamari or coconut aminos
Heat the coconut oil or animal fat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion,
chillies and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Reduce the heat to medium–low, then stir in the tomato, vinegar, salt, honey, tamari or coconut aminos and 3 tablespoons of water.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes until the tomato breaks down and the flavour develops. Allow to cool.
Transfer the tomato and chilli mixture to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, if desired, discarding the leftover pulp.
Pour the hot sauce into glass jars with screw-top lids and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
SMOKED LARD
Makes 500 g–1 kg
500 g–1 kg lard
1 kg hickory or apple wood chips, soaked in water for 1–2 hours, drained
Place the lard in a roasting tin.
Divide the soaked wood chips between two aluminium barbecue trays. Place one tray under
the barbecue grill grates, directly on the heat source, in a far corner. Set the other tray aside.
Turn all the barbecue burners to high, cover with the lid and preheat to 180–200°C. At this
stage the wood chips will begin to smoke.
Turn off the middle burners and allow the temperature to drop to 100°C. Quickly place the lard on the middle grate, away from the heat, then close the lid. Reduce the other
burners to low and maintain the heat at no higher than 100°C. Smoke the lard for 3 hours,
switching the barbecue trays when the smoke starts to die down (halfway through the
process). You may notice that the wood chips turn to ash – this is the signal to change trays.
Remove the melted smoked lard from the barbecue and pour into a heatproof bowl.
Cool and store in an airtight glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 month or freeze for up to
6 months.
