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Thursday 25 October 2012

Recipe: Wicked Whisky Wings

This recipe will make enough marinade for 2kg of wings.

  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger grated
  • 120ml dark soy sauce
  • 120ml hot sauce (something like Franks RedHot, or whichever is your favourite)
  • 120ml whisky (I would say a Bourbon works best)
  • 110g brown sugar


Combine all of the above with the wings and leave to marinade for 2-3 hours. Then BBQ!


(We'll get some photos up next time we make these)



Tuesday 23 October 2012

Tinseltown American Diner @ 104 Heath St. Hampstead

Friday afternoon saw the completion of the wingmen review hat trick and a trip to our neighbours Tinseltown. After a leisurely stroll up the hampstead hill we arrived at the American style diner famous for its US style shakes.
"The Ambassador"
 
As an ambassador for chicken wings it was a no brainer when i saw “the ambassador” sitting neatly in the VIP shake isle. The decision had nothing to do with it containing a handful of Oreo cookies and Ferrero Rocher but I digress....


First item on the agenda was the first item on the menu! Wings. Three different types to sample a classic BBQ , Cajun style, and fiery Piri Piri. With all 3 ordered and a side of Jalapeno cheesy fries to keep them company it was time to relax and get to the know the Ambassador.

Mountain of whipped cream and smooth vanilla ice-cream along with the chocolates was heaven, not too thick either so brain freeze didn’t pay me a visit but I do wish he had warned me about the wings....

They were a real disappointment.

First up were the Cajun and put simply they weren’t Cajun, it was a very mild curry sauce. I questioned myself until I saw the bill which even said “curry wings”.  The sauce was extremely heavy and thick, almost a yoghurt consistency and I may be proven wrong during the Wingmen’s journey but curry sauce and a chicken wing aren’t normally the best of friends.
Cajun Wings
Second up were the Fiery Piri Piri wings with a seemingly daunting  3 red chilli’s on the menu’s spice index. Again I was surprised to find no heat or spice whatsoever. In fact, very little difference in taste from the Cajun with an equally thick soupish sauce.
Piri Piri Wings
Finally, we reached the home straight and the classic BBQ chicken wing, following the first two I wasn’t expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. A rich, sticky, sweet but smoky BBQ sauce was smothered on the wings and was a good end to an otherwise fairly average meal.
BBQ Wings
 It must be said that the size of the wing was impressive but they lacked any kind of coating which meant they were neither crisp nor crunchy but instead quite wet and squidgy which wasn’t to my liking.

Presentation

Unecessarily simple for a restaurant, seemingly just plonked on a plate with no garnish or accompaniment. Staff when asked couldn’t differentiate between which was the Cajun and which was the Piri Piri (little did we know at this point that there wasn’t really any difference), but thankfully the second colleague that came over could...

Coating

Due to them seemingly being a “boil in the bag” job meant there was no real coating to speak of. Sauce was far too thick and not as described on menu.

Meat

A plus point – big big wings with plenty of meat but needed to be cooked or marinated in the sauce to get the flavour into it.

Spice

Real lack of heat or spice to any of the wings besides the Cajun which had a handful of unexpected Cumin. Generally quite bland with no bold or punchy flavours.

Value for money

£4 for 3 wings and a plate isn’t great. Considering the lack of quality or care that had gone into them it becomes really quite expensive compared to what else we have seen.

In summary, you can’t argue with the quality of the milkshakes and would go back tomorrow for another, the styling of the place is really cool and has a lovely atmosphere with friendly staff but it’s not one for The Wing Men. The various wings we tried need a lot of work to meet our seal of approval

Overall Rating: 2/10

 Tinseltown is open from Midday to 2/3am everyday. (104 Heath St, London NW3 1DR)

@tinseltownuk
facebook.com/tinseltownuk



Monday 15 October 2012

The Orange Buffalo @ Ely's Yard, Brick Lane

A surprisingly sunny Sunday welcomed us into the industrious world of brick lane market.  After fighting the crowds we turned a corner to be presented with the delightful site of the much-acclaimed Orange Buffalo wing truck!


With quite a surreal backdrop of the London warehouse district we approached and ordered a portion of the Original and intriguingly named Woof Woof wings (with a side of chunky chips and blue cheese sauce)


The guy was not only very friendly but clearly shared our passion for wings, taking time to explain to customers about the choice of sauce and seasonings they use.

Everything was cooked to order and after a couple of minutes we took our seat with 16 of the most eagerly anticipated wings in front of us.

They didn’t disappoint.

Original Wings
The Original is definitely the winner in the sibling sauce rivalry, achieving the holy grail of sauce world by packing in tonnes of flavour without melting your face. Lavishly applied just seconds before serving it was a delight. Served with a generous spoonful of Blue Cheese sauce and a few celery sticks we couldn’t have asked for more, the blue cheese sauce itself was epic and blended perfectly with the wings.

Chunky Chips with Blue Cheese Sauce & Chip Seasoning

Even the chunky chips came with a little something extra, not just more of the blue cheese sauce but a serious dusting with chip seasoning.

Woof Woof Wings

The Woof Woof is by no means something to be overlooked. Whilst maybe not as delicate and complex as its younger sister, the big brother of the sauce family packed a lot more punch thanks to a generous sprinkling of Naga Viper and Scotch Bonnet chillies. However, as Mr Orange Buffalo said “it’s not too hot it’s a good heat” so don’t worry all your chicken korma fans you can safely tuck into a portion without needing a pint of milk after.


1. Presentation

Simple and effective – plain street food container, 8 wings stacked next to their two amigos, Blue Cheese and Celery. Last second pinch of freshly cut chive to compliment the blue cheese sauce was a lovely touch

2. Coating

Cooked to perfection and stayed nice and crisp due to its last minute dunking in the pre-warmed sauces.  Homemade sauces were full of flavour and just the right amount to not drown the meat and make too much of a mess.

3. Meat

Good sized wings and incredibly tender and juicy for such a crispy wing which usually leads to drier meat.

4. Spice

Neither sauce was particularly hot but it didn’t stop them squeezing in a serious amount of flavour. Both have very distinct blends thanks to a range of different chillies being used.

5. Value for Money

Pretty good! 16 wings and a portion of chips for £15 sounds pretty fair to me. Take in to account the 3 S’s – Sauce, Setting and Service and it’s actually a bargain.


Overall Rating: 9/10

All in all it was a great experience, from the truck and its surrounding to the flavour and quality of the wings to the friendliness of the staff. It cool, its trendy and most importantly it tasted damn good, can’t recommend it enough.
We will be back that is for sure.

The Orange Buffalo is open Monday 12-3pm and Tuesday to Sunday 12-8pm

@OrangeBuffalo
facebook.com/TheOrangeBuffalo



Thursday 4 October 2012

Thank Cluck @ Howl at the Moon, Hoxton

Wandering down Hoxton Street last Sunday we had the not uncommon, but sudden feeling of the need to quench our thirst, and decided Howl at the Moon would be the perfect pitstop.

We grabbed some drinks and took a seat, only to be smacked in the face by the sudden realisation that this purveyor of tasty drinks ALSO SOLD WINGS. You might gather that this was rather unexpected, and you would be right.  After a quick chat with some of the patrons we were informed that Thank Cluck had a short weekend residency there to celebrate Howl's refurb.


Korean Fried Chicken Wings I hear you exclaim in dismay?  Why yes sir.  This blog dedicates itself to all things wing-related, not just your typical american style.

And now lets move on to our first review:


At the moment I am working on 5 categories which I believe covers the key elements of what one is looking for in a wing.

1. Presentation.

Served in a simple street food container, the four wings were dressed with a sprinkle of sliced spring onion. To accompany was a fresh and creamy home made coleslaw, which included apple and pumpkin seeds.  This set off the flavour and spice of the wings nicely.

2. Coating.

The breadcrumb/panko coating gave a really crispy bite and helped keep a good coating of the sauce on the wing. Unfortunately once bitten into, the coating came away far to easily and I was left fighting to leave some on the wing to share with the rest of the meat.
The Sauce though, was delicious.  Just the right amount to give you the flavour punch you were after but not too much to leave the coating soggy. 

3.Meat.

Healthy sized wings with a good amount of meat, which was juicy and well cooked.

4. Spice.

Sticky, slightly sweet but with a decent chilli kick. I was heavily reminded of the korean hot pepper paste (called Gochujang).

5. Value for money.

£4 for four wings isn't crazy good value for money, but take into account the ample side and the exotic flavouring, and you have yourself hearty, refreshingly different new bar snack  

Overall rating:  7/10

An interesting combination of flavours unexpected on a chicken wing. A crispy yet very messy bite that is slightly over powered by the sauce. 


Thank Cluck will be back at Howl at the Moon (178 Hoxton St., London N1 5LH) this weekend - Friday to Sunday (5th, 6th, 7th)

@ThankCluck
@HoxtonHowl

Thursday 27 September 2012

Let's get reviewing.

See what we did there?

Hello and welcome to the ultimate site for all you hot wing aficionados here in London.

We'll be back soon with more details and our fist review.

Until then,

The Wing Men