CRISPY Parboiled Baked Chicken Wings(I)... with Korean Sauce and Bonus Chicken Stock.

Crispy Parboiled Baked Chicken Wings... with Korean Sauce and Bonus Chicken Stock. Because I don't buy ready made chicken stock, I'm always on the "alert" when it comes to meat bones. I try not to toss them out when I'm de-boning. Funny thing is that sometimes I buy bone-in meat, just for the sole purpose of using the bones to have homemade chicken stock on hand. 

Now the other day, I was really craving some wings.... mainly because I had seen a recipe for a Korean sauce that I wanted to make. I thought it would be good to glaze the chicken wings with a different sort of sauce... something outside the usual hot sauce or BBQ sauce I tend to glaze the wings with. In any case, I ended up buying some wings to bake.

I love baking the wings and always skip the frying. But some time ago I had come across Alton Brown's steaming method... a method that promised crispy wings without frying.  I was willing to give it a go. It would be worth a try... 

But as I was fiddling around trying to find something to steam the wings in, I thought, why not parboil the wings instead. It'd be much simpler ... and this way I could make use of the flavorful liquid to make a stock. Oh, and I'd use up those little wing tips to their full potential, because I sure didn't want to throw them away:)!  Plus, I'd also use up those bits and pieces of vegetables I had sitting in the fridge. And that's what I ended up doing. Sort of went my own way with the recipe:)...

These parboiled wings tend to be a bit more drier than normal ... just because most of the fat is rendered in the boiling and baking process. However, they do have a nice crisp exterior. The Korean red pepper sauce worked wonderfully well with the wings. I lightly coated the wings, but it gave them the needed moisture as well as imparting a ton of flavor. A little bit of spice...  a little bit of sweet. 

My husband loved these wings, so I'm planning on making them again this way ... especially since I get the bonus chicken stock in the process. Always, always good to have some homemade chicken stock on hand. 

I made 2 versions of baked crispy wings. This was part 1....next time I'll share the second method. Hope you enjoy...

Note: The Korean red pepper sauce is so versatile... use it in all sorts of stir-fries or add it to ground meat for lettuce wraps, glaze meatballs, etc. 

Since I had some leftover sauce, I ended up using it as a stir-fry sauce for vegetables... it worked wonderfully well with the snap peas and zucchini I picked from my garden, but you can use other veggies of choice. 

You will need:

26 whole wings(about 3lbs), separated in 3 pieces( flats, drumettes, wing tips)

1 TBS kosher salt

1 large garlic clove, sliced

6 cups water

Bonus Chicken Stock

parboiled liquid from above

parboiled wing tips only

1/2 parsnip

1 large carrot

1-2 ribs of celery

1 small onion

1 cup extra water

Korean Gochujang Sauce adapted from Maanghci

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBS oil

1/3 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown rice syrup(now, I haven't used honey, but it should work)

1/4 cup hot pepper paste(gochujang)

1 TBS cider apple vinegar

toasted sesame seeds

Other Sauce of Choice

BBQ sauce 

Hot sauce 

Honey mustard

Directions:

Parboil Chicken Wings:

1. In a large soup pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil.

2. Add all wing pieces, sliced garlic and salt.

 

3. Boil chicken wings for about 7 minutes, stirring them every so often and skimming off the scum.  

4. Remove pot from heat and with a slotted spoon remove wings (flats and drumettes) unto a plate... leaving behind the stock and small wing tips.

5. Arrange wings on plate in a single layer and allow to cool. You can blot them from excess water and bake right away... or you can place them in the fridge uncovered for several hours(which is what I did).  

Make Bonus Chicken Stock:

1. To the pot with the chicken liquid and wing tips, add the cut up vegetables, 1 cup water and heat to a boil. 2. Lower heat to a simmer and cover pot. 

3. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and strain vegetables. 

4. Place stock in small containers and freeze for later use... or use in recipe of choice.  

Make Korean Sauce:

1. To make sauce, add oil and garlic to a medium skillet and cook till garlic is lightly golden.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix to combine  and continue to cook on low until sauce is thickened....3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to use for glazing wings. You can do this while the chicken wings bake.  

Bake Chicken Wings and Glaze:

• Preheat oven to 425 Deg F

1. While oven is preheating take wings out from fridge.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lightly oil parchment paper.

3. Place wings in a single layer, skin side up unto parchment paper lined baking sheet.

4. Place baking sheet on top 1/3 rack and bake for 20-25 minutes.

5. Turn wings over and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until nicely golden and crispy. 

NOTE: Baking time varies depending on size of wings, so adjust accordingly. 

6. Remove from oven and glaze with sauce of choice. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, if using the Korean sauce. 

Tip: If you have any leftover sauce, you can easily stir-fry a few veggies with a TBS of oil for a couple of minutes and add in a heaping TBS of the Korean red pepper sauce to coat. For the veggies I used 1/4 of an onion, a couple handfuls of  flat snap peas and 1 medium zucchini.