Rouses_FINAL_September-October-2017

COOKING & INGREDIENTS

O ur chefs test recipes andnewproducts every day. Sometimes the recipes are for our delis and cafes, sometimes for stories in this magazine or to go up on our newly redesigned website. Spearheading the testing is Rouses Corporate Chef Marc Ardoin. Here are some easy yet tasty recipes Chef Marc recommends this season. Football means food, and wings are a classic. I like bone-in wings rather than boneless, which are usually just chicken breast meat or tenders.Traditional wings are plain fried, with no breading or batter, and that’s what we serve at Rouses on our hot bar during tailgate season. When you’re frying at home you can use vegetable oil or canola oil, because they both have a higher smoke point (usually around 450° F) and a neutral flavor. Vegetable oil contains trans fats, so use canola oil if you are trying to avoid excess fat.The trick to getting a crispy, crunchy crust rather than a chewy one is keeping that oil at the right temperature and frying in small batches. Use a thermometer, and remember to let your oil come back up to temperature between each batch. If you try to fry too much at one time, you won’t get that delicious crunch. The real crust challenge comes with baking. Wings have a higher ratio of skin to meat than other pieces of chicken. To get a crispy crust when baking, you need to dehydrate the skin, which will help the batter cling to the chicken and render out some of the fat. Let the wings rest in the refrigerator for at least half an hour — even overnight — before baking. We toss our wings in an ever-changing variety of sauces. This football season we’re serving Buffalo, BBQ, Thai Chili, Teriyaki

and General Tso’s, which is a sweet and spicy Chinese-American sauce. Our chefs and cooks prepare the sauces every evening, Monday through Friday, and lunch and dinner Saturday and Sunday. We also have a variety of pre-packed wings available in our deli case every day. Thai Chili Wings For this sweet, spicy, stickyThai version, wemade a nam jim, or dipping sauce, with sweet chilies, fish sauce, rice vinegar and sherry. Cornstarch acts as a thickener and helps keeps the red chili flakes suspended, which looks pretty. WHAT YOU WILL NEED 2 tablespoons cornstarch 4 tablespoons water 1/2 cup rice vinegar 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar 3 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons sherry 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons dried crushed chili 3 pounds of chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats Green onion tops for serving Red chili flakes for serving HOW TO PREP Combine the cornstarch and 4 tablespoons water to make a slurry. Place the vinegar, white sugar, remaining water, fish sauce, sherry, garlic and chili in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to combine. Bring themixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and continue boiling until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Continue stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Fill a 12-inch, cast-iron skillet with 1 inch of peanut (or vegetable) oil. Bring the oil to 375 degrees over medium-high heat. Place half of the wings in the oil and fry until golden brown on the first side, then flip and continue to fry until the second side is browned, 5-7 minutes per side. Transfer the wings to a paper towel-lined plate, then place in the oven to stay warm. Repeat with the second batch of wings. Place all of the wings in a large bowl. Pour in the reserved sauce and toss to coat. Transfer to a platter. Garnish with sesame seeds, green onion tops and red chili flakes. Peanut oil for frying Sesame seeds for serving

Rouses Corporate Chef, Marc Ardoin Photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee

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