My pandemic project was the fabled stuffed chicken wing.
Über-wings stuffed with prawn and scallop mousse
INGREDIENTS
Serves 6 as an appetizer
Glaze
- 60 g (¼ lb) butter
- 60 g (2 oz) schmaltz
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne
Sauce
- 75 g (⅓ cup) mayonnaise
- 30 g (2 tbsp) sour cream
- 45 g (3 tbsp) honey
- 12 g (¼ cup) dried dill
- 12 g (1 cup) chopped fresh dill
Batter
- 240 g (1½ cup) cornstarch
- 160 g (1 cup) rice flour
- 70 g (⅔ cup) flour
- 8 g (½ tbsp) baking soda
Wings
- 6 large whole chicken wings
- 180 g (6 oz) scallops
- 6 egg yolks
- 2 spring onions, white part only, minced
- 12 g (¾ cup) coriander leaves, minced
- 12 g (one knob) ginger, peeled and grated
- 12 g (2 cloves) garlic, grated fine
- 3 limes, zest only
- salt
- pepper
- 6 sidestripe (or other top-quality) prawns, tail only, peeled and deveined
- peanut (or other) oil for deep-frying
- 3 egg whites, whisked until frothy
METHOD
To make the glaze, combine fats in a saucepan on medium until hot. Add paprika and cayenne, stir, then set aside. For the sauce, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, honey and dill in a bowl; whisk and set aside. For the batter, sift cornstarch, flours and baking soda in a bowl. Whisk and set aside. Cut wings in two, separating them at the joint between the flat and the drumette. Use a sharp boning knife to strip meat from the drumette. Separate meat and cartilage from the double bones of the flat — without piercing its skin. Roll the flesh back from the bones as you go, stopping at the joint with the wing tip. Then trim meat and cartilage from the inverted skin. Repeat with all the wings. Separate meat from trim. Reserve bones for another purpose and discard cartilage. Set boned wing flats aside. Transfer 180 g (6 oz) of wing meat to the bowl of a food processor. Add scallop, egg, onion, coriander, ginger, garlic, zest, salt and pepper. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag. Place one shrimp in each boned wing flat and then pipe in farce around it to fill (but do not overstuff). Pinch closed and set aside.
Preheat deep fryer to 165°C (325°F).
Dredge wings in dry batter, then in egg whites, and then in dry batter again. Use your fingertips to create undulations on their surfaces (for presentation). Fry wings for 3 minutes, rest for 3 minutes, then fry 2 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels. Season with salt, and then glaze. Let rest for 2 minutes. Slice each wing in two and plate with honey-dill sauce.
DURING THE PANDEMIC, my 10-year-old restaurant shut down and, for the first time in a decade, I was able to chill. One project I took on was the fabled stuffed chicken wing (a culinary classic). after the first attempt, I became obsessed. this is the final result — a boned chicken wing stuffed with a sidestripe prawn and a coriander-seasoned chicken and scallop farce. We serve them with manitoba honey–dill sauce — the greatest sauce for chicken fingers ever. You’re welcome! –M.H.
Photos by Kristopher Kurus
