Michelle Palmer: Big tastes on small plates (recipe)

Small plates, also known as tapas, are the rage. I just attended the Fancy Food show in Las Vegas last month.

This four-day food show is what sets the trends in the food business on the west coast for the year. I have been attending this convention for over 30 years. I looked at and tried foods from all over the world – 3,000 to 4,000 would be close, meeting many manufacturers.

You probably say why do I need to know this? Well, when you, the public consumer, buy any food magazine at the grocery store check stand with the front cover enticing you pictorially, it most commonly came from the food presentations at the Fancy Food Show. Today’s consumer has a very educated, culturally diverse palate, being that we the U.S.A. have so many cultures.

With that being said, one thing that is totally U.S.A. and a small plate… WINGS! Most people do attribute the invention to Teresa Bellissimo of Buffalo. In fact, this may be where the name “Buffalo Wing” came from. There are two tales of how she came to create the chicken wing.

First, it is said that due to a mistake in delivery. In 1939, Teresa and her husband founded the Anchor Bar. In a fateful day in 1964, they got a wrong shipment of chicken wings. Because she didn’t want them to go to waste, she cut them up and deep-fried them. Teresa also covered them with hot sauce, and then served them with the famous sides of blue cheese and celery.

The second version of this tale started with a late-night snack for her teenage son and his friends. Teresa found some extra wings in the fridge and thought that they might taste good fried in chili sauce. So, she fried them up and served them with some blue cheese sauce for dipping. The blue cheese took some of the heat away from the chili sauce. No matter what version you believe, it became a hit. Their restaurant and bar still stand and serve the “original buffalo chicken wing.”

When you order chicken wings at most restaurants, you’re not actually getting a whole wing. Here’s why: wings have three sections, the drummette (at the top), the wingette (or flap), and the wing tip.

The first two are the meatiest and juiciest, so they’re the most popular. The tip is usually used to make chicken broth because it’s so bony. Usually, you can only buy buffalo wings (or drummettes and wingettes) at the grocery store.

However, most butcher shops can sell you the whole wing (tip included), if you'd prefer that cut. The two most delicious parts (drummette and wingette) are commonly referred to as buffalo wings, after being sold for the first time as a delicious app at Anchor Bar in Buffalo. That’s where the name comes from, not from the sauce.

Chicken Wings

You need six ounces of meat for one serving. Since there's around one ounce of actual meat per wing, you would need six whole wings per person. That’s just a little over a pound of wings, assuming everyone has an average appetite.

Saw through the skin of the drumette. Use a sharp knife to saw through the skin at the thin bottom of the drumette. Work around the entire bottom, stopping once the skin seems completely disconnected there. Firmly pinch the exposed bone between your fingers with one hand while cutting the skin with the other hand. Use a gently sawing motion to separate the skin.

Allow the blade to do the work instead of forcing the knife through with force. The goal is to separate the skin without marring or sawing into the bone itself. Push the meat down to one end. Use the side of the knife blade to push the meat down from the thin end of the bone and further onto the thick end of the bone. You might be able to use your hands to do this, but if it feels too slippery or too tough, use the knife. Press the blade of the knife down so that the sharp edge lightly touches the side of the bone.

Push up on the meat, rotating the drumette as needed to scrape up all sides. Secure the meat. Once the meat forms a tight knob at the end of the bone, use your fingers to pull it inside-out.

Season pops with desired seasoning. This will allow the meat to cook and the bone to brown. Also allows the person eating the wing to not have messy fingers. This technique is called “lollipop.”

Deep-fried wings are the most popular, but… they come with lots of room for error. To avoid getting cold spots and undercooked wings, first bake them in the oven 400 degrees Fahrenheit to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit about 45 minutes or air fryer according to equipment directions. Then finish them off in the deep fryer.

Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried chives

2 teaspoons dried dill

Stir ingredients in a bowl, rest at least 1 hour for flavors to marry. Serves two. Enjoy!

Michelle Palmer is owner of Absolutely Michelle’s Chef-for-Hire.