Garlic Parmesan Wings

Before I get into this deliciousness, lets just look at a picture together...

Alright, now are you ready?! Oh and let me just say these are only 276 calories per 8 separated wings or 4 together wings.

 

One of the household favorites, aside from jambalaya, are wings. Every time  we go grocery shopping, we pick up the ingredients for wings. My husband literally makes the best wings. :D We typically do a traditional hot wing (hot cayenne butter sauce and fried), and the past few times we had been doing a spicy garlic. For quite sometime, Chris has really been wanting to attempt a garlic parmesan wing. We also wanted to try a baked wing. We go to the gym a lot and we attempt to eat somewhat healthy, but I mean, when you think wings, you think something buttery, fried, and just bad for you, that's typically what makes them so delicious! Am I right?   :p

I am not going to lie, I was supper skeptical on trying these because the recipe called for the chicken to be boiled for 15 minutes first, and then baked, and I really hate poached/boiled chicken. Let me just say these were truly amazing! I was also weary on theses because I love extra sauce with everything, and these wings do not have a sauce with them. They were pretty much the bomb alone, but I do think they would be better with a sauce on top.  The recipe we used can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/garlic-and-parmesan-chicken-wings/ This recipe is good for 4 lbs, however we did 2 lbs, the liquid was enough and the breading was just enough, but we like extra breading.

What made this recipe so good? Well, they are a bit healthier than fried wings, essentially, the only bad ingredient in theses is the parmesan cheese. Also, these were the most tender perfectly cooked wings I have ever had in my life! Boiling these in water, and then allowing them to dry creates a crust on the skin, and really if you were to eat one, and not know they were baked, you would think they were fried.  Also they are very dimensional flavor wise. They have a nice kick to them.


ingredients:

4 lbs Wings                

3 quarts cold water                                                                            

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup salt

1 bay leaf                                                                     

1 teaspoon dried thyme                                                                     

1 teaspoon dried oregano                                                                                             

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

8 cloves garlic, minced                                                                     

1 pinch salt                                                                     

3 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed                                                                     

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper                                                                     

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, or to taste ( we didn't have this, we used ground cayenne) 

2 tablespoons fine bread crumbs    (we used panko)                                                                                                          

1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

 

 

Preparation!

 

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees (we did 350) F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat foil with cooking spray.

Combine water, vinegar, 1/4 cup salt, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and rosemary in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Add chicken wings, return to a boil, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove chicken wings with a slotted spoon to a cooling rack and allow to dry for 15 minutes.  ( this is very important, this allows the wings to get that fried like crust! Don't skip this!)

Mash garlic and a pinch of salt together in a mortar and pestle until smooth.

Combine mashed garlic, olive oil, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add chicken wings and bread crumbs; toss to coat. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 20 to 25 minutes.


If you make anything, make these! Seriously, my husband knows I was skeptical on these and I ended up loving them more than our usual hot wings that I love. This is one of the best recipes we have come across in a long time.