Signature · about 3 hours of work spread over 2 days, plus 4–8 hours of brining · Serves 4
Crispy gochujang, orange and sesame wings
Spicy wings from Korean cooking, glazed with gochujang, made with the method of the wing collection: aromatic brine, slow confit in oil and a final crisping, for very tender meat and crisp skin before the sauce goes on. It is the most intense finish of the series.
The gochujang brings fermentation, heat, sweetness and umami, and a fresh chile adds a second kind of spiciness. The orange, soy, rice vinegar and mirin build the balance, and the toasted sesame oil, added at the end, gives the aroma. Roasted peanuts, sesame and scallions add crunch and freshness.
Special equipment: thermometer for the confit oil; convection oven
Ingredients
Wings and brine
- 1500 g whole chicken wings (about 12 wings, 24 separated pieces)
- 1.2 liters cold water
- 84 g fine salt
- 40 g sugar
- 4 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 8 g black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- Peel of 1 lemon, without the white pith
Confit
- Neutral oil, as much as needed to cover the wings; 15–20% can be replaced with duck fat
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 thyme sprigs
- Peel of 1 lemon
Crisping
- Neutral oil for frying, only if frying is chosen
Gochujang and orange sauce
- 120 g gochujang
- Fresh chile (locoto or rocoto), in an amount depending on the variety and the heat wanted
- 6 garlic cloves
- 40 g fresh ginger, or 10–12 g ground ginger
- 80 ml soy sauce
- 60 ml rice vinegar
- 60 ml mirin, or 60 ml sake with 16–20 g honey
- 80 ml orange juice
- 20 ml toasted sesame oil
Finishing
- 60 g roasted peanuts, chopped
- Toasted white or black sesame seeds
- Scallions, thinly sliced
- Cilantro, optional
Method
Wings and brine
- Breaking down. Separate each wing at its joints into drumette and flat, and set the tips aside for a poultry stock. Remove any feathers or visible bits.
- Brine. Fully dissolve the salt and sugar in the cold water and add the garlic, pepper, bay leaves and lemon peel. Submerge the wings and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours, never longer. Remove them, rinse very briefly to take off the excess salt and pat carefully dry with paper towels: the drying is what later allows a crisp surface.
Confit
- Slow cooking. Arrange the wings in a saucepan or deep dish, cover them completely with the oil and add the garlic, thyme and lemon peel. Keep the oil between 95 and 105 °C (203–221 °F) for 75–90 minutes: there should be no intense frying, only small bubbles. This cooks the connective tissue slowly and leaves the meat very tender without falling apart.
- Cooling. Remove from the heat and let them cool first in the fat; then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally from the day before.
Crisping
- Drying. Lift the wings out of the oil and dry them carefully.
- Browning. Choose a method: convection oven at 225–230 °C (435–445 °F) for 12–15 minutes, turning halfway; deep-frying in oil at 180–185 °C (355–365 °F) for 2–3 minutes, or a very hot cast-iron pan, 2–3 minutes per side. They must be crisp before they touch the sauce. Since these are cooked and chilled wings, the center must reach 74 °C (165 °F): with frying or the griddle, it is best to take them out of the refrigerator 20–30 minutes ahead and, if they do not reach it, finish them for a few minutes in the oven.
Gochujang and orange sauce
- Blending. Blend the gochujang with the chile, garlic, ginger, soy, vinegar, the mirin or the sake with honey, and the orange juice.
- Cooking. If using sake, bring the mixture to a gentle boil for 2–3 minutes to evaporate part of the alcohol. Then cook 2–3 minutes more, until just slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and add the sesame oil.
Finishing
- Lacquering. Coat the crisp wings with the sauce and bake them at 225–230 °C (435–445 °F) for 2–3 minutes. Apply a very light second film.
- Finishing. Right away, add the toasted sesame, chopped peanuts, scallions and, if using, the cilantro.
The dish
Use a dark gray or black stone plate. Draw a wide brushstroke of sauce across the plate and arrange the 6 lacquered pieces on top. Finish with toasted sesame, chopped peanuts and thinly sliced scallions, with a few cilantro leaves if using, and serve at once. Final look: deep red, glossy wings over the stroke of sauce, with the pale crunch of the peanuts and sesame and the bright green of the scallions.
Key points
- Dry the wings very well after the brine and after the confit: moisture prevents the crisp crust.
- Confit between 95 and 105 °C (203–221 °F), without intense frying: only small bubbles.
- Bring the crisped wings to 74 °C (165 °F) at the center before lacquering, because they start cooked and chilled.
- Add the sesame oil off the heat: it brings aroma, and heat dulls it.
- Lacquer with two thin, glossy films, never a thick coat: crisp wing, first film, strong heat, second film, finish and serve immediately.
Pairing
A slightly sweet Torrontés or a fruity IPA.
Notes
- Scale: the original cooks 1.5 kg of wings to share among several finishes, with sauce for 8–12 pieces of each. This recipe uses double the sauce to lacquer all 24 pieces with a single flavor, about 6 per person as a starter.
- Five-flavor tasting: you can serve one wing of each finish, in this order of increasing intensity: roasted lemon and honey, amber orange, Parmesan and black garlic, Malbec and cocoa BBQ, and spicy gochujang. The other four recipes of the collection share the same base.
- If you can't find locoto or rocoto: jalapeño, 30–40 g, for moderate heat; serrano, 16–24 g, more intense; habanero, only 4–6 g to start, because it is far hotter; chipotle, 20–30 g, for a smokier profile, or gochugaru, 8–10 g, which stays consistent with the gochujang.
- If you don't have toasted sesame oil: use peanut or walnut oil, or 20 ml of canola with 2 teaspoons of toasted, ground sesame. Do not use flaxseed oil, which is sensitive to heat.