Signature · about 3 hours of work spread over 2 days, plus 4–8 hours of brining · Serves 4
Crispy Parmesan and black garlic wings
Wings with Parmesan cheese, 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 umami, dairy-rich finish of the series.
The twist is not to cover the wings in grated Parmesan, but to build an emulsified sauce of poultry stock, white wine, butter, Parmigiano Reggiano and black garlic, with a pronounced umami depth. A crisp crumble of panko and Parmesan, thin shavings of cheese, dots of black garlic and a little lemon complete the bite.
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
Parmesan crumble
- 50 g panko
- 40 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 30 g butter
- Black pepper
Parmesan and black garlic sauce
- 100 ml dry white wine
- 240 ml poultry stock
- 24 g black garlic
- 2 fresh garlic cloves, poached
- 10–12 g honey
- 60 g cold butter
- 100 g very finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 10 ml lemon juice
- 20 ml mild olive oil
- White pepper and salt, only if needed
Finishing
- 20 g Parmigiano Reggiano, in paper-thin shavings
- 4 g black garlic, in small dots
- Lemon zest
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.
Parmesan crumble
- Baking. Mix the panko, Parmesan, butter and pepper, spread on a tray and bake at 170 °C (340 °F) for 6–8 minutes, stirring once. Let it cool: it should be dry and crisp.
Parmesan and black garlic sauce
- Reduction. Reduce the white wine for about 2 minutes, add the stock and reduce to half of the initial volume.
- Emulsion. Lower the heat and add the black garlic, poached garlic and honey, blending if needed. Take off the boil and whisk in the cold butter bit by bit, then the Parmesan a little at a time. It must not boil after the cheese goes in, or it turns grainy. If too thick, loosen it with 10–30 ml of hot water or stock. Finish with the lemon, oil and pepper.
Finishing
- Lacquering. Coat the wings with a moderate film of sauce and bake them at 220–230 °C (430–445 °F) for about 2 minutes, without extending the cooking, because the Parmesan can split.
The dish
Use a matte black plate. Put down a base of Parmesan sauce and arrange the 6 lacquered pieces on top. Scatter the crumble over the wings, add paper-thin Parmesan shavings and small dots of black garlic, and finish with a minimal grating of lemon zest. Serve at once. Final look: golden wings with a creamy film, the golden crunch of the crumble, translucent slices of cheese and black dots of garlic.
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.
- Do not let the sauce boil after adding the Parmesan, and do not extend the lacquering, because the cheese splits.
- Lacquer with two thin, glossy films, never a thick coat: crisp wing, first film, strong heat, second film, finish and serve immediately.
Pairing
A Chardonnay with moderate oak aging or a Vienna lager.
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.