Sriracha Wing Sauce

Super Bowl is right around the corner and chicken wing prices are through the roof. But, you just cannot have a Super Bowl party without chicken wings....you just can't! One tip, never buy frozen chicken wings.  Because most likely they are on the older end in regards to fresh chicken wings, that were then thrown in a freezer before they expired. The flavor profile is completely different between fresh and frozen. I tend to buy the whole fresh chicken wing, as they are usually cheaper than pre-cut ones. The more times something is processed (in this instance, cut into individual joints) the higher the price. Or you could always just cook whole chicken wings...they just tend to be tougher to eat in my opinion. Here is a great video demonstrating how to cut a whole chicken wing -->

Of course there are a billion wing sauce recipes out there and there are a billion excellent ones, this just happens to be the way I do it and my favorite wing sauce. There is something about Sriracha... it's a slow heat, meaning it doesn't bite you right off the bat. Then I also add in some brown sugar so you get a sweet taste that blends right into this spicy, smokey sriracha flavor. Then we come to how you actually cook the chicken wings, everybody has their own preference. But, me, I prefer to have mine grilled...I like a little bit of char on my chicken wing. If you are looking to try a new wing sauce, be sure to give this a try, you will not be disappointed!

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Sriracha Wing Sauce

Prep time: 5m | Cook time: 10min | Total time: 15min | Yield: 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

2/3 cup Sriracha
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1.5 Tbsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Combine the hot sauce, butter, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and brown sugar in a pot and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer while stirring with a whisk. As soon as the liquid begins to bubble on the sides of the pot, remove from heat. Process the sauce with an immersion blender or blender to fully emulsify the sauce. Season with salt if need be.
2. Use the sauce immediately or store in a container in the refrigerator.

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Always remember to cook your chicken to a proper temperature of 165F. To make sure you are cooking and holding all of your food correctly, be sure to get yourself a Thermapen MK4. These are the best thermometers on the market and I use mine pretty much every time I cook. This is one kitchen gadget that will not waste space!

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Other game day wing sauces...

Avocado, Jalapeno, and Cilantro Sauce

My original goal of this post was to talk about this beautiful and delicious grilled chicken sandwich. But, I soon discovered that the real star of this sandwich was the Avocado, Jalapeno, and Cilantro sauce. I spent the rest of the week trying this sauce on multiple things and it is just one of those things that tastes good on everything....especially on burgers! It's light, refreshing, has a little heat, and packs a ton of great flavors for only a few ingredients!

"But, Eric, I want to know about that chicken sandwich, it looks amazing!" Don't worry, I will talk about it, I really didn't do anything to fancy. I just felt the main "recipe" was this sauce that needed to be shared! So give this yummy green sauce a try, it is definitely worth it. 

Avocado, Jalapeno, and Cilantro Sauce

Prep time: 30 min | Cook time: 0 min | Total time: 30 min | Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients

1/2 avocado, diced
1 jalapeno, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp lime juice

Cooking Directions

1. Combine avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, 6 Tbsp of vegetable oil, water, and lime juice in a blender and puree until a smoth, creamy sauce forms. Season green sauce with salt.

Directions for Chicken Sandwich:

1. Cut whole chicken breast (1 whole chicken breast = 2 sandwiches) in half horizontally to make them thinner. And then put them in between two pieces of saran wrap and pound them to about 3/4" thick. 
2. In a medium bowl whisk together 2 quarts of cold water, 1/3 cup kosher salt, and 1/4 cup sugar. Add the chicken breasts to the brine and place in refrigerator for 30 min. 
3. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels, season chicken breast with salt and pepper. 
4. Spray tops of chicken breasts with PAM and place on the hot side of a grill. Cook until well browned about 3-5 min, flip and continue cooking until chicken reaches an internal temp of 160F. 
5. On the bottom of a hamburger bun spread a little bit of mayonnaise, place the chicken breast on top, top with bacon, shredded lettuce, tomato, and green sauce from above. 

Chicken has to be cooked to the correct doneness or you risk getting a foodbourne illness. Always make sure your chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165F. Get yourself a Thermapen, the most accurate and dependable thermometer on the market! I use mine pretty much every time I cook. 

Other sandwiches that you may enjoy...

Steak w/ Bordelaise Sauce

Snorkeling in the Bahamas

Back to reality....we went on a cruise two weeks ago and goodness gracious was it amazing! But, I feel like you need an extra week of vacation to recover from the weeks before and after a vacation! We flew down to Miami and cruised to Nassau, CocoCay, Key West, and then spent a full day in Miami. 

Of course while on vacation I sampled a lot of fantastic food and I made a point to try to eat food that was a must try in each location. We had a connection to catch in Chicago so I of course had a Chicago Style dog, sure it was in the airport but it was still quite delicious. Then in Miami I made sure to find cuban place to get a real Cuban sandwich. In Key West I of course had a slice of Key Lime Pie from the famous Key West Key Lime Pie Co. Then of course on the cruise ships we ate like kings/queens dining on Escargot, Prime Rib, Duck, and lots of terrific desserts. 

Key Lime Pie in Key West

Cuban Sandwich in Miami

We certainly had an absolutely amazing vacation and I have already begun researching cruises to take next summer because I had such a blast!

The day we left for the cruise we were celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary! I still can't get over that we have been married for a year now. Time just seems to be going by way to quickly, especially this year with all of our changes. The night before we left, we decided that we wanted to have a little celebration where I made this delicious steak dinner, we had frozen wedding cake (which was surprising still quite good), and a couple of glasses of champagne. 

Specifically what I will be sharing with you today is the Bordelaise sauce I made for the steak. Bordelaise sauce is a classic French sauce named after the Bordeaux region of France, which is famous for its wine. The sauce is made with dry red wine, bone marrow, butter, shallots and sauce demi-glace. Sauce marchand de vins ("wine-merchant's sauce") is a similar designation. Traditionally, bordelaise sauce is served with grilled beef or steak, though it can also be served with other meats that pair well with red wine demi-glace based sauces. If you are looking for a pretty simple and delicious sauce to make for steak, then you found it. It tasted fantastic drizzled over a perfectly cooked, sous vide, steak. 

Bordelaise Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp Shallots, finely diced
• 1 sprig Thyme
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper, ground
• 1 1/4 cup Red wine
• 1 3/4 cup Beef stock
• To taste Salt
• 1 Tbsp Butter

Cooking Directions

1. Combine the shallots, thyme, bay leaf, black pepper and wine in a saucepan.
2. Over medium heat, reduce about 90% (until the wine is a syrup) - this will take about 10 minutes. Add stock once red wine is reduced.
3. Cook the mixture until thick. You will know the sauce is thick enough when it evenly coats the back of your spoon and you can draw a clean line down the middle. Strain and season to taste. Swirl in butter off the heat.
4. Optional: If it is still a little runny you can add a little corn starch slurry to thicken it up

How did I cook the steak?? First I dried both sides of the steaks, to ensure a good sear. Then I seasoned both sides with salt and pepper. After that I seared the steaks in a hot cast iron pan to get a nice sear on both sides (2-3 min per side). Then I put the steaks in a gallon zip lock bag with some extra virgin olive oil and sprigs of thyme. I then sous vide the steaks in a 129 F water bath for an hour. 

Other recipes you may enjoy...