Redneck Test Kitchen

I have long been a fan of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country on PBS.  They will test a recipe 87 times exploring every possible variable to arrive at the perfect version of the dish.  We've recently enjoyed their slow cooker ribs (awesome!) and bibimbap using their method.  Dave even gave me one of their compilation cook books a few Christmases ago but for the latest episodes and recipes, I have to DVR it and take careful notes.  We wanted to try out their spicy Korean wings and the universe was falling into place for us to make it, namely Target had 4 lbs packages of wings for 50% off on the Cartwheel.

I got this cooker years ago at Aldis because I thought it would be a really useful thing to have if we ever re-did our kitchen or in the event of a zombie apocalypse.  I never got it out of the box before this summer.  I'd been looking for an electric dutch oven for deep frying--because I could use it in the garage or on the deck rather than stinking up the house cooking with oil on the stove.  I didn't want a bona fide deep fat fryer with a basket because it can only be used for that one thing whereas an electric dutch oven would be more versatile.  I then remembered I had this thing sitting in the closet and one pot that would work on it.  Any pans used with induction must be magnetic.  This pan is older than I am and is the lone survivor of the pan set my mother cooked in when I was growing up. 

I still can't get over how awesome this cooker is!  It heats up so quickly and has a temperature setting built into it.  I tried to work quickly since I had raw chicken sitting in direct sunlight.  These wings were breaded with a thin flour and cornstarch batter and fried for 7 minutes, rested for 5 minutes before frying again for another 7.  They're  then tossed into a sauce that includes gochujang paste.  This is the spicy and delicious essence of Korean food.  Dave introduced me to it when we were still dating by taking me to Mirror of Korea restaurant and it's still one of our favorite places to go.  Their food is tasty and spicy and healthy as the dishes are very vegetable heavy with meat used only to flavor the dishes rather than be the centerpiece.  I remember I had a terrible case of tonsillitis that first time and I swear that pepper paste cleared it up.  It will definitely clear out your sinuses!  We even went there the week before I delivered hoping the spicy food would induce labor.  No such luck.

These were so crispy and the sauce was that perfect blend of spicy hot with a hint of sweetness.  Your lips tingle for a while after eating it.  It was a beautiful day for cooking out on the deck.  This recipe has earned a place in my recipe notebook and from here on, I will always watch for wings on sale!