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I purchased a bag of frozen chicken wings to cook later today. Not sure if I should defrost the chicken wings before cooking? The instructions don't indicate either way. They are House of Raeford chicken wings.
Instructions say to cook at 450 for 25-30 min. Elsewhere on the bag it says "individually frozen" and "ready to cook". So I am inclined to think to cook from frozen, but thought I would ask the collective.
Defrost them. Bring them right up to room temperature. And you can do this via a brine and add some flavor while you're at it.
You want the brine to have the same salt content as seawater. So about 4 tablespoons of salt per quart of brine. And then add 2 tablespoons of something sweet -- sugar, honey, agave syrup, brown sugar, whatever -- to the brine. In addition you can add whatever spices you have on hand -- paprika, poultry seasoning, old bay, cumin, lemon juice, black pepper and similar.
You're supposed to boil the brine first, let it come to room temp, and then add the chicken to the brine. I wouldn't even bother boiling it because you only have four hours until the game. Just use very warm tap water and add the frozen wings straight in. There isn't enough time for any food-borne pathogens to take hold. And the salt will kill anything it touches.
If they're pre-anything party wings, naturally don't brine them. But I would STILL thaw them. Almost everything cooks better when it starts at room temperature. Lawyers wrote the cooking instructions -- not chefs.
But if they're raw, frozen wings, get them in a brine just as fast as you can.
If the instructions say to cook from frozen, then cook from frozen. They have been prepared with that in mind. If you defrost them first, you will need to adjust the cooking time. It is likely they are already cooked and you will be finishing the cooking and bringing them to a safe temperature for consumption. If they were supposed to be thawed before cooking, the instructions would have said so. Frozen, pre-prepared foods generally do not need to be thawed before heating.
You want the brine to have the same salt content as seawater. So about 4 tablespoons of salt per quart of brine. And then add 2 tablespoons of something sweet -- sugar, honey, agave syrup, brown sugar, whatever -- to the brine. In addition you can add whatever spices you have on hand -- paprika, poultry seasoning, old bay, cumin, lemon juice, black pepper and similar.
Great suggestion, but I am working out of a hotel room kitchen (hence the frozen wings). I will try this method when I get back to my regular kitchen!
Are they pre-sauced party wings? They go in the oven from frozen.
No, just plain cut up chicken wings. Going to add sauce after I cook.
If the instructions say to cook from frozen, then cook from frozen.
You want the brine to have the same salt content as seawater. So about 4 tablespoons of salt per quart of brine. And then add 2 tablespoons of something sweet -- sugar, honey, agave syrup, brown sugar, whatever -- to the brine. In addition you can add whatever spices you have on hand -- paprika, poultry seasoning, old bay, cumin, lemon juice, black pepper and similar.
Great suggestion, but I am working out of a hotel room kitchen (hence the frozen wings). I will try this method when I get back to my regular kitchen!
Are they pre-sauced party wings? They go in the oven from frozen.
No, just plain cut up chicken wings. Going to add sauce after I cook.
If the instructions say to cook from frozen, then cook from frozen.
The instructions did not specify.
Thanks to all that replied!
If your hotel kitchen has salt, you can at least do that. A package of honey or some sugar packets (NOT Splenda) don't hurt. Black pepper doesn't hurt either. And season them before you bake them off. (Just salt and pepper if that's all you have.)
A word of warning since you're in a hotel room ... wings in the oven can cause a lot of grease splatter, which in turn can get quite smokey (especially if the oven is at a high temp). Hotel smoke detectors are pretty sensitive. If it's not too cold out, I would open windows.
A word of warning since you're in a hotel room ... wings in the oven can cause a lot of grease splatter, which in turn can get quite smokey (especially if the oven is at a high temp). Hotel smoke detectors are pretty sensitive. If it's not too cold out, I would open windows.
Thanks for the heads up! Will do.
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