Expensive Chicken Wings w/ Fast Food Pizza

[NickTheGreat]

LOL... Well if you were doing both baby backs (3 racks) and spares (3 racks), tell them that 6 racks of ribs is only 1.5 pigs. If just 6 racks of one or the other, 3 pigs. That might blow their minds!

Yeah they were all baby racks and I told them 3 pigs. I think they were impressed?

 

[bracconiere]

have you priced protein lately in the grocery store?

you say protein like it only means meat....i eat a lot of beans! still can walk out of the store with a week's food for 10-15$'s.....

 

[SanPancho]

Why I am so damn frugal? Why can't I just say screw it and enjoy the wings? Why do wings cost so much? Technically there's 4 wingettes on each chicken!

at the end of the day, you know the drill-

cheap, fast (i.e. delivered), or good. you can only get two.

as OKC is a relatively large city i'm going to advise you to do what alot of folks here are suggesting- stop ordering it from someone else and make it yourself.

there is likely a large food service warehouse in town. buy a case of wings for yourself. if they have "mis-cuts" even better cuz they're cheaper. you might need to sweet talk them into letting you buy if you're not a business owner, but technically food isnt taxed so there's no reason they cant legally sell to you. worst case, buy em at costco or sams club or wherever else you can. you can even ask manager at local supermarket to sell you a case, say 10% markup. it can be done, one way or another.

as for the pizza, make your own. there's a little pizza oven on amazon for like $300ish. runs off propane and AND wood. makes 12" pies, traditional napolitana style. you can order bulk italian pizza flour on amazon for fairly cheap. costco sells san marzano tomatoes in can. you just need to find a source of GOOD quality fresh mozzarella.

whole foods has house brand thats decent, maybe 4-5 bucks for enough to make 4 pizzas. or 3 if you go heavy on cheese. for BEST get buffalo mozzarella if you can find it. our whole foods has it frequently on sale, like $5 and i buy a few at a time. put a little basil plant in the kitchen window, and you're good for a few months. we make 4 pizzas for maybe 5-7 bucks. plus 20-30 minutes of propane. and few small pieces of hardwood thrown in for flavor. better than anything i could order for delivery. better than most pizza places around town too. sunday dinner. great for small parties too.

 

[Broothru]

You guys are missing the obvious answer. Combine the two items to save $$$. Scratch the itch while saving some 'scratch'..

What am I talking about? Why Buffalo Chicken Pizza of course. I'm not lying. A local pizza joint offers up a really delicious one. Since Covid, I started doing my own home version. You don't even need to use wing pieces. Any part of the bird that results in chunks, though I prefer white meat.

Simmer the meat pieces in some Frank's Wing Sauce. Add a little oil to the top of a pizza crust, top with the chicken pieces using the sauce as the 'gravy', sprinkle liberally with grated parm to tame the heat, bake in a hot oven to crisp the crust and melt the cheese. Buno appetito!

 

[day_trippr]

When done even just half-assed proper there really is nothing better than home made pizza...

 

[estricklin]

When done even just half-assed proper there really is nothing better than home made pizza...

I've been making pizza (and wings) myself for many years now. I'm probably only doing it half ass but yes I agree. Tonight I made some simple thin crust, pepperoni with olives and jalapenos. I didn't have any anchovies, but then again Pizza Hut never does either.

My daughters and I have been celebrating their summer vacation by watching Star Wars every night, and eating pizza. So I've probably made a dozen pizzas at home the past couple of weeks, including a Chicago Stuffie. I have a sour dough starter going that we'll use in a few more days for dad's favorite pizza; pineapple, jalapenos, Italian sausage and anchovies.

 

[Pkrd]

Next time you're eating wings rate each one of them. You'll find that the first wing and the last wing are orders of magnitude more appealing than the oh look its just another wing I have plenty of these middle ones. So you really only need two wings per session. Pies are the same. First bite and last bite are magical. Rest is just filler.

But I always skip the sides because if I was that hungry surely I'd just order another pizza? When you have a personal pizza it's only one pizza so the whole entire pizza is like the very first wing. You never forget your first wing.

 

[Broothru]

Tonight is Pizza Night with the 'grands'. Firing up the Oonie, and everyone gets to build their own pie.

Despite what the naysayers deride, I'm building one with fresh pesto as the base sauce, topped with fresh mozz' from the Italian deli, copious amount of Canadian bacon and PINEAPPLE, under a dusting of the finest Parm I can find.

 

[balrog]

Whole wheat crust, super cracker extra crunchy thin, olive oil, salt, Parm Regg, basil, onion all over, pepperoni half, gruyere/jack/chedd/moz cheese mix, more parm regg.

 

[deuc224]

Wings are like 9 dollars a pack. do the leg work and cut them up yourself and use a buffalo sauce and bread them. As far as pizza, i jumped into the deep end and got a blackstone pizza oven conversion kit for a 22 inch griddle and will be making some dough today and letting it proof overnight. i have no idea what im doing with pizza lol

 

[Sam_92]

Tonight is Pizza Night with the 'grands'. Firing up the Oonie, and everyone gets to build their own pie.

Despite what the naysayers deride, I'm building one with fresh pesto as the base sauce, topped with fresh mozz' from the Italian deli, copious amount of Canadian bacon and PINEAPPLE, under a dusting of the finest Parm I can find.

I never considered doing a pesto based Hawaiian but that sounds amazing! My typical gripe with Hawaiian pizza is the tomato sauce is way too sweet combined with the pineapple. I'm going to have to give that a try!

 

[Broothru]

Whole wheat crust, super cracker extra crunchy thin, olive oil, salt, Parm Regg, basil, onion all over, pepperoni half, gruyere/jack/chedd/moz cheese mix, more parm regg.

Oh, yeah. Oil along with the pesto, fresh basil garnish, and only the best Parmigiano Regiano

I never considered doing a pesto based Hawaiian but that sounds amazing! My typical gripe with Hawaiian pizza is the tomato sauce is way too sweet combined with the pineapple. I'm going to have to give that a try!

I used to base it with a red sauce, but agree with you that it comes out too sweet. A thin coating of good oil and then some really good pesto (my daughter spent a year in Italy; she knows how to make it) is the key, plus fresh parm from the deli.

 

[marc1]

I sometimes make a BLT pizza that is surprisingly good. Give the dough a little olive oil, a light sprinkle of cheese, some garlic, and homemade bacon. Cook it nice in the oven, then take it out and spread some mayo over it and cover with diced tomato and a lot of chopped romaine. Slice and enjoy.

 

[bracconiere]

for some reason that pizza looks really good, and reminds me strangley of another thread?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/caption-this-image.700986/

 

[Broothru]

for some reason that pizza looks really good, and reminds me strangley of another thread?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/caption-this-image.700986/
View attachment 770160

Last night's culinary delights:

I'm reminded of another pizza that sounds bloody awful, but is actually quite good:

Cheeseburger Pizza!

Just like your favorite burger. Start with your basic crust, then use half sauce/half ketchup to coat the base. Trust me, it works. Then add crumbled hamburger (fried and drained). Top with American cheddar (yes, cheddar), garnish with yellow mustard, pickles, grilled onions, sliced tomatoes if you want, but hold the lettuce.

As awful as it may sound, if you like cheese burgers you'll really like this pie.

 

[estricklin]

Last night's culinary delights:

View attachment 770182

I'm reminded of another pizza that sounds bloody awful, but is actually quite good:

Cheeseburger Pizza!

Just like your favorite burger. Start with your basic crust, then use half sauce/half ketchup to coat the base. Trust me, it works. Then add crumbled hamburger (fried and drained). Top with American cheddar (yes, cheddar), garnish with yellow mustard, pickles, grilled onions, sliced tomatoes if you want, but hold the lettuce.

As awful as it may sound, if you like cheese burgers you'll really like this pie.

Thats kinda scary you mentioned it, because we actually made cheeseburger pizza last night. I use mustard for the sauce, and top with pickles and onions. The ground beef I cook for a couple minutes before topping with it, but not very long because it will overcook in a 550F oven easily.

 

[estricklin]

for some reason that pizza looks really good, and reminds me strangley of another thread?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/caption-this-image.700986/
View attachment 770160

My Wusthofs are on the left now, I'm all messed up!

 

[bracconiere]

I'm all messed up!

it reminded me of this pic, but backwards....

bad joke i guess.....

 

[NickTheGreat]

I sometimes make a BLT pizza that is surprisingly good. Give the dough a little olive oil, a light sprinkle of cheese, some garlic, and homemade bacon. Cook it nice in the oven, then take it out and spread some mayo over it and cover with diced tomato and a lot of chopped romaine. Slice and enjoy.

We do this too. The secret is the mayo, odd as it sounds.

 

[estricklin]

So for what it's worth, Little Ceaser's has wings for 8 bucks. I didn't get them though. We did get 2 large pizzas for $13 though. I've made about a dozen homemade 16 inch pizzas in the past few weeks watching more Star Wars with my girls.

So trying to make this relevant to beer, I wonder why Pizza Hut quit serving beer. I've heard Chucky Cheese does but the ones I've been in did not serve it. Can you get a brew in Disney World? Where did the PIzza Inns go, they practically invented cheddar and Canadian bacon pizza.

All mindless drunken ramblings.

 

[Rich1234]

Couple of tips for you at-home guys for making wings. (We don't call them buffalo/hot/anything else you've heard wings here, just wings.. lol)

1) Read the bag. If you buy the frozen bags of wings, make sure you use wings that do not have any (saline) solution injected into them. I've seen bags as high as 18%. You' have very small wings after cooking.

2) Standard/typical buffalo hot sauce recipe.. Pour some Frank's Hot Sauce in a small saucepan. Add a dash of garlic powder, a dash of Lawry's Seasoned Salt and a sliver of butter. Don't add a lot of seasoned salt or you'll be very thirsty for the next few hours. If you do not like your wings hot, cut the sauce with water, not more butter. The added butter will make the wings taste greasy. Heat it on a low heat to melt the butter and stir in the seasonings. Don't forget about it while you're cutting up the carrots/celery. Don't ask me how I know this...

3) If you do not like the mess of deep frying, use an air fryer. I have a Ninja 5.8L (?) and I can almost do a double order (~18 wings, depending on size) in it at one time. It does take about 35 mins to do a batch, but they come out close to what you'd get deep frying. Make sure to shake em around every 5 mins or so. I cook mine at 360 degrees.

Cooking in oil is usually less time but more difficult to pull off. You need to figure out how many in a batch by a few different parameters: Make sure you keep the oil between 300 and 350 degrees. If you add too many you drop below that and have greasy tasting wings. Don't let your oil get hotter than 350-360 or you'll burn your wings and risk fire, depending on the type of oil you use. I use canola. Your taste may vary.

4) Find a local poultry farm with a retail shop. You'll get better wings, and the price will probably be better than a grocery store.

5) Serve with blue cheese, carrot slices and celery sticks. The best store brand of blue cheese is Rooties. You will probably have a tough time finding that outside of the Buffalo area. Next best choice is probably Ken's Blue cheese dressing. A lot of places in Buffalo serve that. I've never looked for it outside of Buffalo, but it looks to be a national brand..

6) when you think they look done...wait 2-3 mins more. The goal is a crispy skin and not rubbery inside.

7) Let them cool down before you add the sauce. If you add while hot, the sauce will kill the crispiness.

Hope that helps..

Rich

 

[balrog]

Couple of tips for you at-home guys for making wings. (We don't call them buffalo/hot/anything else you've heard wings here, just wings.. lol)

1) Read the bag. If you buy the frozen bags of wings, make sure you use wings that do not have any (saline) solution injected into them. I've seen bags as high as 18%. You' have very small wings after cooking.

2) Standard/typical buffalo hot sauce recipe.. Pour some Frank's Hot Sauce in a small saucepan. Add a dash of garlic powder, a dash of Lawry's Seasoned Salt and a sliver of butter. Don't add a lot of seasoned salt or you'll be very thirsty for the next few hours. If you do not like your wings hot, cut the sauce with water, not more butter. The added butter will make the wings taste greasy. Heat it on a low heat to melt the butter and stir in the seasonings. Don't forget about it while you're cutting up the carrots/celery. Don't ask me how I know this...

3) If you do not like the mess of deep frying, use an air fryer. I have a Ninja 5.8L (?) and I can almost do a double order (~18 wings, depending on size) in it at one time. It does take about 35 mins to do a batch, but they come out close to what you'd get deep frying. Make sure to shake em around every 5 mins or so. I cook mine at 360 degrees.

Cooking in oil is usually less time but more difficult to pull off. You need to figure out how many in a batch by a few different parameters: Make sure you keep the oil between 300 and 350 degrees. If you add too many you drop below that and have greasy tasting wings. Don't let your oil get hotter than 350-360 or you'll burn your wings and risk fire, depending on the type of oil you use. I use canola. Your taste may vary.

4) Find a local poultry farm with a retail shop. You'll get better wings, and the price will probably be better than a grocery store.

5) Serve with blue cheese, carrot slices and celery sticks. The best store brand of blue cheese is Rooties. You will probably have a tough time finding that outside of the Buffalo area. Next best choice is probably Ken's Blue cheese dressing. A lot of places in Buffalo serve that. I've never looked for it outside of Buffalo, but it looks to be a national brand..

6) when you think they look done...wait 2-3 mins more. The goal is a crispy skin and not rubbery inside.

7) Let them cool down before you add the sauce. If you add while hot, the sauce will kill the crispiness.

Hope that helps..

Rich

and how do they compare to Duff's?

 

[Rich1234]

and how do they compare to Duff's?

Duff's are good wings. One thing I'm not a fan of is that they dump a lot of sauce on their wings and the lowest ones sit in it. As they're the last ones eaten, they tend to sog up a bit IMO. I usually put just enough sauce on to coat them nicely and that's it. That's my personal preference. Some people love the extra sauce.
Duff's and Anchor Bar are the two that get all the press, but there's literally dozens of pizza places that make as good or better, IMO. Mine are right there or better because of the quality of wing I use. There's a local chicken farm I get them from and the difference is noticeable.