Cornmeal Buffalo Wings

Do you ever dine out and try figuring out how a dish was made? What ingredients were used or what technique was applied? We recently dined at a local restaurant, The Frontier, and while there, we were struck by their 'Lollipop Wings.' It's simply their version of buffalo wings... with a twist. My husband and I really enjoyed them and sat there trying to figure out what they did to make them different. It had all the flavor of the typical buffalo wing but more importantly, the texture was a surprise. Rather than frying the chicken before tossing into a buffalo wing sauce, the chicken was coated in what I guess was... a seasoned fish fry coating. Fish fry coating with chicken? Yes. And hence, these Cornmeal Buffalo Wings were recreated...

The Frontier's Lollipop Wings had notes of citrus and definitely a bit of cornmeal, which added a great crispy texture. When I looked again at the menu, I was pretty sure that was what was used simply because there were other seafood dishes that most likely would use the fish fry coating as well. (It's common for restaurants to cross utilize ingredients for various recipes on their menu.) So that's when I gave it a try at home. After seasoning some chicken wings and tossing them in seasoned fish fry coating, I fried them up. Rather than making a buffalo wing sauce to toss the chicken in, I drizzled the sauce over the chicken after they were plated and served the sauce on the side. The result? I think I nailed it because my husband loved them... even more than the wings we had at the restaurant. Who knew seasoned fish fry could work so well for buffalo chicken wings?!

Cornmeal Buffalo Wings
inspired by The Frontier Restaurant

2 pounds chicken drummettes
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 cup Louisiana Fish Fry coating
6 cups oil for frying
Buffalo Wing Sauce for serving (recipe follows)
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced for garnish

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready and set aside.

Heat oil in a dutch oven or deep fryer until 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Place the fish fry coating in a large bowl and add the chicken. Toss to coat. Place a few pieces of coated chicken into the hot oil and fry until golden. Once cooked, place chicken onto the baking sheet and place in the preheated oven to keep warm. Continue to cook the chicken in batches until done.

Once chicken is all done, place on a serving platter and drizzle with buffalo wing sauce just before serving and garnish with sliced green onions.

Buffalo Wing Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 dash ground black pepper
1 dash garlic powder
Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and reserve for serving. Drizzle over the chicken before serving and serve extra on the side.