Crispy Curried Baked Chicken

My mother used to bake chicken wings when we were growing up and all she did was add seasonings and dots of butter on each wing. By the mid to late 1960's there was a pre-made "salad seasoning" mix that hit the market and she used it not only in salad dressings but on top of chicken wings as well. Our whole family loved the wings and back then they were cheap by the day's standards. Today, not so much. Maybe it's due to the popularity wings gained when the Buffalo Wing was introduced to the foodie scene and ever since there has been a zillion recipes created using wings.

There's nothing quite like the skin of the chicken either when you can get it crispy! The chefs of the restaurant world have discovered ways to get the skin super crisp and use the crumbled crispy skin in all sorts of ways to add texture and flavor to dishes. When I picked up a family pack (ten wings total) of chicken wings I decided to try a different flavor profile but I wanted the skin to be super crispy and have lots of good taste. I think I achieved this with the method of cooking and with the spice mix I created.

• 10 chicken wings (wing tips removed)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. hot curry powder (McCormick's Hot Madras Curry Powder)
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1. Cut the wing tips off the chicken. You can save these in the freezer to make chicken stock when you have enough of them. Wash the chicken under cold water. Thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Blend in a small bowl the salt, black pepper, curry powder and paprika and granulated garlic. Be sure you mix it well.
3. Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the chicken.
4. Preheat your oven to 350°.
5. Heat a large roasting pan over two burns using medium high heat.
6. Add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add in the butter. Let this heat up and allow the butter to melt and almost get to the brown stage.
7. Place the wings in skin side down and brown for about 6-7 minutes. When you think they are brown enough, turn them all over and then turn the burners off. Let these sit while your oven finishes preheating.
8. Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake the chicken wings for about 20-25 minutes more. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165°.

When the wings come out of the oven use tongs to gently remove them so you do not disturb that beautiful, crispy skin.

As I've often said here at Cooking On A Budget, my meter for how good a recipe is to other than what I think of, is my live in critic. That would be my husband. If he doesn't like something he let's me know what he didn't like. With these wings and the curry flavor I wasn't sure if he would enjoy them or not. I love the flavor of curry so I thought these were really good. Turns out so did my husband.

What I did after the chicken was done was to take freshly scrubbed potatoes, slice them about 1/4 inch thick and coat them with the flavors and fat from the roasting pan. I added a little more salt and pepper. I started them on the stove top as I did the chicken and then finished them off in a 350° oven. They took about 25 minutes in the oven and about 3-4 minutes on the stove top. Lightly brown on on side, flip over then roast in the oven. The potatoes are tender, well seasoned and just dang good.

The photograph below is the browned chicken from the stove top before going into the oven.

Then once the chicken was done and kept warm I started the potatoes. The potatoes picked up all the nice flavor from the chicken fat and spices and were so tasty. I cropped the photo, but there were lots more potatoes in that roasting pan! Remove them with a slotted spoon so the fat drains off or quickly place them on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the fat before serving.

Here's the spice rub from McCormick. You can use regular curry powder if you don't have or can't find this. I use this curry in my Caribbean Marinade recipe. That marinade is fantastic with pork tenderloin, chicken, swordfish or shrimp. There's a whole lot of bold flavor, with some heat in the marinade. It's fantastic.

The chicken was a little over two pounds worth of wings and cost me $8.07. There's enough for 2-4 portions depending on how big or small the appetite. Two large baking potatoes and some frozen baby peas rounded out the dinner which came to $11.79. Just to give you an idea for portions: I ate two wings, my husband ate four leaving four for left overs. With that I'll figure for three people and the cost per person is $3.93 each. Four portions: $2.94 each.