Vortex Kung Pao Chicken Wings

[Peter Gallagher]

I scored a Vortex a while back and had used a few times -I had been generally underwhelmed with results so far -nothing majorly wrong, just nothing mind-blowingly spectacular. There had been some vortex discussion recently here, so I thought I'd circle back and try it again. The recipe I used called for a flour / corn starch coating on the wings so I thought it was a good candidate for the Vortex.

got them on and cooked them for about an hour...

whipped up the sauce:

tossed them back in and coated:

I don't have a plated shot, but this is the general idea - they were pretty good - I do like the flour / corn starch coating idea - I think it did provide some crunch. Maybe I need to to cook them hotter and shorter next time and see what happens.

It's been snowy here with more on the way in the next day or so - Cool light the other morning which is not captured very well in the shot... stay warm everyone!

 

[Brett-EDH]

Beautiful photos. Food looks great too. From my experience, wings cooked hotter and shorter make them crisper. Usually I target 400-425° as my desired temp.

Any recipe for the sauce, or was it premade?

 

[Peter Gallagher]

the recipe is from the Wok Of Life website -
I pretty much doubled everything - (except the 10 red chili peppers which seemed about right)- and used probably north of 10 cloves of garlic and 2 tablespoons of ginger. I didn't have peanuts or cilantro on hand

FOR THE MARINATING THE CHICKEN WINGS:
¼ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon flour

FOR THE KUNG PAO SAUCE:
1 teaspoon peanut oil
(can substitute vegetable or canola oil)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger (minced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
10 dried whole red chili peppers
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon spicy bean sauce/paste
1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon water)
1 scallion (chopped)
2 tablespoons peanuts (roasted and chopped)
2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)

 

[JimK]

Nice looking wings! You probably know this already, but a little baking powder really helps in getting crispy wings.

 

[Brett-EDH]

@Peter Gallagher , i did some googling to confirm what i recall reading, that KF (briqs, and idk if you're using KF in this cook) burns at a lower temp than say lump (Jealous Devil).

"Notice that during the last 50 minutes, the 1984 Kingsford appears to burn longer and hotter than the 2020 Kingsford. At 45 minutes, I used a ThermoWorks infrared thermometer to measure the 1984 charcoal burning at about 700°F, the 2020 charcoal burning at about 500°F."
- https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/burn-test-1984-kingsford-vs-2020-kingsford/

Not that 500F isn't hot enough to cook wings but that JD from my own tests and experience does burn at 1000F to 1100F consistently (i am not sponsored by JD; just a backyard enthusiast).

Just putting this out there for data sharing.

 

[Peter Gallagher]

@Brett-EDH - pretty interesting - that certainly confirms(?) some suspicion I had in regards to the Kingsford... over the last few years, its felt like they seem to burn at least noticeably faster (or as Chris may refer to it, 'useful burn time') than they used to? I've never used Jealous Devil, though obviously many folks around here speak highly of it. I've never seen it locally where we live but will keep an eye open for it in hopes of giving it a shot - thanks!

 

[Brett-EDH]

@Brett-EDH - pretty interesting - that certainly confirms(?) some suspicion I had in regards to the Kingsford... over the last few years, its felt like they seem to burn at least noticeably faster (or as Chris may refer to it, 'useful burn time') than they used to? I've never used Jealous Devil, though obviously many folks around here speak highly of it. I've never seen it locally where we live but will keep an eye open for it in hopes of giving it a shot - thanks!

Home Depot recently did a retail deal with JD. if you have the orange box nearby, you might be able to score some and or have it delivered to you.

or you can try any lump to see if that helps. personally, i found KFxx to be a decent LAS source but i prefer real lump on HAF and direct to indirect cooks. and the flavor profile is more neutral/natural, more wood-like. i'd be curious to see your experience should you try lump in the future.

props to you for where you live. it's really beautiful but i just cannot do snow anymore on a daily basis. but i am in awe of your surroundings. i could find mental peace there for a week or so.