Good morning. We’ve said it before: wings are one of the pricier items on restaurant menus but consistently one of the cheapest cuts at the store. What’s up with that?

• The good news is that with proper technique — as outlined below — they’re not difficult to perfect at home.

RECIPE BREAKDOWN🤯

Crispy wings — three options

We’re giving you three bulletproof options for amazing home wings.

For all three methods you’ll need at least these to get started:

• Chicken wings

• Kosher salt: (1% of chicken weight)

• Equipment: Baking sheet w/ wire rack

Method 1 - basic dry brine (just salt)

The easiest way to get a crispy oven wing is to salt & dry brine your wings in the fridge overnight.

How do you do it?

1. Toss the wings with 1% kosher salt by weight, and then arrange them on a wire rack. Let them dry out uncovered in the fridge overnight.

2. Roast on high heat (~400°F/200°C) for 45 minutes or until golden brown & crispy, checking every 20 minutes to flip them or rotate the pan.

Why does it work?

The salt will draw out moisture from the skin, and also ensure the meat gets seasoned and stays juicy during baking. Learn more about the fundamentals of brining here.

Method 2 - leveled up dry brine (baking powder & cornstarch)

For this method, you’ll also need

• Baking powder (1% of chicken weight)

• Corn starch (1% of chicken weight)

How do you do it?

1. Toss the wings with 1% kosher salt, 1% corn starch, and 1% baking powder by weight, and then arrange them on a wire rack. If you have time, you can dry brine uncovered in the fridge overnight too!

2. Roast on high heat (~400°F/200°C) for 45 minutes or until golden brown & crispy, checking every 20 minutes to flip them or rotate the pan.

Why does it work?

Baking powder lowers the PH of the chicken skin for better browning, and corn starch will gel any moisture that will crisp up when baked. This is a great shortcut to golden, crispy wings if you didn’t get a chance to dry brine wings in advance.

• Disclaimer: Don’t accidentally use baking soda unless you want your wings to taste like soap. We learned the hard way.

Method 3 - confit & double fry

If you want the ultimate contrast between a juicy interior and a shatter-level crisp exterior, the confit / double fry method is the way to go. This requires deep frying, but you can do half the frying in advance and even bulk freeze wings to be easily finished later.

• This method is a bit more involved, so check out this guide and infographic which has all the information you need.

RECIPE RECCOMENDATIONS🥡

Wing sauce options

Here are a few of our go-to wing sauces:

1) Home buffalo

• 1 part butter

• 2 parts hot sauce (like Franks)

2) Lemon pepper

• 2 parts butter

• 1 part lemon juice

• 1 part lemon zest

• 1 part freshly ground black pepper

3) Caesar parmesan

• Toss the wings in the dressing from our Caesar Salad recipe, plus extra parm.

4) Healthier, creamy buffalo

• This stuff can go on everything, not just wings. It’s worth keeping a loaded squeeze bottle in the fridge.

5) Bonus recipes: Whole chicken pieces, blue cheese, and buffalo variation

• This recipe combines the techniques above, but applies it to whole. chicken pieces. Plus it includes a killer blue cheese sauce recipe and an upgraded version of buffalo sauce.

• This grilled chicken sandwich sports a hot honey buffalo-style sauce

FOOD TRENDS 🚀

Hotel pans at home

Today’s trend coverage is special — we’re going to present you with the pros and cons of a niche kitchen item, and you’ll vote if it's worth it.

Pros — the merits of metal hotel pans:

According to this Reddit post, you should buy the stainless steel square metal containers used by restaurants to store anything from leftover soup to slaw. Why?

As commenters enumerated:

• “They nest, they stack” and clip-on lids are available.

• “They can go in a smoker, an oven, over a gas burner for a gravy, into the fridge, freezer, and then the dishwasher.”

• “Take two out to the grill with the raw meat in the top one, switcheroo, and bring the cooked meat back in the clean one.”

• “They don't break when dropped and rarely scratch and are super super versatile for cheap.” They clean well with steel wool too.

Cons — here are the downsides:

• Don’t seal super tightly unless you buy specialized lids.

• Unlike Tupperware, these aren’t the best for transporting outside the house or packing a meal for work.

• Unlike clear glass containers, these aren’t transparent so they have to be labeled or opened if you need to peek inside.

Are these worth it for home use? Or should we just stick to deli containers and standard storage systems? Let us know what you think:

READER Q&A 🧠

Gelato vs. ice cream

You’re right, Phil. Both gelato and ice cream are made with a base of milk, cream, and sugar, but the ratios differ: Gelato typically contains a larger proportion of milk to cream, resulting in a lower overall fat content.

So why does gelato feel “creamier”?

It’s not just the ambiance of eating gelato on the streets of Venice. The perceived creaminess of gelato comes from the lower amount of incorporated air (”overrun”) and the serving temperatures.

• Gelato is churned at a slower speed than ice cream, which incorporates less air and yields a denser product.

• Additionally, gelato is generally served at a slightly higher temperature than ice cream.

This combination of density and temperature allows gelato to melt in the mouth more rapidly, releasing flavors more intensely and creating the impression of creaminess.

People say the best gelato places scoop from the aluminum tins rather than the open canisters. Can any European readers confirm this as fact or fiction? We’ll report back in a future edition.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

Za’atar chicken & rice

This week’s dinner winner is Jimmy S., who made Ethan’s za’atar chicken and turmeric rice, served with a tomato/cucumber salad, greek yogurt with sumac, and flakey salt. Well done!

Reply with a picture of the best meal you made this week for a chance to be featured in a future email.

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: Should you ever cook dinner on the first date?

In a minute or less: Cacio e pepe

What we’re watching: What’s the world’s strongest coffee?

Food science: Can you actually taste a difference in onions?

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