Denver Green Chili Wings Recipe

Southwest style wings that will make your taste buds sings, these Denver green chili wings have a flavorful punch that will leave you wanting more.

Quite unlike any wing I’ve made to date, these Hispanic influenced wings capitalize on the craze that seems to permeate through the city of Denver like the dryness in the air.

Everywhere you go you see green chili offerings, and for good reason.

The green chili is iconic in Denver, and I’m glad to have a recipe for you today that captures the essence of what that is all about!

Tools

In order to make this recipe you’ll want the following tools lying around:

• Blender
• Medium Mixing Bowl
• Cooling Rack
• Deep Fryer
• Spider Skimmer
• Cast Iron Skillet
• Measuring Spoons/Cups
• Plastic Wrap
• Digital Meat Thermometer
• Zester

Each of these serves their purpose well when making these green chili wings. But in case you don’t have these, I’ll list out some substitutions.

The important tools are a blender and either a cast iron skillet or an open flame.

Without these, you really aren’t able to achieve the green chili sauce that you want in order to make these wings pop.

In case you don’t have these items, check out these links to Amazon in case you’re looking to pick them up! I receive a portion of the sale if you click through and make a purchase, and I really appreciate every bit!

Seasoning

When seasoning your Denver green chili wings, simplify things by mixing your spices in a medium mixing bowl and then tossing your chicken pieces one at a time.

Giving each piece the love and attention it deserves will ensure they’re fully coated, resulting in a better piece of fried chicken.

We really want to coat these wings thoroughly so that no nook or cranny is missed. This is essential in order to add a crispy, crackly skin that pops with spice.

Learning from J. Kenji Lopez Alt, by adding some baking powder to our wings and letting them rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours before cooking them, we develop micro blisters in the skin.

Check out the results here in this before and after.

This chemical reaction ensure that you get crackling, delicious wings.

Not to mention that by resting in the fridge the flavors have a chance to develop and combine with the moisture in the chicken to create a flavored crust around the meat.

Last of all, I recommend that you use air chilled chicken. Not only because it is more sanitary than water chilled chicken, but because it is also dryer and therefore results in a crispier end result.

When trying to caramelize chicken and get that incredibly crunchy skin, moisture is your enemy.

It causes the chicken to boil in steam rather than fry!

A common mistake is placing wet chicken in a fryer, which will result in not so crispy green chili wings!

Frying

Once seasoned and rested in the fridge for at least 2 hours, you want to set up your frying station.

There really aren’t any secrets to ensuring your Denver green chili wings are fried to excellence.

My primary tips are as follows:

1. Don’t overcrowd your oil.
2. Use a neutral oil, peanut is best.
3. Use a meat thermometer.
4. Watch closely.

Overcrowding oil can be dangerous and will result in the temperature of your oil to plummet dramatically.

If you add too much chicken at once, your oil could bubble up and spill out onto your countertop. Hot oil can burn and catch fire, so be sure to have on close toed shoes and an appropriate fire extinguisher at the ready.

Next, peanut oil is your friend, although it is expensive. It doesn’t add extra flavor to your wings like corn oil does, so you really only taste the seasonings you put on the wings.

However, a common way to offset cost is to mix soybean oil with peanut oil. Mixing vegetable oil and peanut oil will help you get a better tasting end product.

Moreover, when you cook poultry please use a meat thermometer. They are cheap and will prevent you from eating undercooked food.

Salmonella is dangerous and preventable! No one will get upset when they don’t get sick, but everyone will be disappointed when they catch salmonella.

You simply can’t tell what’s on the inside of your fried chicken unless you get a thermometer.

Lastly, watch your wings closely.

When they float on top of the oil they’re close to being done. If they start to darken dramatically, they also might be close to finishing.

Use your thermometer to check, and look for the telltale signs your wings are cooked through!

Sauce

This Denver green chili wing sauce is dank. My girlfriend is a vegetarian so I fried her some cauliflower to put this on.

I caught her eating it with a spoon later that night, it’s that good!

Just make sure you peel off the burnt bits from your peppers after blistering them. You don’t want any of those carcinogens to make it into your food.

Not to mention the nasty brunt flavor they’ll add.

Don’t worry, all the flavor will still be in the pepper, you won’t lose any of that.

Just melt some butter in a glass container and add your ingredients, then blend together for effect!

I like to dice up some jalapeño and sprinkle it on top for some garnish at the end, it adds a nice layer of flavor and some color.

Lastly, you can douse each wing by itself, or toss them in the sauce. It’s really up to you! I dunk each wing in the sauce, but any way you do it is fine.

These Denver green chili wings will blow your mind, that’s for sure!

Conclusion

These Denver green chili wings are sure to be a hit in your household if you’ve been craving that southwestern feel.

Roasted peppers, Mexican spices, and good old fried chicken.

There’s nothing not to love about these wings. A Denver tradition unlike any other, green chilis are where it’s at.

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Last of all, have a great day!