Chef Spike Williams’ approach to wings owes a debt to his North Carolina grandmother, who taught him to make well-seasoned wings in a cast-iron skillet. These days, the chef helms the kitchen at Playt — the successor to Oakland’s beloved Southern-style Pican — and brings both Louisiana style and Korean tricks to the table. He gives a nod to Louisiana style by first brining the wings, then dredging them in seasoned flour. Rice flour in the batter — a Korean twist Williams learned from his days at Oakland’s FUSEbox — amps up the crunch factor.
After frying, the wings can be eaten as is or tossed in a wing sauce made with molasses, Crystal hot sauce and more vinegar. Here’s how it’s done:
Spike’s Crunchy Louisiana Wings
Serves 10 to 15 as an appetizer
Wings:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup apple cider vinegar
5 cups water
6 pounds whole chicken wings
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ tablespoon garlic powder
½ tablespoon onion powder
½ tablespoon ground sage
2 cups rice flour (optional)
2 cups water (optional)
Oil for frying
Sauce: Combine 1 part molasses, 1 part cider vinegar and 2 parts Crystal hot sauce.
Directions:
- Combine salt, cider vinegar and water in a large pan or bowl and add the wings, making sure they’re submerged. Brine, refrigerated, for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Remove wings from brine and pat dry.
- In a large bowl combine flour, cumin, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and sage. Add wings, a few at a time and toss to coat. Remove from bowl, shaking off any excess flour mixture and place wings on a sheet pan.
- Optional: If you want extra crispy wings, combine half the remaining seasoned flour mixture with 2 cups rice flour and 2 cups water to make a batter. Dip the wings in batter.
- Heat a saute pan or cast iron skillet with ½ inch of oil to 325 to 350 degrees (if you don’t have a thermometer, you can add a popcorn kernel which will pop at 325-350 degrees). Add the dredged or dredged and battered wings a few at a time and fry wings until golden brown, turning the wings over for even cooking. Total cooking time will be about 8 minutes.
- Drain wings on a paper towel-lined plate. Let oil come back to temperature, add remaining wings and repeat until all wings are cooked. Keep wings warm in a 200-degree oven if desired.
- In a large bowl, combine molasses, cider vinegar and hot sauce, stirring to combine. Add wings and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature.
— Courtesy chef Spike Williams, Playt Restaurant, Hayward
