Chicken Wing…Stock!

Like a good all-American sports fan, I fired up some chicken wings last night.  And by “some” I mean “a lot” of wings, a lot of spicy, flavorful wings, a “what was I thinking?” amount.  Let’s put it this way: you know you’ve made a lot of wings when there are some left over.  (I used the Baked BBQ Chicken Wings recipe from last week’s Super Bowl newsletter…my favorite part about writing the newsletter is using it as a great excuse to dive into Cookstr at a different angle week after week, finding new recipes, re-discovering old favorites.)

One of many platters of wings...

Anyway, since it is hard in good conscience to serve your family two dinners with chicken wings as the centerpiece in one week, it occurred to me that the most common culinary fate of chicken wings — when they are NOT being made into sports viewing and bar snacks — is stock.  So, into a pot they went, with cold water to cover.  The lid was slapped on, it simmered for an hour, and now in the fridge sits a small vat of extremely rich, beautifully flavored, and unusual chicken stock.

Not just any chicken broth...Super Bowl chicken broth.

The principal seasonings on the wings were oregano, hot sauce, a bit of tomato paste, garlic and shallot…it would be a good start for a Mexican-inspired dish like maybe Mexican-Style Chicken Noodle Soup with Garlic Sauce or Chicken Chilaquiles con Salsa or Quick Cooked Tomatillo Chili Sauce.

Repurposing leftovers has always been my favorite sport.