Glazed chicken wing with cured duck liver and beer vinegar

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It may look like a lot of work for just a mouthful of food, but this beer-glazed chicken wing recipe is one of the tastiest ways to prepare poultry in the world. Sticky, sweet and perfectly cooked, the deboned wings are topped with crispy chicken skin, grated foie gras and a sharp beer vinegar gel on the side.

First published in 2018

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Cured duck liver

Beer brine

  • 1l India Pale Ale, Daniel uses Brewdog Punk IPA
  • 100g of salt
  • 50g of hay, toasted in the oven until fragrant
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 1 sprig of thyme

Beer vinegar gel

  • 100ml of beer vinegar, Daniel uses IP8
  • 1g of agar agar

Poached chicken wings

Beer glaze

  • 500g of chicken wings
  • 500ml of brown chicken stock
  • 1/2 shallot, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 stick of celery
  • 325ml of white wine
  • 500ml of India Pale Ale, Daniel uses Brewdog Punk IPA
  • 1 sprig of parsley
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 1 sprig of tarragon
  • vegetable oil

Crispy chicken skin

To serve

Equipment

  • Sous vide equipment
  • Ice
  • Blender
  • Thermometer
  • Silpat mat
  • Fine sieve
  • Muslin cloth or a coffee filter
  • Skewers 12
  • Microplane

Method

1
48 hours before you plan to serve the dish, prepare the foie gras. Line a 15x5cm container with two layers of cling film. Evenly pour half the salt into the base of the container. Press the liver into the mould and sprinkle the rest of the salt evenly over the top. Cover with cling film and place into the fridge for 48 hours
2
Remove the foie gras from the container and lightly scrape off the remaining salt. Cut into 3 pieces and wrap well in cling film. Place into the freezer until frozen solid
3
Approximately 6 hours before you plan to serve the dish prepare the beer brine. Add the beer, salt, hay, peppercorns and thyme to a large pan, bring to the boil to dissolve the salt, then chill. Pass through a fine sieve
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 100g of salt
  • 50g of hay, toasted in the oven until fragrant
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 1l India Pale Ale, Daniel uses Brewdog Punk IPA
4
For the beer vinegar gel, bring the vinegar and agar to the boil in a small saucepan, whisking constantly. Pour into a container and allow to set. Blitz in a blender until a smooth gel is formed, then reserve in the fridge until needed
  • 1g of agar agar
  • 100ml of beer vinegar, Daniel uses IP8
5
Next, prepare the chicken wings for poaching. You only need the middle of the wing for this dish – the rest can be used to flavour the glaze. Make sure all feathers are removed from the wing and cut just above each joint of the middle bone. Push the bones out, ensuring no little pieces of bone are left inside.
6
Place the jointed wings in a bowl and pour over the brine until they are fully submerged. Set aside for 1 hour. Add in the remaining pieces of wing (including bones) and leave for 3 more hours
7
Preheat a water bath to 70°C
8
Remove the deboned wings from the brine and rinse lightly under cold water. Dry well using kitchen paper, then roll each wing individually in cling film to create a nice even shape. Place in vacuum bags, seal and cook in the water bath for 90 minutes. Once cooked, chill rapidly in an ice bath and reserve in the fridge until needed
9
For the glaze, begin by reducing the chicken stock in a pan by about three-quarters until it is thick and glossy
  • 500ml of brown chicken stock
10
Remove the remaining chicken wings from the brine and rinse lightly in cold water. Pat dry and chop the wings into small pieces
11
In a pan set over a high heat, add a dash of oil and sauté the vegetables until golden brown. Add in the diced chicken wings and continue to cook until they are well browned
12
Deglaze the pan with the wine, allow to reduce by half, then add in the beer and allow to reduce by half again. Add in the stock and bring to the boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Add the herbs and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, or until the glaze has reduced down to a thick sticky consistency. Pass through a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth 6 times, using a fresh cloth each time. Lightly season with salt and beer vinegar
  • 325ml of white wine
  • 1 sprig of tarragon
  • 1 sprig of parsley
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 500ml of India Pale Ale, Daniel uses Brewdog Punk IPA
13
To prepare the crispy chicken skin, preheat an oven to 200°C/ gas mark 6
14
Lightly scrape the underside of the chicken skin to remove the fat. Place on a tray lined with a silicone baking mat. Lightly season and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden. Allow to cool and break into shards that are similar in size to the wings
15
To serve, begin by heating some vegetable oil in a small saucepan to 180°C. Deep-fry one of the sprigs of lemon thyme until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and allow to cool, then pick the leaves from the sprig. Pick the fresh leaves from the other sprig
16
Preheat a pan over a high heat, add a knob of butter and brown the chicken wings. Warm the glaze in a pan set over a medium-high heat, then add in the browned wings. Allow the glaze to lightly reduce around the wings. Place the wings on skewers. Place a small dot of the gel beside the wing and top with the deep-fried thyme leaves. Using a microplane, grate a generous amount of the frozen foie gras over the shards of chicken skin. Finish with 3 leaves of fresh thyme, place the chicken skins on top of the wings and serve

A broad range of experience in some of the top kitchens in the UK and France along with hefty doses of innovation, dedication and originality have led Daniel Clifford’s style to be widely praised.

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