I know a thing or eight about all manner of fried chicken. I’ll skip the litany of ways I’ve enjoyed so many crispy fried fowl to avoid descending into a Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Gump like recitation. Suffice it to say… I’ve eaten a lot of flaps and drums through the years. It’s a love affair that bloomed decades ago at a little Ohio State Campus Wing shop that you may or may not have heard of… BW3.
I’ve come so far from my love affair with B-dubs curry sauced wings. (Seriously guys, why’d you ever let them go?) I’m a jaded culinarian not easily impressed with menu descriptions of “fancy” wings. As a result, when I run across an interesting preparation that catches my eye it gives me a thrill, especially when they’re offered up by an operator that I know will deliver.
So… Let me tell you about the enduring thrill of the wings at the Challah Food Truck pop up in the Woodlands Tavern. Hearing that one of my favorite trucks was taking up residence at Woodlands was extremely exciting as it promised consistent access to my second favorite chicken sandwich in Columbus and very soon after they opened, I queued up to show my support.
I was distracted, however, by the allure of a menu description I’d never seen before. Greg’s Pastrami Wings. First thought; who the hell is Greg? The options for achieving this alchemy whirled through my head. A “pastrami” sauce, while probably difficult to nail, would have been the easy way out. Then again, understanding that Chef Catie Randazzo is apparently unfamiliar with the easy way, a pastrami cure then seemed likely. She explained that she’d teamed up with a friend whos name I assume is Greg to pastrami brine and then smoke the wings. The brine suffuses the meat with familiar spice and the barest touch of sweetness.
The time spent in the smoker imparts a lingering whiff of wood smoke while drying the skin a bit. In combination with the sugar in the brine and a dip in the fryer, that drying allows the chicken to achieve a sticky yet crisp bite that gives way to cure blushed mildly pink flesh that’s tender and juicy. There’s a cup of what I’m sure is delicious Russian Dressing that I immediately move out of the way (maybe I’ll dip my potatoes in it next time) and a selection of always excellent Challah pickles.
In my younger days as a lover of chicken wings, it was all about the sauce. As I grew older and wing making crossed the threshold into more progressive kitchens not afraid to play around with “junk food”, interested cooks manipulated the texture and flavor of wings in different ways yielding incredibly crunchy or incredibly tender sensations. We discovered the joys of a Korean Style chicken wings alt-starched and double fried. Wings were being confited in a variety of tasty fats. Chefs were stuffing macaroni and cheese and all manner of delicious foods into wings. For an advanced professional eater such as myself, it’s been very exciting. Let the above written words stand as context so when I say that these are the best wings I’ve ever had in my life, you understand what that means.
You can nom down on these babies at Woodlands Tavern Seven Days a week 1200 W 3rd Ave