The Tiny, Delicious Morsel To Set Aside When Making Chicken Wings

Chicken wings – like these sweet and sour fried ones — are one of America's favorite foods. According to the National Chicken Council, Americans are projected to consume more than 1.45 billion chicken wings during Super Bowl weekend alone. Originally regarded as scraps and meat for the poor, the chicken wing became a key bar food ingredient when the Anchor Bar in Buffalo invented the ubiquitous buffalo wings. The wing is so popular that when there was a shortage of the beloved chicken part a year ago, it made national headlines. 

Given its popularity in casual restaurants and sports bars, chances are you are more likely to consume chicken wings when going out than cooking at home. Although preparing chicken wings at home might look complicated, it is actually really easy. More importantly, when you buy whole chicken wings, you will be rewarded with wing tips, a useful piece of the chicken that can elevate your soup-making game.

When you buy chicken wings from a market, they usually come whole, with the drumstick, the flat, and the tip joined together. Therefore, the first thing to do is to cut the wing into those three parts. Using a sharp knife, find the joint at the bent points of each wing, and separate each part by cutting through the joint. It might be difficult to find the joint on your first try, but once you get the hang of it, it is very simple.

When you finish, you will find yourself with a pile of drumsticks, a pile of flats, and a pile of small, nearly meatless wing tips. As tempting as it might be to throw the tips into the trash, don't. Although the wingtip might not have value as food by itself, it has a lot of skin and collagen, which is the key component for making rich chicken stock. So put those wingtips into a freezer bag and set them aside along with other chicken bones — such as necks and backbones — for later.

Once you have accumulated enough chicken bones and wing tips, it is time to make chicken stock (which is not quite broth and consommé). A basic stock consists of three parts: water, chicken parts, and aromatics.

The choice of aromatics depends on how you wish to use the stock. If you want a standard Western-style stock, you can use onions, carrots, celery, parsley stems, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. For a Japanese twist, perfect for ramen, you can replace the aromatics with a mixture of ginger, garlic, and spring onions.

First, cut your aromatics into medium-sized pieces. Next, place four pounds of cleaned and rinsed chicken parts, including neck, backbones, and wing tips, into a stock pot. Add the aromatics and enough water to cover everything and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer. Skim off any scum or foam that rises to the surface, cover the pot with a lid but leave room for steam to escape, and simmer for three hours. When finished, your stock should have a light yellow color and an aroma of chicken and vegetables. Strain the stock into another pot with a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids, and you have yourself a light, flavorful — and versatile — chicken stock all thanks to those chicken wing tips.