Chicken (Wings) With Orange Peel - À La Maggie Beer

Maggie says wings; I say thighs.  I like a bit of meat on my bones!  This recipe is from her book Harvest (our March Cookbook Club choice) which covers food for the four seasons.  Maggie is a well-loved icon of the Australian food scene.  There's been some tragedy in her life, as her daughter Saskia, who was a specialist poultry and pig supplier, died in her sleep when she was in her mid-40s, of no known cause.

It's interesting to see how food changes over the years.  This book was published about 20 years ago, and I think it's showing its age somewhat.  There has been some robust discussion in the Club as to her methods and recipes.  I've adapted this one a bit, and others have mentioned having to change up the recipes they've made, too.  

And oddly, I have found her recipes a bit lacking in flavour, which is why I added extra ingredients.  Same with the other dish of hers I've made for Cookbook Club.  Strangely bland food!  Then again, she doesn't like chilli or a lot of spices, as per the TV show she did with a local chef :=)  He was forever cutting out the chillies so Maggie could taste the food.

the next night!

Serves 6:

ingredients:

2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns

peel of 2 oranges

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3-4 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated

3 French/golden shallots, finely chopped

2 Tbs Tamari or soy sauce (gluten-free)

20 mL/0.67 oz peanut oil (or vegetable oil of your choice) - see Notes

20 mL/0.67 oz sesame oil  - see Notes

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

750g./26 oz chicken pieces - thighs, wings, whatever - skin-on, skin-off, boneless, with bones - you choose:  see Notes

handful of herbs for serving - I used chives and parsley

Serve with rice and/or quinoa and steamed vegetables

Method:

Firstly toast the szechuan peppercorns in a small, dry frypan - keep an eye on them as they may burn if you grab a coffee or a loo break

Maggie says to crush them using a mortar and pestle, which I did but it took forever and wasn't very efficient, so I suggest bunging them into a small food processor!

Make a marinade in a large bowl, with all the ingredients except the chicken pieces and the herbs; give it a good stir and throw in the chicken

Stir till the chicken is well-coated, cover the bowl, and into the fridge it goes for 4 hours

After the 4 hours, when you're ready to cook, either place the chicken thighs and its marinade into your pre-heated oven at 190C/375F for about 30 minutes, or do what Maggie says - if you're using wings - and bake at 220C/430F for 12 minutes!

Rest it for a few minutes, then add the herbs, and more salt and pepper if you wish, and serve with the rice and veg.

Notes:

Maggie uses 2 kg/4.4 lb of wings!

I used sunflower oil as I didn't have peanut oil; I also reduced the amount of oil that Maggie suggests from 60 mL for each oil, to 20 mL, but you could use a bit less or a bit more, esp. if using the 2kg of wings

She doesn't give any ideas as to what to serve this with, so I chose to add rice and veg. to our plates :=)  I also decided to add herbs and seasoning to the dish 

gather your ingredients

toast the peppercorns - carefully!

make up the marinade

give it a good stir

and tip into a baking-paper-lined tray

baked at 190C for 30 mins.

we ate it with veg. in cheese sauce

and with rice + quinoa the next day

Maggie's book

This is a massive tome, weighing about 2.5 kilos!  She shares over 350 seasonal recipes; chapters arranged in seasons and ingredients.  Many interesting dishes herein :=)

C. Sherry M.