Friday 24 March 2023

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.

46 comments:

  1. I would have a hard time choosing between thighs and wings!

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  2. This recipe sounds delicious. I personally like a lot of spice and heat in my foods.

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  3. I love both wings and thighs :-) It sounds like a wonderful meal with either rice or quinoa.

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  4. This sounds like a tasty dish and cookbook is gorgeous. I had to smile when you said thighs instead of wings because 'you like a little meat on the bones.' I say the same exact thing. I cook wings for the big guy but I always make myself a breast, thigh or legs. Wings are too much work for such little meat.

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    1. I agree Lori. Why bother when all you do is suck off the sauce? :=)

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  5. We have been eating combinations of rice and quinoa. We add dried fruit and nuts to pump up the texture and flavour.

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    1. Yes we eat a lot of brown rice and quinoa; it comes in tubs!

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  6. Judee from Gluten Free A-Z Blog: Sherry, this is a really unique recipe. I don't think I've ever heard anything like it, but I love the spices. Surprised it was bland. Glad you fixed it up.

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    1. Yes it was surprisingly bland, but I beefed it up, so to speak :)

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  7. Those are interesting comments about Maggie who appears to be a goddess of the kitchen when she is on MasterChef Australia. I like the flavour combination in this recipe.
    from Tandy I Lavender and Lime https://tandysinclair.com

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    1. Oh yes everyone loves Maggie! And her food is fine but just a bit bland for our tastes.

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  8. Szechuan peppercorns are pretty spicy ... they make my mouth tingle. So I assume you added them to do away with the bland flavor of the original. Your version sounds tasty. The book sounds very obsolete. I have not heard of the author, maybe her fame wasn't exportable.

    Here, chicken wings used to be the cheapest part of the bird, but now they cost more than the meaty parts because they are trendy ... maybe this is also strange but true in Australia.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Oddly we didn't find the peppercorns at all spicy or numbing. Not so much obsolete; it's just that tastes change over time. Yes funny about those odd cuts of meat - like shanks and ribs being super trendy and expensive these days!

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  9. I love Maggie dearly - belong to her organization to better food in old age institutions and buy from her Barossa shop regularly. Methinks she is simply a very gracious example of her era in Australia fare. I used to love her and Simon Bryant's "The Cook and the Chef' (her being the cook) series . . . it is being shown late at night now - yes, it has aged! She never liked spices - the one thing she and Simon argued about :) ! The recipe is nice but still has too much oil in it - and I never use nut vegetable oils - SO bad for one's health . . . rice bran works well! And wings for taste because of the skin and fat . . . thighs for a healthier meal . . . will try your recipe with them . . . thanks for the memory . . .

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    1. Yes a great idea to improve food in aged care. And she is lovely, but her food is a bit bland for modern(er) times. Yes love that cooking show! I have adjusted the recipe above to show less oil as I did only use a third of the amount she suggested.

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    2. I very much like Maggie's approach re food in aged care - quite correctly methinks she feels not only should the meals not lead to further health problems, but - the three meals oft being the only 'active' parts of the day they should also be fun and appetizing - not stuff too strange but dishes the golden oldies can really talk about and enjoy and look forward too - the local cooks oft have to be taught first!! This is not about increased costs but knowledge !!!

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    3. Absolutely Eha. Food is so essential to our health and happiness! If only they didn't dumb down the food in aged care!

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  10. This was very tasty Dear! Mr P enjoyed it!

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  11. This looks really delicious! I think I"d use thighs too!

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  12. That's quite an interesting recipe. I have seen my mother make a stir fry with watermelon rind and using orange peeps in chutney. I'm sure it would have been tasty addition.

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  13. I love Maggie Beer's recipes although I've found the older I get, her recipes no longer agree with me.

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  14. Wings for me Sherry (sorry!). I always find orange a bit too over powering in recipes. But that's just me!

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  15. Maggie says wings, you say thighs and I say breasts - ha!ha! It's the only chicken I will eat :)

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    1. that's interesting you say breasts, Judi. I find them so dry and flavourless in general :) I enjoy them in a chicken pie where you cook up a white sauce and add them in, tho ...

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  16. That's an interesting idea to toast the peppercorns...I've never done that before. Does it give the pepper a nice, well, toasty flavor?? I'm intrigued! I do love chicken wings, and this recipe sounds interesting with the orange. And, yes, it is fascinating to look back at food trends over the decades - things change quickly even if they don't feel like it at the time!

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    1. Toasting spices always brings out the flavours - as long as you don't burn 'em! (who, me?) I really enjoyed the orange here in this dish. Yep food trends change soooo quickly. I used to love coconut water but I haven't had it in yonks!

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  17. I love wings but mainly because I love chicken skin and meat on the bone! This looks very good Sherry although I can't imagine a life without chilli.

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    1. I do like bone-in chicken thighs but Mr P. just won't do it :)

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  18. I can't imagine a life without chilli but this does look very good! And I'm all about wings :)

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    1. yes we love chilli in this house! But wings - not so much :)

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  19. I like meat on my bones too! And pack it with flavor and a little spice. You did a great job with this recipe.

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  20. Thought I had commented on this one, sigh. I just realised I have this book of hers, of course I do, I love the embroidered cover. The older I get, the more flavour I need and some of Maggie's recipes are a little bit too complicated I feel, still she is an icon. Really nice post Sherry.

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    1. I've always been a bit ambivalent about Maggie; ever since that 'scandal' about the products she had fraudulently put up for sale. But yes she is an icon, even if a sketchy one :=)

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  21. It is interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on Maggie and her minimal use of spice. I like what you have done here, Sherry -- both with the spices and using thighs over wings. (Wings are so much fork for very little reward, if you ask me.) I don't think I have any of her recipes - but I do agree she is a beautiful woman.

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    1. Thanks David. She seems lovely - friendly and open and welcoming. But she just needs a bit more spice in her life :)

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  22. I didn't end up cooking from this book. Even though it is older, both of my libraries didn't have it so I didn't bother. I am hoping to have better luck with this month's book.

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    1. I'm glad our library had her book. I wouldn't have wanted to buy it :) I have so many recipes I want to make from Emelia's book!

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