Of Chicken Wings & Local Things

I'll be honest, I have an inherent weakness for Chicken Wings. Good ones, bad ones, ones that may not even be chicken; after about 2 pints I would eat them all. I used to be ashamed of this-someone who enjoys fine and wordly cuisine indulging in such a fast food trend. But then I noticed how regularly chef's cook chicken wings for themselves. Crispy, tender and a perfect vehicle for whatever sauce you care to toss them in-they are the perfect snack food.

The downside of course is that they are most often deep fried-ergo not exactly a health conscious option. And as such while I currently fight the winterly battle of the bulge, I try to lay off chicken wings whenever possible (I even had a salad last time they were up for staff meal!) Today as I walked through town to run some errands I must have walked past three pizza & wing joints, two restaurants that serve wings, and two more sports bar. And as I did I swear I could smell sweet sweet bbq sauce on the winds. But I thought I will not give into temptation! trudged to the butchers for some chicken breasts, and instead bought a lb of fresh chicken wings. However I decided to lightly toss them in seasoned flour, and bake then instead of frying, so at least it was a partial victory? I did notice however, the difference between these and normal wings.

1) They were huge, clearly the leftovers from trimmed whole chickens these were like miniature drumsticks!
2) They weren't fatty (the local butcher uses free range chickens with a beautiful yellow skin instead of the white bunched up fat)
3) there was still feathers in some....mmm fresh.

I enjoyed them immensely. But what I also enjoyed was the conversation I overheard while at the Butchers. An older gentleman was having a rambling conversation with the proprietor and it turns out that, once every two weeks this guy drives for an hour and a half just to stock up at this butcher. He had been a loyal customer for years and the Butcher will now cut and portion some odd cuts of meat just for the man and his wife, cutting down on their waste and food costs. That really impressed me, as did the knowledge that the butchers son is taking business courses while apprenticing with his father in hopes of taking over the family business.

I can't afford to always shop for my meat here, but you can be damned sure I am going to do it more often now!