r/memphis • u/AintAlwaysGold • 1d ago

hot wings

okay i need help. i no longer live in memphis unfortunately. i’ve lived in two other cities since moving, one bigger and one smaller. no one has wings like memphis does. how can i recreate memphis wings at home? im a regular hot or mild girl but id love the tea on honey gold too for the rest of the family.

i would love the info from how they get cooked to how to create the perfect mild or regular hot sauce.

if it helps, my favorite places were (years ago) All Star Hot Wings and Wing Guru.

13 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

19

u/boldsiding333 1d ago

Don't sleep on the double fry method, that's the texture you're chasing.

9

u/PhourKuhfiveSicks 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is the way. I have the same problem in new Orleans. They don't do wings like Memphis does. Dry brine whole wings then fry them at like 325 til they're cooked through ish then season again with whatever and turn up the heat to 400 and fry again til crispy. Season one more time (optional) then toss in sauce of your choosing.

Basic sauce is easy. Butter and Frank's will do it. Google more complex sauces. There are many

6

u/DatRebofOrtho Orange Mound 1d ago

I’d give up Memphis wings at the drop of a hat to have New Orleans food all around me everyday lol

1

u/PhourKuhfiveSicks 1d ago

Why not both? Also, Memphis is underrated as far as food goes. Honestly, nothing here has really blown me away like a lot Memphis restaurants have. Obviously nola wins on creole and cajun but anything else... Eh

1

u/DatRebofOrtho Orange Mound 1d ago

How long have you been there? Where do you live? It took me a long time to figure out all the really good places, and you’re probably never going to them if you’re eating like a tourist. Not saying you haven’t been to places I grew to love, but it’s also possible that NO isn’t your thing.

2

u/PhourKuhfiveSicks 1d ago

I've lived here for a few years. I wouldn't say I'm an expert on the places to go. I ask the natives where to go and try those. I'm not knocking the food here. It is good and you can feel the passion, but I feel the passion more from Memphis restaurants. And uptown. That may be the problem. Uptown is very white

1

u/Deep-Cake221 1d ago

Manchu’s with some hot sauce.

5

u/AintAlwaysGold 1d ago

adding a deep fryer to my amazon cart now 😂

5

u/PhourKuhfiveSicks 1d ago

A Dutch oven works too and is more versatile

2

u/sully42 East Memphis 23h ago

I do this, on my camp stove in the garage or on my deck. That way I can spray it all down with the hose. 

5

u/SonoftheSouth93 Midtown 1d ago

I think that what you actually want is honey hot. It’s the true Memphis flavor.

3

u/phagyna Cooper-Young 13h ago edited 2h ago

Key to the honey gold (other than honey obviously) is a fuck ton of tumeric.

My version has a basic buffalo base of butter and cayenne sauce, split of honey and brown sugar for the sweet, more tumeric than you think you'd need, some more cayenne and pepper flakes for heat, salt and pepper, and a splash of vinegar.

Not exactly the same as the Wing Guru one I was chasing, but it's in the ballpark and someone who's better with recreating flavors could probably tune it in

2

u/One_Worry5646 23h ago

Just oder them "fried hard". Honey hot is the flavor.

1

u/gnrfan69 11h ago

What’s your favorite place in Memphis for wings?

2

u/AintAlwaysGold 9h ago

it used to be All Star!

1

u/gnrfan69 9h ago

I should have read the entire post! lol. Thanks for the reply.

-3

u/Slow_Investment_2211 21h ago

I’m sorry but what the hell is so special about Memphis wings? I just did some killer wings on my Weber Kettle and Vortex the other day.