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See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSaR4WmVvRI

Alton Brown refrigerates his wings, then steams them, then refrigerate them again. The rationale behind refrigerating them was to dry them out so they would be crispy after baking them.

Was the first refrigeration actually needed? The wings are steamed afterwards, so pre-drying them seem pointless. Or was the first refrigeration's purpose something else?

Interestingly, that first refrigeration isn't mentioned here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/buffalo-wings-recipe.html

CookingNewbie
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  • The video can't be shown in the United States, so here's a [transcript of the episode](http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/gefp/) – Jolenealaska Jun 20 '14 at 00:44
  • Don't they *start out* in the fridge? You obviously don't want to steam them from frozen... – Aaronut Jun 20 '14 at 01:03
  • No, the point of the initial refrigeration was not to defrost. As a matter of fact, the wings he used were not frozen. – CookingNewbie Jun 20 '14 at 01:32
  • I think @Aaronut's point was, were the wings not just kept in the fridge, like you'd keep any other meat in the fridge? ie you get them home from the store, then put them in the fridge, then later take them out when you want to cook them, steam them, and fridge them again to crisp up. – ElendilTheTall Jun 20 '14 at 09:54
  • No, the purpose was to dry them out from my understanding. And that seems odd to me if you're going to steam them after. – CookingNewbie Jun 20 '14 at 13:27
  • I assume Jolene intended to link to : http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/season11/wings/Wing_Tran.htm – Joe Jun 20 '14 at 15:16
  • Also see : http://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/6644/67 – Joe Jun 20 '14 at 15:17
  • Yes, the purpose is to dry them out *after* steaming. Can you point us to where he says that they should be refrigerated *before* steaming for the same reason? Either in the transcript or a particular time code in the episode? – Aaronut Jun 20 '14 at 23:22
  • The video I linked to shows Alton refrigerating them before steaming them. – CookingNewbie Jun 21 '14 at 04:36
  • To be specific, he buys the wings, cuts them into three pieces, refrigerates them, steams them, re-refrigerates them, and bakes them. – James McLeod Jun 21 '14 at 10:52
  • @JamesMcLeod: Just because he does that, doesn't mean it's part of the recipe. He could well be refrigerating them to keep them safe while he takes a break or does something else. – Aaronut Jun 21 '14 at 11:43
  • Agreed, but here, he specifically says he is doing it to dry them out. For TV, they could edit out anything he does related to taking a break, of course. For all we know, he does each step on a different day. – James McLeod Jun 21 '14 at 11:45
  • @JamesMcLeod: No, he really never says that. And at around 20:20 he says, "you did steam, cool, and perfectly roast the pan and wing pieces, right?" - there's no reference at all to chilling before the steam. I really don't think that's what he was trying to suggest. Most people I know don't do their butchering and cooking in one really long session, especially if they have to prepare for the cooking part (getting steamer baskets, putting them together like he did, bringing water to a boil, etc.). He was just taking the opportunity to give a food safety lesson. – Aaronut Jun 21 '14 at 12:03
  • From the transcript, immediately after butchering the wings, before he has decided to steam them: "[at the refrigerator] Now, if we are going to produce a nice, crisp skin on these jewels, they have got to be dry when they meet the heat. And I don’t mean just, you know, pat-down-on-paper-towel dry. I mean the kind of dry that only a couple of hours in the old chill chest will create. That means you’re going to have to stash these in here, uncovered." – James McLeod Jun 21 '14 at 12:40
  • @JamesMcLeod: He discusses that *before* he gets into the steaming - remember that on his first try, he puts them straight into the oven. That's when he's saying they need to be dry - when they go into the oven and "meet the [high] heat". Obviously they don't need to be dry for steaming because steaming is a wet cooking method - but he hasn't talked about steaming at that point! – Aaronut Jun 21 '14 at 21:27
  • As described in my answer below, more or less. – James McLeod Jun 22 '14 at 05:34

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I don't see how refrigerating the wings before steaming them could possibly make a difference. They were initially refrigerated as he toyed with the idea of frying them or baking them directly, but then he was inspired to steam them to remove some of the fat before baking. It's artistic licence to tell a better and slightly longer story, nothing more.

If you go to the official recipe, you'll see that it skips this step:

James McLeod
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