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Tequila Lime Hot Wings

Spicy chicken wings tossed in a tequila and lime sauce.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Tequila Lime Hot Wings

Time12 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Sprinkle wingettes with salt and black pepper.

  2. Heat oil to 350°F.

Fry and drain

  1. Fry wings in batches for 12 minutes.

  2. Drain wings on a rack.

Make the sauce and serve

  1. Combine remaining ingredients and boil over high heat until reduced by ⅓.

  2. Toss wings with sauce mixture and serve warm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

309Calories
32 gProtein
18 gFat
6 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,491 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  3. Chicken + limetop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,581 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Chicken + saucetop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,513 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Lime + saucetop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken wingettes
Provide the main protein, which crisps in hot oil while staying juicy inside.
Tequila
Adds aroma and flavour, and much of it evaporates as the sauce reduces.
Lime juice
Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances its heat and richness.
Hot sauce
Adds heat and pepper flavour to the reduced sauce.

The step that matters

Boil the sauce until reduced by one third. Boiling concentrates the liquid and evaporates much of the alcohol, so the sauce thickens and clings to the wings instead of running off. Stop too early and the sauce will be thin and watery.

Swap the lime

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, pepper, sauce):

  1. Limethe original
  2. Lemonfits about as well
  3. Avocadofits about as well
  4. Mangofits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, pepper, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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