Shownotes
This podcast episode features an engaging discussion with Paula Stashira, the author of the newly released book, "Wing Crush," which presents an impressive collection of 100 chicken wing recipes. We delve into the origins of her culinary passion, particularly her journey of transforming her love for chicken wings into a popular social media phenomenon. Throughout our conversation, we explore the nuances of wing preparation, cooking techniques, and the significance of ingredient selection, particularly concerning flavor profiles and heat levels. Stashira shares her insights on the importance of utilizing quality wings and the creative process behind her recipes that cater to diverse palates. The episode serves not only as a celebration of wings but also as a testament to the art of grilling and the communal joy it brings to gatherings.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Weber
- Sobeys
- Pit Boss
- Louisiana Grills
- Heritage Steel
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Time for Barbecue Nation with jt.
Speaker A:So fire up your grill, light the charcoal, and get your smoker cooking.
Speaker A:Now from the Turn It, Don't Burn it studios in Portland, here's jt.
Speaker A:This is an encore.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome to the nation.
Speaker A:That's Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with my co host and co pilot, Mrs. Leanne Whippen.
Speaker A:And the usual suspects are hanging around the Turn It, Don't Burn it studios here in Portland and also on the USA Radio networks.
Speaker A:We'd like to thank the folks at Painted Hills Natural Beef Beef the way nature intended.
Speaker A:You can check them out@painted hillsnaturalbeef.com well, if you're like a lot of us, you like chicken wings, I'm going to have to tell you about a story later in the show about some wings I just had.
Speaker A:They wouldn't make your book, I'll tell you that.
Speaker A:We've got Paula Stashira on us here with us today.
Speaker A:I don't know if you can see that without it fading out.
Speaker B:Yeah, I see it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Her new book is Wing Crush.
Speaker A:Paula, welcome to the show.
Speaker C:Thank you for having me.
Speaker A:You're a first time victim here.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:So why wings?
Speaker A:Let's just start out there.
Speaker A:Why wings?
Speaker C:Why wings?
Speaker C:That's a good question.
Speaker C:So when I started my Instagram account, I did it for fun.
Speaker C:So just random cooks.
Speaker C:I started on a Weber charcoal, just cooking everyday meals, a lot of meat.
Speaker C:And then one day it just dawned on me and a lot of people do Woman Crush Wednesday.
Speaker C:So for me it was like, okay, let me turn this into wings.
Speaker C:So Wing Crush Wednesday.
Speaker C:So every Wednesday I decided to post a different recipe of wings.
Speaker C:I tried to get creative, stuff them and, you know, just it kind of caught on with my audience.
Speaker C:And then a lot of people started doing Windcrush Wednesday.
Speaker C:So here we are today.
Speaker C:And when the publisher reached out to me, we went through a bunch of different ideas of what type of book to write and what they wanted for me to do.
Speaker C:And they were like, well, you do wings every Wednesday.
Speaker C:Can you come up with 60 recipes?
Speaker C:So I said, yeah, definitely.
Speaker C:I could probably do more than that.
Speaker C:So we started off with 60 and then in the end we did 100.
Speaker A:I see.
Speaker A:Wow, they look delightful.
Speaker A:And if I lived closer, I'd be over knocking on your door saying every Wednesday saying, what's up?
Speaker A:What are we going to eat tonight?
Speaker A:The photography is great.
Speaker A:How long did it take you to do the book?
Speaker C:It took me about two and a half months to write and then I shot all of the photos myself as well.
Speaker C:So as I was developing and grilling, I was doing videos to go along with it.
Speaker C:So I have videos that I can post up to certain recipes, and then I was styling and doing all the photography and editing everything.
Speaker C:So from start to finish, I started writing.
Speaker C:I think it was about March and every.
Speaker C:Like, the whole book, including photos, was due in July, mid July.
Speaker C:Of last year.
Speaker B:Yeah, of last year.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So it was fairly quick.
Speaker C:Like, it.
Speaker C:I didn't stop.
Speaker C:I. I swear, I bought out all of the wings in my.
Speaker C:In all of my grocery stores.
Speaker C:I think there was a shortage at one point.
Speaker A:So what was.
Speaker C:A lot of wings.
Speaker A:So what do you do with them after you cook them?
Speaker A:Do you give them away or do you give them, you know, send them to derelicts like me or what do you do?
Speaker A:And I'll tell you, because Leanne and I both have a lot of experience in this.
Speaker A:Um, last week, I had to do two hams for Easter show, and all of a sudden, I've got, like, 12 pounds of ham here, and I.
Speaker A:You know, so I give it away for the most part.
Speaker A:But what do you do?
Speaker C:Same thing as.
Speaker C:Well, we ate some of them, but there's only so many wings you can literally eat.
Speaker C:But I did give some away to family neighbors.
Speaker C:I would knock on their doors and say, hey, I just made these.
Speaker C:Do you want them?
Speaker C:And a lot of my neighbors would just see the smoke rolling in.
Speaker C:Like, are you making wings again?
Speaker C:Can you drop some off?
Speaker C:And I'm like, of course.
Speaker C:I'm like, please take them off my hands.
Speaker C:So definitely a lot were given away.
Speaker A:And tell me, once you finish the book, did you still have this burning desire, no pun intended, to cook wings, or did you take.
Speaker A:I know you had to do it for your wings Wednesday, but did you not expand that into the weekends or anything anymore?
Speaker A:Did you just like, we're going back to hamburgers?
Speaker C:I did take a little bit of a break.
Speaker C:A little bit.
Speaker C:I think I was winged out.
Speaker C:But the funny thing is, when I completely finished my book and everything was submitted, my husband said, well, let's go out and celebrate.
Speaker C:Where do you want to go?
Speaker C:So I said, let's go for wings.
Speaker C:And he says to me, are you serious?
Speaker C:I said, what better way to celebrate my book than to have someone else make wings for me?
Speaker C:So we ended up going out for wings.
Speaker C:But I did take a little bit of a break after finishing the book.
Speaker A:Yeah, we've talked about this before, Leanne.
Speaker A:When I get done with stuff, And I know when you get done with stuff, my big thing is I like to go for Chinese food, something totally different.
Speaker A:Totally different.
Speaker A:When you're developing your recipes.
Speaker A:And I know the inspiration can come from various things.
Speaker A:Sometimes it's a fleeting idea, sometimes it's something you see, whatever.
Speaker A:But tell us about your process when you get an idea for a particular recipe or flavor and then take us through how you do that.
Speaker C:So a lot of the times I think a lot, quite honestly, I don't think my brain ever shuts off, especially when I'm sleeping.
Speaker C:I think I get the best ideas right before closing my eyes and going to sleep.
Speaker C:So I like to think about the favorite foods I like and flavors and kind of like take out what is my favorite Chinese dish or Italian dish.
Speaker C:And I think of that and I'm, you know, my.
Speaker C:My mind just goes to different places.
Speaker C:Okay, well, if I mix that together and maybe stuffed it with this, I think that would be great.
Speaker C:So my brain is just developing different flavors and trying to put that into a recipe.
Speaker C:So I usually have a notepad so I don't forget.
Speaker C:So I write it down quickly, or I just grab my phone and I put it into the notes on my phone.
Speaker C:And then the next day, if I don't have wings at home, I will go out, pick them up, and just test it out.
Speaker C:So it's really random, to be honest.
Speaker C:Sometimes I'll be out for dinner and say, wow, this is amazing.
Speaker C:I think I can turn this into a wing flavor.
Speaker C:Or like you said, I'll see something on social media and it inspires me.
Speaker C:And I think, well, if I took those flavors but added X, Y and Z, I think that would be incredible.
Speaker C:It's something different.
Speaker C:I've never seen it.
Speaker C:So I try to do a lot of outside of the box things.
Speaker C:I do like traditional flavors as well, but I try to get people as well to get out of their comfort zone own with.
Speaker C:With the flavors I do to.
Speaker C:For them to try.
Speaker C:And I've seen so much of that on social media, which is amazing to see.
Speaker C:And I'm like, I didn't think of that.
Speaker C:That's amazing.
Speaker C:I have to try this.
Speaker C:And I'll always let people know.
Speaker C:This is great.
Speaker C:You know, I'm going to do this.
Speaker C:And obviously I give credit, but it's.
Speaker C:The process is very random.
Speaker C:For me, to be quite honest, the way the recipes come, it could be random.
Speaker C:I'll be feeding my dogs and think, you know what, that would be a great flavor.
Speaker C:And just something comes into My mind.
Speaker C:So it's.
Speaker C:It's a random process, quite honestly.
Speaker B:So 100 recipes, that's a lot of recipes.
Speaker B:How do you decide which ones make the cut that make it into the book?
Speaker C:It was tough, to be quite honest.
Speaker C:I think I had.
Speaker C:So basically before I started writing the book, I just took a piece of paper and started writing different ideas of flavors and things that I wanted to create into recipes.
Speaker C:And I think I had close to 200.
Speaker C:So at that point, I had to look at my list and think, okay, are some of these repetitive?
Speaker C:I didn't want them to be repetitive because certain things you think, okay, this would be great in three of these recipes.
Speaker C:But I didn't want to do that.
Speaker C:And I tried to keep it a little bit unique and traditional at the same time.
Speaker C:And I didn't want to make it too complicated where someone picks up the book and says, where am I getting these ingredients from?
Speaker C:This is, you know, I can't get this.
Speaker C:So I tried to create recipes that you can go to your local grocery store and pick up these ingredients and these seasonings.
Speaker C:And a lot of recipes do have where use your favorite seasoning, but here is the sauce.
Speaker C:So I tried to keep it easy because at the end of the day, who wants to spend half of their day looking for ingredients to make a recipe?
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:So I try to put myself in other people's shoes and think, okay, well, if I picked up a book, would I create these recipes?
Speaker C:Is this easy enough to do because your everyday cook doesn't want things to be so complicated.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Do you think it's important the quality of the wing, or do you have a preference on a brand or where you shop for wings?
Speaker B:Because wings come in all different sizes and that's going to mean a different cook time, and that affects your recipe.
Speaker B:But do you favor a certain size wing and where you purchase it?
Speaker C:That's actually a great question.
Speaker C:I've tested different wings from different grocery stores.
Speaker C:So I have a local grocery store which isn't too far from me, which is Sobeys.
Speaker C:I'm in Canada, so I don't think the US has those grocery stores.
Speaker C:So their wing is.
Speaker C:Their wings are actually one of the best ones because I find they don't shrink as much as other brands do after cooking.
Speaker C:Because I've tested somewhere, I look at the wing and wow, it's huge.
Speaker C:Amazing.
Speaker C:It looks like it is so much meat and then you cook it and it shrinks to half of its size.
Speaker C:So definitely I've tested different ones.
Speaker C:And one of my local grocery stores has the best ones.
Speaker C:That's the one that I always get them from.
Speaker C:And I always buy a bunch at a time.
Speaker C:Especially, especially when they're on sale.
Speaker C:I'm like, yes, I'm taking all of these.
Speaker B:Are they injected in with a salt solution of any sort that prevents it from shrinking or it's just straight up all natural?
Speaker C:All natural.
Speaker C:These ones are.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:That's for people who don't know.
Speaker A:And if you've listened to this show, you've heard us talk about it before.
Speaker A:Little, little chickens are the ones that get filled up with stuff before they go to market for the most part.
Speaker A:And I've noticed that too when I, when I do some wings, if I buy one of the quote unquote national brands, not naming any names here, they do shrink up a lot more if I, unless I just buy like the all natural kind of products, they will usually suffice in not shrinking and holding the flavor.
Speaker A:So it's not like you're nibbling on a bone that's got some, you know, Reebok taped on it or something like that.
Speaker A:It works out better.
Speaker A:Now we're going to take a break here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:We're going to be back with Paula Stashera.
Speaker A:Did I say it right?
Speaker C:Perfect.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:Queen of the Grill.
Speaker A:Her new book, Wing Crush.
Speaker A:There it is again.
Speaker A:See, it doesn't get blotted out by the green screen and the podcast.
Speaker A:All up in my grills.
Speaker A:We'll be back with Paul in just a minute, ready for a new ride from over a thousand vehicles at Weston Kia.
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Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's Jeff here.
Speaker A:I want to tell you about something really cool.
Speaker A:Heritage steel cookware.
Speaker A:I just got mine.
Speaker A:I do a lot of cooking and it's got five ply construction.
Speaker A:Stay cool handles.
Speaker A:It's titanium strengthened.
Speaker A:It's got all the great stuff.
Speaker A:Just go to Heritagesteel US and find out more.
Speaker A:You'll love it.
Speaker A:I guarantee it.
Speaker A:This is an encore.
Speaker A:Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with Leanne Whippen and today we're talking with Paula Stashira, Queen of the grill.
Speaker A:How'd you come up with that?
Speaker C:Now, Queen of the Grill, funny story goes back to when we get together with our family for holidays.
Speaker C:And when I really started getting into the grilling and stuff, one of my cousins came up to me and said, wow, this is amazing.
Speaker C:The grill was loaded.
Speaker C:Just skewers and potatoes and wings and sausages.
Speaker C:And he was just kind of watching me from afar.
Speaker C:And he comes up to me and he's like, you're like the queen of the grill.
Speaker C:Look at all this.
Speaker C:So that kind of stuck in the back of my mind.
Speaker C:I said, you know what?
Speaker C:Let me see if anyone's taken this name.
Speaker C:And no one did.
Speaker C:And I said, oh, all right.
Speaker C:I'm taking it.
Speaker C:It's mine.
Speaker C:That's it.
Speaker A:There you go.
Speaker A:I wanted to tell you folks out there listening, also, if you want to reach out to us, you can just go to Barbecue Nation, JT.com there's an icon down there where you can send us a message, and either Leanne or myself will respond to you.
Speaker A:We were also on Facebook, Twitter, and we have our private accounts on there, too.
Speaker A:They're not really private, individual accounts instead of just the shows.
Speaker A:Anyway, we were out there.
Speaker A:Paula was talking about Instagram.
Speaker A:We've got one of those, too, I think.
Speaker A:Anyway, so one of my.
Speaker A:Okay, it's pet peeve time.
Speaker A:Paula.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:And nothing with you.
Speaker A:One thing that really I don't care for, I'll put it very nicely, is that some restaurants you go into and you're just really hungry for wings.
Speaker A:I'm a golfer, and when you get done, I think wings are some of the greatest things.
Speaker A:You can get a couple of orders of them and share them with people around the table or at home, whatever you're doing.
Speaker A:But some of the places just, like, dip them, bathe them in sauces, and that's.
Speaker A:They're counting on that because once you.
Speaker A:If you get the sauce off there, they're all the same.
Speaker A:They're not really cooked with any seasonings or anything.
Speaker A:They're just dipped in these.
Speaker A:These monster sauces.
Speaker A:And they were cooked properly, but there was whatever their sauce.
Speaker A:I know what the profile was, but whoever made it, it was so thick that I only ate two of them and took the rest home.
Speaker A:And then I throw them away, actually, because it was just too saucy.
Speaker A:And you find that, too, if you go to some of the wing chain stores, you know, they're just too heavy in the sauce for me.
Speaker A:I want to get your take on that.
Speaker A:And, Leanne, I agree.
Speaker C:Typically, when I do go out for wings, I normally get dry rubs.
Speaker C:Just because, like you said, I've had some experiences with the sauces that it's just.
Speaker C:It's too much.
Speaker C:All you're tasting is the sauce, and there's no real flavor behind the wings.
Speaker C:So for me, I always get dry rubbed and I get a sauce on the side.
Speaker C:So that way I can kind of control how much sauce I put on the wing.
Speaker C:And it comes seasoned to begin with.
Speaker C:So definitely I've had that experience as well.
Speaker C:I'm not a fan.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Leanne.
Speaker B:I eat wings like I eat my barbecue sauce on the side.
Speaker B:You know, I love the taste of smoke and meat, so I don't want it to be destroyed or taken away by a heavy sauce.
Speaker B:I did notice in your book, however, that you do focus on really, like, the seasoning and the cooking process, and then the sauce is an additional flavor, which I really love about it.
Speaker B:One question I have is chicken.
Speaker B:You know, as you barbecue chicken, it's hard to get a crispy skin, and I love crispy skin on wings.
Speaker B:I feel like your methods lends itself to crispy skin.
Speaker B:Do you think that cooking at the higher temperature is the way to go?
Speaker C:Personally, for myself, yes.
Speaker C:Especially on a pellet grill, I find that when I take them up to 190, they do get more of a crispier skin.
Speaker C:A lot of times I will add cornstarch if I do want it to be a little bit more crispier, but I find that the higher the temperature definitely brings it up to that crispiness that I like.
Speaker C:Personally, I feel like 165, they're still a little bit softer on a charcoal grill.
Speaker C:That's different.
Speaker C:You can take them to 165 and they'll be crispy because it's charcoal.
Speaker C:But I find for me, 190 on a pellet grill definitely works out better.
Speaker B:Did you use the same grill for all the recipes in the book or did you use different grills?
Speaker C:I use the same grill.
Speaker C:So I use the pellet grill throughout the whole cooking process.
Speaker C:And I did a bunch of them all at the same time.
Speaker C:Like, I could just fit them all in.
Speaker C:So, yeah.
Speaker C:But I do cook on a charcoal grill as well outside of my book.
Speaker C:So that's one of my favorite ways to cook wings is on a charcoal grill as well.
Speaker C:I just love the taste and the flavor from the charcoal.
Speaker C:But yes, I did use the pellet grill throughout the whole book.
Speaker A:Do you have Tell us about your grills.
Speaker A:We've got a couple minutes left in this segment.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:What do you use specifically when you're using your pellet grill?
Speaker A:Is there any.
Speaker A:I. I will tell you that research has shown, but most people don't adhere to it, that the flavored pellets make a very, very, very minute difference in the flavor profile.
Speaker A:Some people swear by them, like, oh, man, I gotta cook with hickory or whatever.
Speaker A:And other people are a bit like me, I think, and say it doesn't make that much difference.
Speaker A:I want to get your thoughts on that and talk about your grills here.
Speaker A:And if we don't finish in this segment, we'll pick it up on the next end.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:I agree.
Speaker C:I feel like the different flavors of pellets do not change the taste in the food.
Speaker C:I do not find a difference.
Speaker C:So I just grab whatever, I open whatever's piled, whichever flavors there, and I just use it.
Speaker C:I've tested it myself where I tried.
Speaker C:Okay, let me use apple, then I'll use cherry.
Speaker C:Then I'll use hickory.
Speaker C:Let me see if it tastes different.
Speaker C:And it.
Speaker C:To me, it doesn't.
Speaker C:I'm not sure.
Speaker C:Maybe to some people it does, but I don't find the difference.
Speaker C:And as far as the grills, I have a Pit Boss Navigator 16.
Speaker C:I'm even wearing my Pit Boss.
Speaker C:My.
Speaker C:You go, girl.
Speaker C:You go, girl.
Speaker C:I love that grill.
Speaker C:That's actually my favorite pellet smoker at this point.
Speaker C:So I've got one of those.
Speaker C:I've got a Louisiana Grills Kamado style.
Speaker C:I love that one.
Speaker C:It's incredible.
Speaker C:It just holds the heat so well, and you barely have to use any charcoal.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:That's my favorite charcoal grill.
Speaker C:I do have a Weber kettle as well, which I started when I started my account.
Speaker C:That's the first grill that I had on there, so I've got that still.
Speaker C:I have a Louisiana Grills smoker as well.
Speaker C:What else do I have?
Speaker C:I have so many grills.
Speaker C:Yeah, I have griddles.
Speaker C:Pit Boss griddles.
Speaker C:Two of them.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Look at Leanne just smiling.
Speaker C:And I do have a Louisiana Grills vertical smoker.
Speaker C:My husband built me a grill garage where all of my grills are stored in this grill garage.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:Well, I hope that.
Speaker B:So for those who are unaware, Louisiana Grills is another division, so it's like a sister brand to Pit Boss Grills.
Speaker B:So it's manufactured by the same company, but it is a.
Speaker B:They're still different, you know, as far as their construction and what have you.
Speaker B:So that's awesome.
Speaker A:My God.
Speaker A:There'll be no living with the both of you.
Speaker A:We're going to take another break here on Barbecue Nation and come back with Leanne and Paula right after this.
Speaker A:Stay with us.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's JT and I have eaten.
Speaker A:If you've ever looked at me, you know that.
Speaker A:But I have eaten seafood all over the world and I can tell you there's no place better than here in Oregon and our Dungeness crab.
Speaker A:If you want to learn more about Oregon Dungeness crab, just go to oregondungeness.org and find out how to cook it, how to catch it, where to buy it, and the sustainability of what they're doing there in the Oregon Crab Commission.
Speaker A:Check it out.
Speaker A:This is an encore.
Speaker A:Welcome back to Barbecue Nation here on USA Radio Networks.
Speaker A:And of course, you can find our podcast or any of your local podcasts are sold.
Speaker A:Last I checked, we were on 30 odd platforms of social media out there and it's very easy to find us.
Speaker A:And again, if you're having trouble with that, just go to the Barbecue Nation JT website.
Speaker A:We're talking with Paula Stashira here.
Speaker A:New book, Wing Crush.
Speaker A:You've got some pretty good endorsements on the back there with with Chris Sussman and of course, Adam Clark from, from Pit Boss.
Speaker A:Like that and Tara Cox.
Speaker A:That's gives you a little chutzpah there, as they would say.
Speaker A:I think that's the way they say it isn't.
Speaker B:I think it's hooks, isn't it?
Speaker A:I don' okay, so out of all your recipes here, I got to tell you, I just went by it again.
Speaker A:So let me find it again here.
Speaker A:One of the recipes I really looked at was your spicy chili garlic.
Speaker A:Because I get to sit in this chair.
Speaker A:I get to say things that some people maybe can't say in their shows.
Speaker A:I think people that get overzealous with either the sauce or the rubs to make the wings too hot.
Speaker A:I don't think they do all the effort to prepare the wings and serve them.
Speaker A:I don't think they're doing them any flavors, favors or flavors because it's just, it's just hot.
Speaker A:You know, you're not tasting the meat of the wing and that's why you go through all the work, is to taste that.
Speaker A:I want to get your thoughts on, on seasonings and how you determine how much heat is enough and how you determine, like I call them for lily lips around here because my wife won't eat anything that's over like a point zero one on the Scoville scale.
Speaker A:So anyway, give me your thoughts on that.
Speaker C:Personally, I like spicy foods, but when I was doing these recipes, I tried to tone them down a little bit just because I know a lot of people don't have tolerance to heat, but some people do.
Speaker C:So some recipes are very hot for those people that truly, truly love hot wings.
Speaker C:And when I do any recipes that have cayenne, pepp or red pepper flakes, I always start with a little bit at a time and then I mix it and I taste it before I even put it onto the wings.
Speaker C:So if it's too spicy for me before I even put it on the wings, I won't put any more.
Speaker C:Because once you put it on the wings, the heat level comes up even higher once you cook the wings.
Speaker C:So I always try to start with a little bit and then pick it up if I need to.
Speaker C:But I mean, I don't like anything crazy as far as heat goes.
Speaker C:Like I won't eat a scotch bonnet like it's a pickle or something.
Speaker C:I would never do that.
Speaker C:Some people can handle that kind of heat.
Speaker C:So I was thinking of the general public.
Speaker C:So if this is too spicy for me, it's going to be way, way too spicy for anybody else.
Speaker C:So I would knock the heat down that way.
Speaker A:How do you prepare?
Speaker A:I mean, some people that are gospel of the wings people, they're like, okay, I clipped the end off the actual tip of the win.
Speaker A:I do this, I trim it or I, I pull the skin up and I, and I understand when you're trying to stuff something in there, but how are you actually kind of, if you will, dissecting your wings and prepping them for cook?
Speaker C:So it depends.
Speaker C:Sometimes I already buy them split.
Speaker C:When they're split, I just, I pat them dry.
Speaker C:I try to take all any excess liquids from, from the packaging.
Speaker C:So I, I get like a wire rack, I pat them down like I let them sit a little bit so they dry off.
Speaker C:Then I season them.
Speaker C:If I do get them like whole wing, I don't typically cut them.
Speaker C:I'll actually grill the whole wing and just leave it that way and just, just eat it.
Speaker C:Just eat it like that and just nibble on every little piece that's on there.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker C:And I like the tips because they get really crispy.
Speaker B:They get them too.
Speaker C:I like chewing on the crispy tips.
Speaker A:Yeah, I've had some that got really, really crispy.
Speaker A:My future son in law, watch, I'll say that and screw the whole thing up.
Speaker A:But he came in one day and he said is, is your smoker supposed to be putting out that much smoke?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:When I went out and looked at it because it was way too much and the wrong color.
Speaker A:So we ended up.
Speaker A:We ended up going and buying wings that day.
Speaker A:Pre mades.
Speaker A:But, yeah, you got to be careful of that.
Speaker A:I find it interesting that a lot of people, when they're.
Speaker A:When they're trying to do wings at home and stuff.
Speaker A:Paula.
Speaker A:They actually do back to the sauces.
Speaker A:They'll actually put a little salt and pepper on them, which is fine.
Speaker A:And then, you know, 10, 15 minutes into the cook, they're starting to baste.
Speaker A:And Leanna and I are both kind of glazers, if we use it at all, but they'll do that.
Speaker A:And then you come out with this really kind of.
Speaker A:It's crispy, but it's more charred than anything.
Speaker A:So you.
Speaker A:That's not good for you?
Speaker C:Not for me.
Speaker C:If I do put sauce on, I'm either basting the last five minutes of the cook just so it gets it on there and I keep it on and the glaze comes out, or I'll literally just toss them after they're done, I'll put them in a bowl and toss them.
Speaker C:But I will never do it within, like, 10 minutes or 15 minutes of cooking because you're.
Speaker C:You're burning it.
Speaker C:You're not glazing it, you're burning it.
Speaker C:So typically, the last five to ten minutes, or I'm just tossing them in the end.
Speaker B:Do you feel like brining is something that's necessary for wings or.
Speaker B:Not really, since it's really not a lot of meat on the bone to tenderize, or are they pretty much flavorful and tender just as is, or is brining a good option?
Speaker C:I think it's a good option depending on the flavor profile you want.
Speaker C:I typically don't brine my wings, but if I'm doing, like, for example, dill pickle wings.
Speaker C:Pickle wings.
Speaker C:I love brining them in pickle juice because you get that extra flavor of that pickle brine.
Speaker C:So I like doing that.
Speaker C:I also use.
Speaker C:I did a recipe not too long ago where I made a spicy recipe, like spicy wings.
Speaker C:So I use the brine from hot pepper rings.
Speaker C:So I use that brine.
Speaker C:So it absorbed.
Speaker C:I think I did it only about two hours.
Speaker C:You don't really need much more than that.
Speaker C:Two to four hours, I would say maximum.
Speaker C:But I really wanted the spice to absorb into the meat, meat into the skin, and then I put less cayenne pepper into the actual seasoning because I knew that wing was going to be spicy.
Speaker C:I think it just depends really, on the flavor profile.
Speaker C:You're working on as far as the wing, but I don't think it's really necessary to do it every time.
Speaker B:I feel like a lot of these recipes can be used or adapted to even skin on chicken thighs.
Speaker B:They're very versatile, the recipes.
Speaker B:They aren't just four wings.
Speaker B:You can use them in other poultry type recipes, or even turkey wings for that matter, which I really like.
Speaker B:So I don't know if you've actually tried to do that before.
Speaker C:Yeah, I have, actually.
Speaker C:So when I was writing the book, I was also thinking about, can these recipes be adapted to other chicken recipes?
Speaker C:So chicken breasts, chicken thighs, you know, like, even turkey wings.
Speaker C:That's actually something I really want to do.
Speaker C:And I have an idea for that.
Speaker C:They'll be stuffed.
Speaker C:So I already have this in my mind.
Speaker C:I'm already working on another recipe in my mind.
Speaker C:But definitely that was kind of my process as well, writing the book, thinking that people can take this and adapt it to other chicken recipes.
Speaker B:So, yeah, a lot of people are actually frying after they smoke wings.
Speaker B:What's your opinion of that?
Speaker C:I've done it once.
Speaker C:They come out crispy.
Speaker C:So you definitely like.
Speaker C:If you want crispy wings, that's a good way to go.
Speaker C:You do taste the smoke after you fry them, because you're only frying them for two to three minutes because you're finishing them at about 145.
Speaker C:And then to get to 165 at 350, 53, 75 in the fryer, it's two to three minutes.
Speaker C:I've done it once.
Speaker C:I mean, I like them.
Speaker C:Yeah, I. I haven't done it more than once.
Speaker C:But personally, I like smoking my wings.
Speaker C:That's just my personal preference.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Have you had any problems in Canada since all the COVID stuff and everything like that with having an ample, continual supply of wings?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:And this was during my writing process and trying to shoot my book with enough wings.
Speaker C:So definitely there was a shortage.
Speaker C:And I went to the grocery store and they only had two packages of chicken wings.
Speaker C:And I was blown away.
Speaker C:And so I took one because I said, you know what?
Speaker C:I'm just going to leave this one for someone else.
Speaker C:I don't want to be greedy.
Speaker C:So I just took the one package and thought, maybe tomorrow or the next day they'll get their delivery.
Speaker C:But I couldn't find any.
Speaker C:So I had to go to a different store and the wings I bought weren't my preference.
Speaker C:But I did struggle for a little bit writing the book because I needed so many to do was tough during that time.
Speaker C:Definitely last year was a little bit tough to get wings.
Speaker B:So you're part of our problem and our reason why we can't find wings.
Speaker A:It's because of you.
Speaker C:I think I put that in my book somewhere.
Speaker C:When you read the introduction, I think I put in there that there was a shortage because of me.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, and if you don't know who we're talking to, we're talking to Paula stichting Shira, and she's the cause of your wing problems.
Speaker C:I take, I take full responsibility.
Speaker C:And I'm surprised my neighbors weren't knocking at my door going, did you really buy the last package?
Speaker A:I probably wouldn't have been so nice.
Speaker B:I agree, I agree.
Speaker A:I'd been like, you know, you snooze, you lose out there, folks.
Speaker A:So doing that, how many pounds, if you will, of wings did you go through making this book?
Speaker A:I mean, a lot of chickens gave up their flying capacity for you, you know.
Speaker A:So what's your estimate on that?
Speaker C:I mean, £200.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker B:Yeah, but you would have to, because if you do a pound for each recipe.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's probably right about.
Speaker C:It's about, let's just say two to four with some waste and getting hungry.
Speaker C:And I'm not shooting this because I'm hungry and I'm going to eat this.
Speaker B:Right, right.
Speaker A:Yeah, Well, I can see that because that's as Leanne knows.
Speaker A:That's why on TV we do the before, the after and the middle because there's always something to eat when you go on there.
Speaker B:Are you going to be doing a book tour?
Speaker C:Yes, I'm sort of starting right now.
Speaker C:So I have a TV appearance on the 27th, which is the day after my book launches.
Speaker C:So my book is releasing on April 26th.
Speaker C:And on the 27th, I have a TV appearance for a news channel in Portland.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker A:If you're listening, Rach, better listen to Paula.
Speaker A:We're going to take another break here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:We'll be back with Paula Stashera and Queen of the Grill.
Speaker A:Mind you, in our new book, Wing Crush 100 Epic Recipes.
Speaker A:And they are so don't go away.
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Speaker A:Hey, everybody, J.T.
Speaker A:Here.
Speaker A:I want to tell you about the Hammerstahl knives.
Speaker A:Hammerstall combines German steel with beautiful and functioning designs.
Speaker A:They're part of the Heritage Steel Group, which also does their pots and pans.
Speaker A:So go to Heritage Ste Deal us.
Speaker A:Check out the Hammer Stall knives.
Speaker A:If you're really into cooking, I think you're really going to like them.
Speaker A:This is an encore.
Speaker A:Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:I'm JT along with Ms. Leanne Whippen.
Speaker A:You got to get a handle like that, Leanne.
Speaker B:What?
Speaker A:Queen of the Grill.
Speaker A:Something.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Blonde Bomber.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:It's all good.
Speaker B:But anyway, I don't mind if it's associated with Wings.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, we'll try with Paula Shira here, Queen of the Grill.
Speaker A:Oh, there went my water.
Speaker A:She's got a new book out, Wing Crush.
Speaker A:Try to do that.
Speaker A:We'll obviously post an image of the book on the.
Speaker B:Is it going to be on Amazon?
Speaker B:Like, where can we buy it?
Speaker C:So it's available worldwide, so anyone that has access to Amazon can order the book.
Speaker C:Barnes and Noble, Chapters Indigo, you can download it on Apple Books, Google Books, so literally everywhere.
Speaker B:Fantastic.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:For people that are just starting to cook outside and because the.
Speaker A:The theme and the industry, if you will, of grilling and barbecuing, especially since COVID is just kind of shot through the roof and, you know, doesn't sound like a big deal to the three of us, but if they've never cooked wings before outside, and maybe they've got.
Speaker A:Maybe they got a new pellet grill, maybe they got a new charcoal grill, maybe they've got their old Weber gas grill.
Speaker A:Kind of walk them through that process real quick because, you know, they may be used to burning a steak or flipping a burger or, you know, a pork chop or something, but maybe they've never attacked doing wings.
Speaker A:How can you help them?
Speaker C:I think the most important thing is to know your grill.
Speaker C:The first thing, every grill is different.
Speaker C:Every grill has heat spots, hot spots.
Speaker C:So you need to figure out which side is hotter.
Speaker C:So you don't want to put your flats.
Speaker C:You don't want to start your flats on the hotter side.
Speaker C:You want to put your drums on that side.
Speaker C:So I think that's very important.
Speaker C:Test your grill.
Speaker C:Know your grill season to your liking.
Speaker C:I mean, there's recipes you can follow, but a lot of times you have to do it to preference.
Speaker C:Some people don't like too much salt.
Speaker C:Some people don't like pepper at all.
Speaker C:So you have to kind of figure out what you like.
Speaker C:But as far as putting wings on a smoker, I wouldn't flip them too much, flip them halfway through or don't.
Speaker C:Sometimes I don't even flip my wings on the smoker.
Speaker C:I just let them stay on there.
Speaker C:I might rotate them if I see that this drum is cooking faster because this spot is hotter.
Speaker C:So I rotate those around.
Speaker C:But you definitely have to keep an eye on them.
Speaker C:Have a thermometer, take the temperature and cook it to your liking, whether it's 165, 190, however you like it.
Speaker C:But just make sure it's 165 minimum.
Speaker C:You don't want to go under that.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, you know, I think, you know, as we were talking about the pit boss smoker, is that it has that slide out so you can get direct heat.
Speaker B:So if you want to add a little char at the end, you can move them over the direct heat.
Speaker B:Do you find that using rubs with sugar content tends to burn the skin versus just, you know, spices that are without sugar?
Speaker B:Like, I think.
Speaker B:Do you have to be more careful when there's sugar involved?
Speaker C:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker C:It caramelizes quicker, it burns a little quicker.
Speaker C:So you definitely have to keep an eye on it and move them around a little more frequently.
Speaker C:Just rotating them.
Speaker C:You don't.
Speaker C:If you flip.
Speaker C:You can flip them, but rotating them, you know, I typically just turn them on.
Speaker C:Like, I'll turn them all over and see.
Speaker C:Okay, well, this one's getting a little darker and this one isn't.
Speaker C:So I'll move them from one spot to the other.
Speaker C:But definitely, if you are using any rubs that have sugar, you have to be careful because they will.
Speaker C:They'll tend to burn a little bit quicker.
Speaker C:Sorry.
Speaker A:Go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker B:I was just going to say, when you start, like, with a flap, there's obviously more skin on the one side than the other side.
Speaker B:Do you think it's better to start them skin side down versus the other way or.
Speaker B:It doesn't really matter.
Speaker C:To be honest, for me, it doesn't matter.
Speaker C:I always just do them skin side up.
Speaker C:I haven't found a difference for myself.
Speaker A:Does it bother you, Paula, if there is, like, on the tip of the wing or if there's an exposed bone on the flat?
Speaker A:Does it bother you if that gets really dark?
Speaker A:I mean, it's not good imaging for pictures.
Speaker A:I understand that.
Speaker A:But if you're just having a, you know, knocking back a couple of labots and, you know, watching some sports game or something, does that.
Speaker A:Does that Bother you?
Speaker C:No, it doesn't bother me, but as far as photos go, yeah, definitely.
Speaker C:I would try to hide that, but personally, doesn't bother me either way.
Speaker B:Do you think that bone in wings have more flavor than boneless?
Speaker B:Because the bones involved.
Speaker C:I think so.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:There is a difference.
Speaker C:There.
Speaker C:There is a difference.
Speaker C:I find there is a difference in taste.
Speaker C:I'm not a fan of boneless wings neither.
Speaker C:I mean, they're chicken nuggets.
Speaker C:That's not boneless wings.
Speaker C:That's chicken nuggets.
Speaker A:I don't know if you ever saw this commercial in Canada, but we had a commercial here years ago, and they were talking about boneless nuggets, boneless wings like that.
Speaker A:And the one guy goes, goes, well, it's chicken parts is parts.
Speaker A:And that's all he could say about it.
Speaker A:And it's always stuck in my head.
Speaker A:Of course, I've got a lot of useless information up there, but I've always kind of taken that to heart that, you know, if you're gonna do wings like that, I mean, you gotta have the bone in it.
Speaker A:What are you gonna hold on to?
Speaker A:You know, what are you gonna, like, put it in your mouth and draw out all the meat off of it and fun stuff like that, you know, what are you going to throw at the cat?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:But it's not going to be a boneless, boneless anything.
Speaker A:Is there anything on your agenda?
Speaker A:I know this is not even out to the public yet, or are you considering doing another book?
Speaker C:I would love to, absolutely.
Speaker C:This experience was incredible.
Speaker C:Paid street.
Speaker C:Amazing, amazing people behind this company, and they were just so helpful and.
Speaker C:And anytime I needed anything, they were there and suggestions.
Speaker C:And just even now, after completing the book, they're all working so hard to try to get me to do a tour and get on shows and stuff like that.
Speaker C:So they're constantly updating me about things.
Speaker C:So absolutely.
Speaker C:I would love to do another one.
Speaker C:Nothing in the works at this point, but we'll see.
Speaker A:It'll get there.
Speaker C:We'll see how this one goes.
Speaker A:So are they going to pay you in American money money or they get.
Speaker C:Or Canadian money American?
Speaker C:Okay, I had to ask.
Speaker A:I had to ask.
Speaker A:Sorry about that.
Speaker A:Paula's gonna stick around for after hours, which she may never speak to us again after Leanne gets done with her there.
Speaker B:Oh, it's more like you.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:But we have been talking with Paula Stashira, and I got the name right three times.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's of commendable first for me.
Speaker A:Her new book is Wing Crush 100 Epic Recipes.
Speaker A:Tell us about your Instagram and your other social media pages, how people can find you.
Speaker C:So Instagram, my handle is Queen of the Grill and I'm also on TikTok, same user handle, Queen of the Grill.
Speaker B:Very good.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:And you don't have 344 platforms like we do.
Speaker A:You're smart, smart girl if you do that.
Speaker A:Paula Stashera, new book, Wayne Crush 100 Epic Recipes.
Speaker A:That'll be out when?
Speaker A:The 26th.
Speaker C:Yes, April 26th.
Speaker A:April 26th.
Speaker A:You can also follow follow Paula on Instagram.
Speaker A:And TikTok is queen of the Grill.
Speaker A:She's got a podcast all up in my grills and it's been a pleasure.
Speaker A:But you are going to stick around for the inquisition part.
Speaker A:So yes, we'll do that.
Speaker A:We'll be back next week.
Speaker A:That'll be Leanne.
Speaker A:And with another guest here on Barbecue Nation, we hope you all have a good week.
Speaker A:And be kind to somebody out there, would you?
Speaker A:Take care.
Speaker A:Barbecue Nation is produced by JTSV LLC Productions in association with Salem Media Group.
Speaker A:All rights reserved.
