Admiral Dane’s Diner: Meta Ridley (and Red Ridley) Wings!

Admiral Dane’s Diner is a monthly series that is all about making delectable food inspired by the Metroid series. Each month, patrons and team members vote from a list of food ideas and then I attempt to create them. Since the Metroid series doesn’t really have food at its heart (like say Zelda or the Mother series), Admiral Dane’s Diner is more of just a fun experiment that lets me indulge in trying out new recipes.

For this month’s menu at Admiral Dane’s Diner, the patrons and team members voted on making Meta Ridley Wings.

At first, I was going to make a chicken yassa style wings, since they come out a slight golden color (plus they are utterly delicious). Then, I remembered that there is actually a golden barbecue sauce made famous in South Carolina. This would be a perfect sauce since it would make everything more golden than in my previous plan. Then, my family bought a humongous pack of wings, enough for a second sauce. Perfect for a Red Ridley sauce! Such as a Kansas City barbecue sauce.

For this recipe, you’ll need two baking pans (around 9″ by 13″) lined with aluminum foil and topped with a baking rack. This is essential because you’ll be baking the wings and you need the air to get under the wings to get them nice and cooked. A pair of tongs makes this recipe much easier as well.

You’ll also need a large bowl for brining the wings. Brining the wings isn’t essential, but it makes for much more flavorful and moist wings.

Chicken Wing Brine

2-4 lbs chicken wings (you can leave them whole for this part of the process)

Enough water to cover the chicken wings (I had three pounds, so I used around 4 cups of water)

1/3 cup salt (use a little less for two pounds chicken, a little more for four pounds chicken)

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice or vinegar (this helps brighten the flavor)

Place wings in large bowl, cover with the water, then add salt and lemon. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in refrigerator from between 2-5 hours. While the wings are brining, make the sauces. Let’s start with the Meta Ridley sauce.

Meta Ridley (Carolina Gold) Sauce

(I made a double batch, half for basting the wings, half for dipping. I ended up with extra sauce. Plan accordingly for how many wings you have!)

1 cup yellow mustard (I used 1 1/2 cups yellow, 1/2 cup dijon)

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

cayenne (to taste; I used 1/2 teaspoon)

hot sauce (to taste; I put in a dash)

Add all ingredients into a saucepan, and whisk over medium heat

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and let the sauce cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. The Meta Ridley sauce is now done!

Red Ridley (Kansas City) Sauce

(I didn’t double the recipe for this one but still was left with some extra dipping sauce.)

14 oz can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup ketchup

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup molasses (I used full flavored, which gave it a darker color)

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon mustard (I used dijon)

Place all ingredients into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Let the sauce simmer for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. The Red Ridley sauce is now ready!

Now that both sauces are ready, the wings should be around done brining. However, you can make the sauces a day early if you so desire.

Time to cook! Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Take your wings out of the brine and pat them dry. If your wings came whole, it’s time to do some dissection.

Cut off the wing tip and set aside to use for making a quick chicken broth. Break the joint in the middle of the wing and cut with a knife. You should be able to separate the two pieces of the wings easily.

Split each sauce into two separate bowls. One bowl will be set aside for dipping, the other for basting. This is important because you don’t want to contaminate your sauce with raw chicken!

Place your wings on the racks and brush with the sauce. Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip with the tongs. Brush the other side with the remaining basting sauce. Place back in the oven and back for an additional 30-35 minutes. The original recipe I used only said to cook the wings for 40 minutes, and the wings were just so slightly undercooked so I put them in the oven for some additional time. Since I did the brining, the wings remained moist even with the extra time in the oven.

Remove and serve with extra dipping sauce. I served the wings with Upper Brinstar salad and rice, but wings go easily with fries or chips!

Thank you for coming to Admiral Dane’s Diner! What other recipes would you like to see made?