Food

Butter chicken wings, chewy fudge brownies recipes to add texture to any holiday party

Check out how to make both dishes and shop the ingredients online.

December 28, 2023, 7:55 AM

YouTube creator and cookbook author Joshua Weissman joined "Good Morning America" recently to make two dishes from his new cookbook, "Texture Over Taste," that deliver on flavor and texture.

"My thought is this, right? We always talk about flavor. We have whole books dedicated to flavor, but nobody wants to talk about texture?" he posited. "You can have a perfectly salted fry but when it's not crunchy, it sucks. So we're bringing attention to texture."

Check out his full recipes below and shop the ingredients online.

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Butter Chicken Wings

"Butter chicken sauce is probably one of the most balanced and creamy sauces I can think of; it's creamy but also salty, acidic, sweet, fragrant, and umami all at once. It's definitely an important member of the creamy family. I love wings, and I love butter chicken. What more can I say? Let's not play games here. This feels right despite the traditional side of my brain feeling wrong about it. Look, there was a time when butter chicken pasta was a thing, and to me, this is far more permissible than that. At the end of the day, this is f---ing delicious, and you can call it whatever you want, but if these utterly tantalizingly succulent bad boys are in front of me, I'm suckin' on the bone!"

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings

Click here to shop the recipe ingredients online.

Ingredients
Butter chicken sauce:
3 1/2 tablespoons (50 grams) ghee
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1-inch (2.5-centimeter) knob of ginger, thinly chopped
1 teaspoon (5 grams) kosher salt
1 teaspoon (5 grams) ground cumin
2 teaspoons (7 grams) garam masala
1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground coriander
1 teaspoon (2 grams) Kashmiri chili powder
14-ounce (400-gram) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon (4 grams) sugar
1/2 cup (125 milliliters) chicken stock
1 cup (250 milliliters) heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon (2 grams) dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold

Wings:
2 1/2 pounds (1.1 kilograms) wings (a mix of drumettes and flats)
2 1/2 teaspoons (15 grams) fine sea salt
2 teaspoons (12 grams) freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) white pepper
2 quarts (1.9 liters) vegetable oil, for frying
1 1/2 cups (180 grams) cornstarch

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Directions

For the wings: In a large bowl, combine the wings, fine sea salt, ginger and white pepper. Toss to coat completely. Let marinate.

To make the butter sauce: Heat the ghee in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it's melted and hot, add the yellow onion, garlic and ginger. Season to taste with kosher salt and let it sweat, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.

Add the cumin, garam masala, coriander and Kashmiri chili powder. Stir and toast for 25 seconds.

Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until all the vegetables are fully softened and the mixture has reduced by 25% to 30%. Pour the sauce into a blender, and blend on high until as smooth as possible.

Pour the sauce back into the saucepan and add the heavy whipping cream and fenugreek leaves. Cook and reduce for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened to your liking. Turn off the heat, and add the butter while constantly stirring. Continue stirring until the butter has completely melted and emulsified with the sauce. Season to taste with salt.

Heat the vegetable oil in a 5-quart (4.7-liter) Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it reaches 325 F (165 C). Working in batches, in a large bowl, combine the chicken wings and cornstarch. Toss to combine and then shake off the excess. Add the wings to the Dutch oven, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until just cooked through but no color on the chicken has begun to show yet.

Remove and drain the wings on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Increase the oil temperature to 375 F (190 C), and fry the wings for about 5 to 7 minutes more or until they're a deep, crispy, golden brown.

Transfer the wings to a large bowl, add the butter chicken sauce, and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Chewy Fudge Brownies

"Whatever you do, take the corner pieces for yourself. Save none for anyone else."

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Yield: 9 brownies

Click here to shop the recipe ingredients online.

Ingredients
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar
6 1/2 tablespoons (92 grams) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
1 1/4 tablespoons (12 grams) cornstarch
1/2 cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
4 ounces (115 grams) semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Lightly coat an 8-by-8-inch (20.5-by-20.5-centimeter) baking pan with cooking spray. Optionally, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper if the pan isn't nonstick.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter until combined. Add the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla extract and vegetable oil. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Stir in the fine sea salt, baking soda and cornstarch. Add the all-purpose flour and cocoa powder, and stir until thoroughly combined and homogeneous. Fold in the chocolate until evenly distributed.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, and use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly to the edges of the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the brownies are cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove the brownies from the oven, and set aside to cool completely before cutting and serving.

Recipe reprinted with permission from Joshua Weissman, "Texture Over Taste" by Joshua Weissman. Published by DK, October 17. $35.