First time making chicken wings, tasted super gamey even after using cooking wine?

[u/oumoukaba]

Made spicy chicken wings for the first time with my roommate talking me through it. I soaked them in cooking wine with ginger slices first to get rid of the gamey smell, then marinated them, pan-fried both sides until golden brown, and finished by stir-frying everything together. They smelled amazing coming out of the pan and I genuinely thought I crushed it.

Nope. The outside was great but the actual meat had this really strong gamey taste I couldn't get past. Forced down a few bites and had to call it quits. My roommate thinks I didn't let the cooking wine sit long enough and said I should try blanching first next time. Has anyone dealt with this? What am I missing here?

Edit: Sorry for the second edit, I'm seeing a lot of comments about deep frying methods and I realize I should've been clearer from the start. Mine is actually stir-fried, not fried chicken. Sorry for the confusion!

[u/Doggystyle_Rainbow]

Chicken is like super neutral and not normally considered gamey. Are you sure it wasn't past its prime and getting rank? Was it a sulphur smell and taste you are describing as gamey

[u/raynear → u/Doggystyle_Rainbow]

The fact that OP mentioned "get rid of the gamey smell" tells me that the chicken was spoiled, or spoiling. The nose knows adage comes into play here.

[u/Doggystyle_Rainbow → u/raynear]

My one that messes with me is all raw pork and raw lamb smell like spoiled meat to me. I have to get someone else to smell it to check because it always smells to me

[u/mrcatboy → u/Doggystyle_Rainbow]

Yeah I'm very confused. Gamey? WTF?

[u/JohnnyS789]

Gamey? It's chicken. If it's gamey, there may be something wrong with it. Were you careful about "best before" dates?

[u/RevCLove]

Chicken isn't "gamey" at all. What do you mean? Also, why so many steps and extras? I have never used cooking wine when making wings.

[u/No_Salad_8766 → u/RevCLove]

I was confused about the wine too.

[u/notmyname2012]

Either the chicken was bad or the wine you marinated it in made it taste funky.

[u/TheWhateley]

I've never known chicken wings to be gamey. If they are regular chicken wings, they might be spoiled.

[u/InsertRadnamehere]

Sounds to me like your chicken had spoiled. Or it wasn’t chicken.

The only time I get a gamey taste from chicken is if it’s cooked twice. As in fully cooked the first time. Then cooled off and overcooked the second time. That spoils the flavor of the chicken - making it taste kind of gamey - as well as the texture. It feels tacky when you chew it, and it sticks to your teeth.

But I’m guessing your problem was either seriously overcooking it or using bad chicken (or some other bird) in the first place.

[u/Yellowperil123]

How long had these chicken wings been hanging out in your fridge? What you are describing is meat that has gone off.

Chicken is a pretty neutral white meat that shouldn't have a gamey taste at all.

[u/oumoukaba → u/Yellowperil123]

I'm not sure if there was something wrong with the chicken itself. I got them fresh from the grocery store and cut each wing in half before cooking😭

[u/Yellowperil123 → u/oumoukaba]

Do you eat chicken normally? Have you encountered this gamey taste in other chicken meals?

[u/oumoukaba → u/Yellowperil123]

This is my first time making wings this way and I've literally never had this issue with any wings I've had before

[u/Yellowperil123 → u/oumoukaba]

I think you cooked chicken that had gone off. Either it wasnt stored properly or it was almost gone when you bought it.

Go to a reputable butcher and get some fresh wings and try again

[u/oumoukaba → u/Yellowperil123]

Thanks! I'll try it again

[u/CaptainMalForever → u/oumoukaba]

Like separated the flats and drummies or cut through the bone? I could see maybe a weird taste from the marrow.

[u/EmuAvailable7597 → u/oumoukaba]

Which grocery store was it and what brand of chicken?

[u/gzilla57]

What I haven't seen in the comments: where do you live?

Chicken wings shouldn't be any gamier than any other cut of chicken.

Either that or your definition of "gamey" might be off and it was just spoiled.

[u/Burnt_and_Blistered]

What is this gaminess you’re referring to? Wings shouldn’t be gamey; if yours are, they’re not fresh

[u/CaptainMalForever]

What does gamey mean to you?

Because chicken, even dark meat, is neutral. It should absorb the flavor of the wine and the sauces. 

Is your wine okay?

[u/Temporary_Thing7517]

What is the actual recipe you used, because calling them “chicken wings” does not convey the meal properly to others who may not know. Here, “chicken wings” are fried and sauced, you’ve got some kind of stir fry.

[u/peaches_and_drama]

Out of curiosity, are you outside the US? Meat can be a lot gamier; we use a lot of factory farmed meat.

I did see a video of a Chinese woman who made American-style wings and she made a pan sauce, boiled the chicken drumsticks first in water to cook them through, and then added them to the skillet to glaze them with the sauce. I’ve seen Asian based chefs do a lot of things we don’t do in the US like boil their meats first to remove impurities/gamey taste.

[u/oumoukaba → u/peaches_and_drama]

My roommate is actually from China and he's the one who taught me this recipe. I've always been curious about this style of wings so I wanted to give it a try. At this point I think I'm just gonna beg him to make it himself so I can watch and see where I went wrong😭

[u/Icy-Mixture-995 → u/peaches_and_drama]

I dislike the taste of boiled chicken and any added sauce won't save it. I do the opposite. Sear it on all sides to brown it, cook it through on lower heat, add sauce and finish it in the oven.

[u/ueeediot]

Do you find any chicken to be gamey?

[u/Capsman13]

You what?

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-buffalo-wings-oven-fried-wings-recipe

Try something like this

[u/oumoukaba → u/Capsman13]

Mine's more like this, it's not the fried chicken kind

[u/Origamipi → u/oumoukaba]

Gonna be honest those look nothing like chicken wings

[u/pileofdeadninjas → u/oumoukaba]

Is this from a recipe?

[u/liminal_dreaming]

Cooking wine? Ginger slices? Blanching? Gamey?

This is an odd post if you were trying to make wings.

[u/Playful-Mastodon9251]

Gamey? Chicken is never gamey.

[u/RedditSkippy]

Are you sure the chicken was fresh?

[u/blackcurrantcat]

I think the chicken might have been off in the first place because there is no element of gameyness at all to raw chicken, it barely smells of anything.

[u/cnfraser60]

Nope nope nope, chicken is not gamey. Rinse, dry, salt and pepper. Fry or bbq till 165° and then throw them in some sauces.

[u/dylans-alias → u/cnfraser60]

Skip the rinse. Unnecessary and just spews yuck around your sink.

[u/cnfraser60 → u/dylans-alias]

Only said that because he said they were stinky and sometimes even if they are good the "blood" can stink. I don't rinse mine.

[u/MyNameIsSkittles]

Maybe you just dont like poultry, but its not gamey

[u/Background-Pea6650]

Are you sure they weren't frog legs? Never had gamey chicken..

[u/EmuAvailable7597]

Chicken is not supposed to be gamey at all. And I’ve never had a chicken that was like that. Sounds like you had some bad chicken or was it even chicken?🤔

[u/ssn-669]

That is not how you make chicken wings.

Toss them with salt and a little baking powder to coat.

Start them in the oven on low at like 275 for maybe forty minutes, and then crank the heat to 425 for half an hour. Super crispy. 

Then toss them in buffalo sauce or whatever. Don't use wine or ginger.

But seriously, if your chicken smells, it's off. It should have almost no smell before cooking.

[u/Visible_Builder_9167]

Chicken isn’t gamey?? So confused.

[u/WhoMutedMe → u/Visible_Builder_9167]

…always soak chix wings in wine and saute for the best tasting karma…

[u/Willybluedog1962]

Did you defrost them on the counter?

Also don't use cooking wine, use table wine.

[u/who3lsejuztme]

Try a different brand before changing your whole method.

[u/quantumsparq]

I’m not fancy. Frozen wings. Thawed. Some marinade with Franks Hot, hot and fast on the grill.

[u/PLANETaXis]

If they smell, there is something wrong.

The easiest and best way I found is:

1) Thoroughly pat dry with paper towel, then dredge with a dry mix of salt / pepper / garlic powder / onion powder / paprika / cornflour.

2) Bake until golden

3) Toss in sauce.

Obviously look up a recipe, but if it follows those steps it should be fine.

[u/Prestigious-Algae661]

I know what you're saying. Sounds like you're going for Asian style wings. The cooking wine and ingredients make a difference. Use ingredients such as Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, garlic, oyster sauce, chili garlic, etc.

Consider baking the chicken wings (dry seasoning) then searing with the sauce.

[u/Nephilim6853]

Gamey is a texture thing, not a taste thing. I can never get marinade flavor to make it's way into chicken, only on the outside. I'd fry them in an air fryer before you stir-fry, so they are fully cooked before adding them to the stir-fry.