Hot Honey Mac and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• about 2 cups elbow macaroni (cooked al dente)
• salt, to taste (for the pasta water)
• a little oil (to toss with the cooked macaroni so it doesn't stick)
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter (cheese sauce)
• 2 tablespoons flour (cheese sauce)
• 2 cups milk (cheese sauce, added slowly)
• 1 cup smoked gouda cheese (cheese sauce)
• 1 cup ghost pepper cheese (cheese sauce — very spicy)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (cheese sauce)
• about 12 chicken wings (flats only; drumettes cut off and saved)
• 1 cup cornstarch (wet batter)
• 1 cup flour (wet batter)
• 2 teaspoons salt (wet batter)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (wet batter)
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (wet batter)
• 1 1/2 cups cold water (wet batter — make sure it's really cold)
• 2 cups flour (dry coating)
• 1 teaspoon salt (dry coating)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (dry coating)
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (dry coating)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder (dry coating)
• 1 tablespoon onion powder (dry coating)
• neutral oil, for deep-frying
• about 1/2 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot (hot honey sauce)
• 1/2 cup honey (hot honey sauce)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (hot honey sauce)

How to Make It

1. Cook about 2 cups of elbow macaroni in salted water until al dente.
2. Drain the macaroni and toss it with a little oil so it doesn't stick; set aside.
3. Melt 1/2 stick of unsalted butter in a pan over medium heat.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk a little at a time — do not add it all at once.
6. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens and comes to a low boil.
7. Lower the heat.
8. Whisk in the cheeses 1 cup at a time — smoked gouda first, then ghost pepper, and lastly cheddar — whisking the whole time.
9. Stir the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce.
10. Let the mac and cheese cool completely until it is cold and has a solid texture.
11. Cut the drumette off each wing at the joint and set the drums aside for another recipe.
12. Cut through the joint between the two bones of each flat, then pull the skin back and work your thumb in to separate the meat from the bones.
13. Pull the bones out without destroying the chicken.
14. Use your fingers to stretch a pocket inside each deboned flat, as far as possible without ripping it.
15. Make the wet batter: whisk together 1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, and 1 1/2 cups very cold water.
16. Make the dry coating: mix 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon onion powder.
17. Stuff each wing pocket with the cooled mac and cheese.
18. Dip each stuffed wing into the wet batter and let the excess drip off.
19. Dredge the wing in the dry coating and gently shake off the excess flour — careful not to shake out the mac and cheese.
20. Set the coated wings on a rack and let them sit a few minutes so the coating sticks.
21. Heat neutral oil for deep-frying to 350°F.
22. Fry the wings 4-5 at a time, without crowding the skillet, for 8-10 minutes until golden and cooked through.
23. While the wings fry, combine the hot sauce, 1/2 cup honey, and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a measuring cup.
24. Microwave the sauce for 30-45 seconds, until the butter is melted and the sauce is hot.
25. Transfer the fried wings to a cooling rack.
26. Pour the hot honey sauce over the wings and serve.

Curtis's Tips

• Salt the pasta water — the salted noodles carry into the dish, so "you shouldn't have to add... that much salt to the cheese."
• Do not stop stirring/whisking the sauce — constant whisking from the flour stage all the way through the cheese.
• You can use any three cheeses you want — I went with smoked gouda, cheddar, and ghost pepper.
• Warning: the ghost pepper cheese is "very, very spicy."
• Let the mac and cheese get as cold as possible before stuffing — hot mac is runny and "extremely hard" to stuff; cold gives it a solid texture.
• Use only the wing flats — "it's the easiest one to stuff." The drums won't stuff as well; save them for another time, or dress them up and eat them tonight.
• Jumbo wings help — more room to stretch the pocket.
• Cutting off the drumette should be an easy cut between the joints — "it shouldn't feel like you're sawing through a bone."
• Let the excess wet batter drip off before dredging, or the dry flour gets clumpy.
• Frying tip: after coating, always let the chicken sit so the flour seeps in and sticks — that way it won't fall off in the oil.
• Oil-readiness trick: dip a wooden utensil in — when you see bubbling around the wood, the oil is ready.
• Only fry 4-5 at a time depending on skillet size — too many at once "is going to mess up the chicken."
• "Whoever you're making this dish for, I hope they love you and I hope you love them dearly, because this dish is going to take you some time" — the deboning and stuffing are the tedious parts.
• "We ain't losing no weight this summer."
• For a lighter cheese sauce, use 2 tablespoons butter instead of the 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) — either works; 4 tablespoons makes a richer sauce.
• For extra heat, use 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper in both the wet batter and dry coating instead of the 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning — cayenne is significantly hotter.