How a Michelin-Starred San Francisco Restaurant Makes Chicken Wings

Carrie and Rupert Blease had some big plans for this back to school season: transforming their beloved, Michelin-starred Lord Stanley into Turntable [at Lord Stanley].

The remix vibes evident in the new name are no accident. Instead of tweaking Lord Stanley’s highly successful blueprint, Turntable represents an entirely new way of doing business. For the debut — christened “Argentine season” — Buenos Aires chef Narda Lepes is curating a slate of guest chefs, who’ll take turns in the kitchen through the rest of the fall. Micaela Najmanovich has the reins through the end of this weekend; Julio Martin Baez will take over for the rest of October, passing control to Mercedes Solís in November. Lepes will join Solís the week of Thanksgiving.

“After such a long period of time not being able to eat out, we feel that it has become much more of a luxury and special event to do so,” Carrie Blease says. “Inviting chefs from abroad — U.S. and international — gives our guests a chance to experience someone else’s food without having to travel to do so. We have always loved to travel and work abroad and feel that we are giving our staff and diners an amazing opportunity to meet new people and work with a new cuisine!”

It’s a hugely exciting moment for the Turntable team. To help them celebrate, we’re sharing this recipe for a high-end take on the ultimate populist meal: chicken wings, prepared here with lemon curds and caraway seeds.

First confited then pan-fried, this recipe makes the most tender, juicy chicken wings yet. A tart and luscious lemon curd dip doesn’t hurt, either. Plus a chicken wing tip from Carrie: “If you would like to debone your wings for easy enjoyment, we recommend trimming either end of the wing while still warm (after removing from the confit oil) and using your finger to pop the bone out. They should come out very easily if you do this prior to the meat cooling. You can then pan fry to crisp up the skin and serve with the lemon. This is a neater way of enjoying the wings if you are serving for a dinner party or special occasion. Clean fingers!”

Lord Stanley’s Lemon Curd and Caraway Chicken Wings

Ingredients

Wings:
20 chicken wings (about 2 pounds)
2 cups canola oil, plus more for reheating the wings
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons toasted caraway seeds

Lemon curd:
10 lemons
¼ cup salt, divided
¼ cup sugar, divided
¼ cup olive oil
Pepper

Serves 4-6.

Method

Prepare the chicken wings: preheat your oven to 145°F. Place the wings in a casserole dish and add enough oil to cover the wings so that they’re fully submerged in the oil. Add the black peppercorns and toasted caraway seeds. Confit the wings in the oven for 2 hours. Remove and let cool slightly. Reserve the wings on a tray while you prepare the lemon curd.

To make the lemon curd, peel and juice 8 lemons. Reserve the juice and 1 cup of lemon peels to blanche. In a saucepot over medium heat, add the reserved peels and cover with cold water. Add 1 tablespoon each of salt and sugar. Once the water comes to a boil, strain and rinse the lemon peels. Repeat the process 4 times. After the fourth time, the peels should hold their shape but break when held between your pointer finger and thumb under light pressure.

In a food processor, blend the blanched peels with the olive oil to make a homogeneous purée. Season with half of the reserved lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Set aside and reserve.

To serve, working in batches over medium-high heat, pan-fry the confit wings in a little canola oil until they are golden brown on both sides, about 12 minutes. Deglaze with some of the lemon juice from the lemons. Serve the wings with the lemon curd as a dipping sauce and finish with some lemon zest grated with a microplane.