Yes, there is actually a recipe. Scroll down to Methods to skip the science.
(This recipe necessarily involved dead chicken. However, please note that no salmon were hurt in the making of this recipe and no food was actually consumed inside the lab.)
Purpose:
Salmonella is a Gram negative bacilli that, based on its name, you would expect to be found in your delicious plate of West Coast fish smothered in a culturally characteristic blueberry or maple syrup glaze. This is how you know that Salmonella is a bad egg simply trying to distract you with fish fears because all this time it has actually been hiding out in your delightful dinner of dead chicken.
This deceitful bacteria was discovered by Dr. Salmon, hence the name, and has been found in undercooked and raw poultry, eggs and other foods. It is guilty of causing diarrhea, fever, and cramping. Salmonellosis can be very severe and require hospitalization. Much of the Salmonella isolated from poultry displays antibiotic resistance [1]. The UN’s concerns over antibiotics in food are not something to brush aside [2]. You may also be interested to know that organic poultry may be fed plants with antimicrobial properties [Read more here].
So, how to outwit this bacteria? Avoiding raw and undercooked poultry, keeping cooked and raw foods separate, adequate refrigeration and cooking to established temperature guidelines are all recommendations made by government food safety agencies and the CDC [3, 4]. It is also curious to note that rates of infection are 46% higher in zip codes with broiler chicken operations [5]! And now…if you’re not too chicken to eat, here’s the recipe :D
Hypothesis:
This combination of materials and methods will result in delightfully buttery golden chicken wings and will evoke empathy for the plight of pigs despite having eaten chicken. At least, it does that to me…I really don’t recommend eating it all by yourself in one sitting.
Materials:
2 lbs chicken wings (or more if you’re a pig like me and want to double everything)
3.25 tsp baking powder
2 tsp paprika
1.5 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
0.75 tsp garlic powder
0.5 tsp black pepper
0.25 tsp cayenne
Disturbingly generous amount of butter (probably about 4 Tbsp)
Methods:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. (You may need two pans).
Mix the spices and baking powder together and put into a large Ziploc bag.
Throw the chicken wings in the bag and toss to coat. Seal the bag first if you want to avoid raw chicken going everywhere.
Melt butter and coat the foil well (or else the foil will refuse to let go of your dinner).
Dump the chicken from the bag onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle remaining melted butter over top of the chicken.
Cook for 40-50 minutes, until golden but not burnt (subtle distinctions). Turn the chicken wings over halfway through. Keep an eye on them once they get close to done.
Observations:
See for yourself in the picture above! Also noted: full stomach, buttery fingers, and no I certainly did not eat that in the lab.
Conclusion:
Mess level of about 2/10, prep pain of about 3/10 and yum level of about I-ate-too-much.
Miscellaneous Lab Notes from Previous Experiments on this Topic:
Experiment 1: Used flour instead of baking powder. Not bad but a bit heavy.
Experiment 2: Tried coating chicken in egg and then dipping in flour and spice mixture. Too clumpy, didn’t add anything to the finished product and made a huge mess. The mess is generally inevitable when I’m involved, but this method definitely made more than the usual amount of mess.
Experiment 3: Tried plain baking powder, salt and pepper. Much lighter than the flour.
Experiment 4: Used the baking powder method with my favourite spices. Family approved.
Experiment 5: Adjusted spice amounts to make things simpler for you all. I didn’t think you would appreciate measurements like 0.66 tsp.
Future Directions/Room for Improvement:
This recipe can be made more quickly by having the spice mix made up in advance. Once I’ve used up a spice, I keep the glass spice jars to store my own spice mixes in. Make this combination in a larger amount and then use 5.75 tsp of the spice mix (or more if you so desire) mixed with the baking powder per 2 lbs of chicken wings.
I got my love for butter honestly. For more on butter check out my dad’s blog DearButter.com
References:
Grant A, Hashem F, Parveen S. Salmonella and Campylobacter: Antimicrobial resistance and bacteriophage control in poultry. Food Microbiol. 2016;53(Pt B):104-9.
“UN agriculture agency warns of threat to food security from overuse of antibiotics”. UN News Centre. Available at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53200#.V_lSaniRZ94
“Quick Tips for Preventing Salmonella”. CDC. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/general/prevention.html
“Salmonella”. Foodsafety.gov. Available at: https://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/salmonella/
Shaw KS, Cruz-cano R, Jiang C, et al. Presence of animal feeding operations and community socioeconomic factors impact salmonellosis incidence rates: An ecological analysis using data from the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), 2004-2010. Environ Res. 2016;150:166-72.
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