Fried chicken wings

Serves 4-6 as snacks

Serve fried chicken wings with a homemade dipping sauce (Jason Lowe)

I saw these little wing joints in my local supermarket in Charmouth and bought up all four packets and popped them in my freezer to make snacks and nibbles to take on fishing trips. I've since seen them in Waitrose and snapped them up, too. They are basically the wing joint attached to the breast, which makes them look like a mini drumstick.

12 chicken wing joints
500ml chicken stock
A few sprigs of thyme
tsp paprika
1tsp ground cumin
Vegetable or corn oil (for deep frying)
For the crumb mixture
2-3tbsp flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
50-60g fresh white breadcrumbs
1tsp Spanish pimenton
2tsp ground cumin

For the sauce

2 shallots, peeled, halved and finely chopped
tbsp olive oil
1tsp Spanish pimenton
2-3tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
tbsp chopped coriander

Chop the knuckle off the chicken wing and push the meat down the bone a little. Put the wings in a saucepan with the stock, thyme, paprika and cumin. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, then leave in the liquid to cool. Don't throw away the stock; you can use it for a soup base later.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: gently cook the shallots and pimenton for a minute in the olive oil, add a tablespoon of water and continue simmering until the liquid has evaporated, then remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Once cool, mix in the mayonnaise and chopped coriander and season to taste.

Preheat about 8cm of oil to 160-180C in a large thick-bottomed saucepan or electric deep-fat fryer.

Have 3 bowls ready, one with the seasoned flour, one with the beaten egg and the third with the breadcrumbs mixed with the cumin and pimenton.

Drain off the chicken wings and dry off with some kitchen paper.

Pass them through the flour, making sure you shake off any excess, then through the egg and finally through the crumbs.

To serve, deep-fry the chicken pieces for about 3-4 minutes until golden, then drain on some kitchen paper and serve with the sauce.