Buffalo Smelts with Grunion Parmesan Dip

This is a nice alternative to buffalo chicken wings!

     First of all, I like hot and spicy flavors!  You can make the buffalo sauce mild if you wish to.  Just use a mild hot pepper sauce.  Matouk's Scotch Bonnet sauce is very hot and it has a nice caribbean style flavor.  Matouk's is a caribbean island favorite that comes in a ketchup bottle.  A bottle of Matouk's is placed on nearly every table in the caribbean.  Be careful, scotch bonnet peppers are some of the hottest peppers that there is and a ketchup shaped bottle pours quick!  Caribbean islanders do use this hot sauce like ketchup!

     I get so tired of poorly prepared buffalo wings that are served in second rate restaurants and bars.  I have posted a couple of gourmet wing recipes in my recipe blog that are different than standard buffalo wing recipes.  

     Lake smelts are perfect for being cooked buffalo wing style!  Smelts are great finger food and they are healthy to eat.

     The grunion parmesan dip is a nice alternative to blue cheese dressing.  I really do not like poor quality, straight out of a jar, commercial pre-made blue cheese salad dressing that is served with most buffalo wings in second rate restaurants.

   
     Grunion Parmesan Dip recipe:
     Place 3 ounces of sour cream in a small mixing bowl.
     Add 1 tablespoon of finely minced green onion.
     Add 1 pinch of garlic powder.
     Add white pepper and sea salt.
     Add 1/2 tablespoon of finely grated parmesan cheese.
     Stir the ingredients together.
     Refrigerate the dip for 20 minutes, so the flavors meld.
   
     Buffalo Sauce Recipe:  
     Place 1/4 cup of Louisiana style cayenne hot sauce into a mixing bowl.
     Add 1 tablespoon of Matouk's Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce or habanero hot sauce.
     Add 1 tablespoon of honey.
     Add 2 pinches of garlic powder.
     Add 1 tablespoon of melted unsalted butter.
     Stir the ingredients together.
     Set the mixing bowl aside.
   
     Buffalo Smelts Recipe:
     Dredge 20 to 25 lake smelts in unseasoned flour.
     Heat 5" of vegetable frying oil in a high sided sauce pot to 360 degrees.
     Add the dredged smelts.
     Fry the smelts, till they become crisp and golden brown.
     Use a fry net to place the smelts on a dry towel, so the excess grease drains off.
     Place the fried smelts into the mixing bowl with the buffalo sauce.
     Toss the smelts gently with the sauce, till they are coated with the sauce.
   
     Buffalo Smelts with Grunion Parmesan Dip:
     Place the buffalo smelts on top of a few lettuce leaves on a plate.
     Place the grunion parmesan dip into a ramekin and set it next to the smelts.

     I am very experienced with hot chile peppers.  I have grown nearly every hot pepper variety there is over the years and grew many chile pepper varieties that are never marketed.  I have made chile pepper sauces that were so hot, that even the co-workers from Mexico would not touch my hot sauces.  I make very mild pepper sauces for those who prefer a milder hot sauce.
     I was famous for hot wings at an English pub that I cooked in.  I made the hot sauce for wings from scratch, instead of buying pre-made hot sauces.  Strong English ale and buffalo wings are a hard combination to beat!
     Now buffalo chicken wings are going to get a run for their money from these buffalo smelts!  Yum!  ...  Shawna