Like the ones from the Keg? Give these a shot!
Quick reminder: business in the front, party in the back.
INGREDIENTS - makes ~80 cauli-bites!! (Make sure you have lots of time and flat freezer space!)
1 large cauliflower, broken down into ~1-1½" pieces
MARINADE
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1.5 tsp Maggi liquid seasoning
1 tbsp garlic powder or 2 crushed cloves
1 tbsp sriracha sauce (up this if you like 'em hot)
1/2 stock cube (~1tsp) mixed with 1/4 cup hot water
DREDGING
1½ cup flour
3 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1½ cup buttermilk
1½ cup panko bread crumbs, crushed
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Break down cauliflower into 1-1½" pieces. Mix together the marinade ingredients and pour over broken down cauliflower in a big bowl. Stir to combine. Let it chill out in the fridge for 30+ minutes so the marinade is absorbed. Feel free to mix it around if you remember/want to.
2. Prepare dredging station:
Bowl #1: add flour, 2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt and mix with a fork.
Bowl #2: Beat eggs, add buttermilk, add ¾ cup of above flour and mix thoroughly with a whisk to ensure no clumps.
Bowl #3: Add panko to the bowl and crush it with something dense and flat (I usually use the base of mysalt grinder). Mix in 1 tbsp garlic powder and 1 tsp salt.
3. Dredge marinaded cauliflower in flour (making sure that all the excess flour is tapped off), then buttermilk batter, then panko bread crumbs, and finally on a baking rack on top of a parchment papered baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 45+ minutes to glue some of the panko down.
4. Dip the cauliflower back in the buttermilk batter mixture and place back onto the baking rack until all the cauliflower bites have been battered. Place back in the freezer for 3+ hours.
5. Preheat Air Fryer at 390ºF. Cook for 5 minutes, shake, and put back in for 5 more minutes. If the cauliflower pieces are smaller than 1", put back in for 4 minutes instead.
Tips&Tricks:
-Really make sure you try to get off all the excess flour, batter, and panko. It will keep your work space cleaner and preserve you ingredients as well.
-To store these guys, I usually just chuck them in a freezer bag after letting them freezer completely.
-These are super versatile and can be made with lots of different spice blends. Check out my post about different spice blends that can really switch up meals and make them exciting again. (You can also easily toss them in sauce to coat them, although it does cut down on crunch factor)
-You might notice this recipe calls for a double batter: please don't skip this step! It helps to create the crispy outer shell that sets this recipe above the rest.
-These are super versatile and can be made with lots of different spice blends and sauces. I usually use this sauce, which is inspired by the Keg as well. Check out my post about different spice blends that can really switch up meals and make them exciting again. (You can also easily toss them in sauce to coat them, although it does cut down on crunch factor)
BACKGROUND
The first time I tried the cauliflower wings from The Keg I basically inhaled them. I can tell you this for certain, when I went home I never stopped thinking about them. This recipe could be considered as ~𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓇𝑒𝒹~ by them, a WannaBe recipe, I you will. I tried making Cauliflower wings once before in the oven and they were mediocre at best- they disappointingly didn't get super crispy and golden, so needless to say I never made them again. I entered a period of my life that I don't wish upon my worst enemy: a cauliflower bite drought.
That's until I finally figured out the proper way to make onion rings in the air fryer. I sent my boyfriend to the grocery store with a list that contained a mystery ingredient: cauliflower. He had no idea what I had in store. I chopped, I dredged, I battered, and I breaded. Before long, a soft, marinaded cauliflower with a crispy outer shell was achieved- just like at the Keg.
TBH, I've gone to maybe 6 restaurants since the beginning of the pandemic and the Keg has not been one of them, so I can't promise that I remember the taste of them perfectly. From my recollection, which is that of a goldfish, the ones from the Keg were crunchy, sweet, and garlicky. These ones I made are also crunchy, sweet, and garlicky, so I'll classify this as a win.
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