Look at these beautiful pieces of succulent chicken, cooked to absolute perfection in wonderful spicy and zesty sauce, until slightly crisp. They are the world-famous Elephant & Castle Chicken Wings. But, I didn't even need to tell you that: the fame surrounding this dish speaks for itself, and a mere photograph instantly helps you identify yourself with the meal in question. Why am I talking about this divine culinary delight? Because after hours of searching online (and catching drool as it drips from my lips and mouth in anticipation and excitement), I have found the the closest thing to the recipe for the wonderful wings.

I read well over two dozen different variations, submitted by people on message boards, in chat rooms and on various blogs, all in the strong belief that their recipe was the correct and truly accurate instructions of how to craft them. It was difficult to gather the information as the recipe is secret, according to the word on the street. This was until I found the material posted on a far from private or undercover location- on the Irish Times website- on an article printed in 2008. I was not able to access the material unless I paid for the archive access, which I was not prepared to do, so I popped into the local library and viewed it there, via AskAboutIreland (the archive access service). And now, I've got the  preparation guidelines in my grubby, and eager, paws.

I think you can guess what's on the menu tonight.

If you're interested, and not willing to pay the day pass to the archive, here's the similar recipe I'm using:

1.  Melt 70g of butter, and mix it with half a cup (110mls) of Frank's Original Red Hot sauce (Available in Tesco, or Fallon & Byrne- Dublin)

2. Pour it  over and thoroughly mix it into 750g of chicken wings (about 24 mid-sized pieces) that have been roasted in the oven (an hour at 180 degrees; longer if you want them really crispy)

3. Devour.

Some Bloggers suggest using one hand only to eat the wings, or things will get very messy.

Do tell me how your cooking goes for you, and compare them to the Elephant & Castle ones. Comments are always appreciated.