A couple of years ago we bought a Tefal Actifry as my better half wanted homemade salt and pepper chips and stumbled across a Weight Watchers/Slimming World recipe which used a tiny amount of oil and delivered a faceful of flavour. S&P chips nailed, I went online to see what else the Actifry could do, turns out it can make one of my favourite meals...
I stumbled across a video of a guy from North America showing us his recipe for wings in the Actifry. There is absolutely no production value, it is just a guy making it up on the fly, cooking some chicken and drinking beer. He threw some garlic in the bowl, added the chicken and then filmed it spinning around while repeating to word 'Actifry' because he liked the way it sounds!
Eventually, he cut the video and told us how amazing the chicken smelled (I have now done this dozens of times, it DOES smell amazing). Once the chicken was cooked he added something called 'Slap Ya Mama' which was new on me. Turns out it is a cajun seasoning and it is absolutely delicious!
I wondered if Slap Ya Mama was available in the UK...of course it is, via Amazon! I excitedly ordered the original blend and the not-for-the-faint-hearted 'Hot' version and waited at the door, like a kid a Christmas, for my cajun goodness to arrive.
It eventually made its way here and it was a complete game-changer.
I repeated the recipe from 'Dave World Of Fun Stuff' on YouTube and I haven't looked back since. Three cloves of peeled garlic in the pan, 10 chicken drumsticks, a quick spray of 1 cal oil to get everything sliding around nicely when the paddle does its thing and 25 minutes later the chicken is almost done.
To turn the dish from good to great I give the chicken a liberal sprinkle of Slap Ya Mama and a tickle of Slap Ya Mama Hot. The result is amazing. Hot, fresh chicken drumsticks with a layer of Southern flavour and a hint of heat. Honestly, they are as good as anything I've ever bought from a restaurant.
But what if you don't have an Actify? Doesn't matter! Cook up some chicken in the oven and then sprinkle Slap Ya Mama over it when it is almost done, it still works! Have I whetted your appetite? Slap Ya Mama is currently available on Amazon, £7.50 for 16oz of the original mix, £7.45 for 8oz of the Hot stuff.