We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – a good chicken wing is kryptonite to most of our team.
What’s not to like with the high ratio of uber-flavorful, crispy, glaze-slathered skin to tender, moist dark meat gnawed right off the bone?
While I’d never pay $2.99 a pound for wings (the usual price at the upscale grocers here on the left coast), when I zoomed through the meat shop a couple of days ago the $0.99/ lb sign for wings made it a no-brainer to pick up a few pounds.
We’ve posted a handful of wing recipes over the years, and while I’m still partial to the dry rub of these Southwestern Wings, a spicy or spicy-sweet glaze on wings just seems to amount to pretty much the perfect food.
Friend of Chi Ellen sent this recipe in a few weeks ago saying that she and her husband have perfected their Sting Like a Bee Grilled Wing recipe over the years, looking for ‘the perfect balance of sweet and heat’. She issued a challenge to try it and see if wasn’t the best I’d ever had.
Challenge accepted.
Well, dammit, we’re huge fans of the chipotle’s smokey, back-of-the-throat-heat and honey is natural a with chicken (and pork for that matter). Yesterday’s batch of wings was (modestly spoken) grilled to perfection, and while the can of chipotle’s I used was particularly spicy, these were indeed probably the best home grilled wings I’ve ever tasted. (And the baking powder trick really does work to produce a crispier wing.)
The glaze was near perfection on bone-in, thick-sliced pork chops as well.
Have a pile of cool adult beverages handy and get after it. This one is a keeper.
5 lb chicken wings
1 and 1/2 tbsp. ancho chile powder
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powderSting Like a Bee Glaze
5 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1-2 tbsp. adobo sauce from the can
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Powder those wings. Trim the wings, rinse and pat dry. Mix the ancho powder, baking powder, salt and garlic powder well, then sprinkle over the wings and shake ‘em up to coat well. Lay the wings out on a rack over a baking sheet and throw in the fridge overnight (makes the wings crispy on the grill).
Blend a glaze. Start your charcoal and then throw all the glaze ingredients into your trusty blender and make a smooth puree. Set aside.
Make the grill magic. Dump the coals on one side of the grill and place the wings (skin up) on the cool side and roast covered for about 15 minutes; rotate the wings (move the far ones closer) and roast covered for another 10-15 minutes until they’re starting to crisp up and brown.
Now glaze and move the wings over to the hot side; watch them carefully as you want the glaze to char just a bit and not burn (2 -3 minutes per side). Don’t forget to glaze both sides to boost the flavor.
Serve hot off the fire and start planning when you’ll be having these again.
Enjoy.
