Despite a pretty danged busy weekend on tap, we’ll at some point join millions around the country and fire up the grill for some Memorial Day charbroiled goodness over the next few days.
The mere thought of Memorial Day food conjures up images of hand-formed (be gentle), freshly ground 80/20 hamburgers, flame-kissed and dripping cheese hot off the grill. Or even a Tom Chandler inspired slaw dog (see his bank of Slaw Dog posts here, and dammit, we do miss trading Slaw Dog barbs with TC…).
We’re doing something a bit different for the holiday grill celebration this year, continuing on a theme we actually stumbled across by accident though have come to deeply appreciate – the magical influence that a vinegar soak has on chicken.
The technique has of course been around for years; while we’ve all used vinegar in various marinades for decades, of late we’ve been incorporating various vinegars as the principle (and sometimes only) liquid in marinades with astoundingly good results.
Take this recipe for instance. We’ve taken to calling it VC2 Wings for Vinegar Cumin Chile Wings – a mouthwatering combination of the gentle acidity of rice vinegar with two different chiles (with different flavor profiles), cumin, garlic and a hint of sweetness too.
Try it with apple cider vinegar for a bit more tangy background flavor and substituting molasses for a bit of the honey changes things up a bit too.
Another one that you’ll keep in your summer and fall grilling rotation because it just damned good.
4 pounds chicken wings, tips trimmed
3 chiles de arbol
2 chipotle chile (dried)
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
4 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin
1 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. honey (or one honey and one molasses)
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1-2 tsp. fresh ground pepper1 tbsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. of your favorite hot paprika
1 tsp. chipotle powderLime wedges.
Make a marinade. Remove the dust from the dried chiles; toast over medium-high in a pan, cool, then stem (discard) and crush.
Now combine the crushed and toasted chiles with the garlic, scallions, rice vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper; mix well.
Pour into a large resealable plastic bag(s), add the wings, squeeze out the air and seal. Shake to make sure all the wings touch the marinade and place in the fridge overnight. Turn once or twice if you remember to…
Drain the wings and fire the grill.
Take a powder. Combine the baking soda, ground cumin, paprika and chipotle powder; we always grind a bit more salt in just for good measure.
Pat the wings dry and then dust them thoroughly in the dry mixture.
Grill ‘em up. Grill over medium / medium-high heat until cooked through; turn often enough to prevent too much of a char from developing, the ground cumin can burn.
Serve crispy and hot from the grill and spritz with a fresh squeeze of lime.
Enjoy.
