Grilled Wings with Thai Curry Dipping Sauce →

Not your average grilled chicken wings recipe, the wings marinate overnight in a delicious coconut milk curry sauce before grilling them. The results are exceptionally succulent wings with beautifully caramelized skin, and the mildly sweet and spicy dipping sauce will be a winner with anyone who loves Thai curry. Serve with rice or an orzo salad to soak up every drop of the delicious coconut curry dipping sauce.

Grilled Chicken Wings with Thai Curry Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• ½ cup finely chopped shallots (2 large)

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

• 2 large garlic cloves, minced

• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

• 2-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste (2 tablespoons makes a mildly spicy sauce)

• 2 (14-oz) cans of unsweetened coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen brand)

• 1 ½ teaspoons packed light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce

• 24 chicken wings separated at the joints; wingtips discarded (6 pieces per person)

• Garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs or fresh basil.

Preparation:

1. Cook the shallots in oil in a wide 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. (4 to 5 minutes)

2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally. (2 minutes)

3. Add the curry paste and cook, mixing the paste with the oil and garlic; stirring constantly for about 3 minutes.

4. Add the coconut milk, brown sugar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups. (approximately 25 to 30 minutes)

5. Remove from heat, stir in the fish sauce, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. (about 30 minutes)

6. Reserve 1 ½ cups of curry sauce in a bowl for serving. Cover and chill in the fridge.

7. Separate each wing at the joints so you have a wingette, a drummette, and a wingtip. Discard the wingtips.

8. Coat the wing pieces with the remaining curry sauce in a large bowl or large ziplock bag. Place in the fridge and marinate for at least 12 and up to 24 hours.

9. Let the wings stand at room temperature 30 minutes before grilling.

10. Preheat your grill and oil the grates lightly. You want a medium-hot grill.

11. Remove the wings from the marinade, shaking off excess, and transfer to a large platter. Discard the marinade.

12. Grill the wings, turning every 2-3 minutes to prevent burning until the skin is caramelized and the wing is cooked through about 12 minutes total. *Note: depending on your grill adjust the heat under the wings to prevent burning.

13. Heat the reserved curry sauce in a small saucepan, stirring over moderate heat until hot. Serve the wings with the curry sauce.

14. Garnish with cilantro or fresh basil.

Wine pairing: a Chenin Blanc, Vouvray, Viognier, Dry Riesling, or Rosé

Adapted from https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-cornish-hens-with-coconut-curry-sauce-232153

Marinated Grilled Chicken →

Here’s a great summer recipe for savory juicy grilled chicken. I prefer bone-in thighs with skin-on, but you can use skinless, boneless breast or thigh meat if that’s your dietary preference. For boneless breasts, cut the breast in half, place the meat between two layers of plastic wrap or parchment paper, and using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound the meat to an even thickness (about 1/2 - 3/4 inch) so it cooks evenly. Reduce the cooking time for boneless breast meat so it doesn’t over-cook and dry out. Serve with Lemony Orzo Salad with Asparagus, or a green salad. A chilled Rosé or soft Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc will pair well with this dish. You might even want to try a slightly chilled light Beaujolais Nouveau.

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

• 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (air-chilled preferred)

  For the Marinade:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce

• ¼ cup olive oil

• ¼ red wine, sherry, or balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon oregano (see note)

• ½ teaspoon sweet basil (see note)

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder or two cloves of garlic crushed, finely minced, or grated with a micro-plane

• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional, but recommended)

*Note: substitute 1 ½ teaspoons Herbes de Provence for oregano and basil, or 1 teaspoon each of ground dried thyme and dried rosemary.

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients and add the chicken pieces; marinate for at least two hours, preferably 4 hours.

2. Preheat your grill to hot.

3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and wipe the excess marinade off each piece.

4. Place the chicken pieces on the grill over indirect heat and cook covered for 3 minutes per side, turning three times. Finish the chicken over direct heat to crisp the skin. (Note: when done the internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 F. for thighs or 160 F. for breast meat.)

5. Remove from the grill to a platter and tent for 5 minutes before serving.

Ischia-style Rabbit →

Ischia is an island off of Naples, Italy. With an abundance of wild rabbits, the island is famous for its rabbit dishes. This recipe is adapted from chef Andrea Migliaccio’s recipe for Ischia-style Rabbit. It would also work well substituting chicken legs and thighs for the rabbit. This is an easy delicious recipe that epitomizes the magic created when you combine simple ingredients like fresh herbs, shallots, garlic, broth, and white wine. Buon Appetito!

Ischia-style Rabbit
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2 rabbits cut into pieces (or one chicken leg and thigh per person)

• 1 bulb of garlic, cut in half

• 1 ¾ cup of shallots, sliced

• 1 chili, cut in half length-ways (I used ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes)

• 2 cups + 3 tablespoons of white wine

• 2 cups + 3 tablespoons of chicken or vegetable stock

• 1 cup of tomatoes (about 3-4 plumb tomatoes quartered)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

• 1 bunch of basil, roughly chopped (reserve a few leaves whole for garnish)

• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
1. Using a cleaver or heavy butcher knife, cut the rabbits into pieces: the shoulders, ribs, loins, and hind legs. Discard the liver, heart, and other organs or save them for another use. Season all of the pieces with salt and pepper and dust lightly with a little flour.

2. Working in batches, sauté the rabbit pieces with a little olive oil in a skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat, adding more oil as necessary until all the pieces are golden brown. When all the pieces are browned, tent and set the rabbit to one side and discard the oil from the pan.

3. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and add the garlic, shallots, and chili (red pepper flakes). Cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes over medium-high heat until the shallots are golden. Don’t burn the pan.

4. Deglaze the pan with the white wine scraping up the browned pieces in the pan. After about 2-3 minutes, add the tomatoes and the chicken/vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat.

5. Add the chopped parsley and basil and continue to cook over med-high heat for 10 minutes.

6. Add the reserved pieces of rabbit in a single layer to a roasting pan, pour the sauce over the rabbit, and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes. The sauce will thicken and the rabbit will turn golden brown.

7. Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste and serve garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Note: this dish pairs well with buttered potatoes and parsley and green beans sauteed with garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest.

Wine pairing: full-bodied white wines like Verdicchio or Tiberio Pecorino; White Burgundy, or White Rhone wines; a dry Riesling would also work; lighter red wines like Beaujolais or Dolcetto di Alba are also a good match.

Adapted from: https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/recipes/rabbit-ischia-style-recipe
Andrea Migliaccio