Crispy Baked Chicken Wings →

Who doesn’t love crispy fried chicken wings? Instead of frying the wings in oil, this lower-fat recipe calls for par-boiling the wings for a few minutes, then coating them with a spicy dry rub, and baking them in a hot oven until they are sizzling, brown, and crispy. Serve them with your favorite hot sauce, barbecue sauce, or spicy fruity Duck Sauce. Enjoy!

CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN WINGS
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 pounds chicken wings

• 3 tablespoons Spicy Dry Chicken Rub (recipe below)

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1-2 tablespoons canola oil

• Barbecue Sauce (recipe below or store-bought)

• Duck Sauce (recipe below)

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2022

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2022

PREPARATION:

1. If you have whole chicken wings, separate the wing tips at the joint and discard or use them to make chicken stock. Separate the thighs and wings at the joint.

2. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the wings to cook for about 10 minutes.

3. Preheat your oven to 450 F.

4. Drain the wings in a colander and allow them to cool and air-dry for a few minutes. Once cool enough to handle, pat dry with a paper towel and place in a large bowl.

5. Drizzle the oil over the wings and mix to coat. Mix 1 tablespoon baking powder into 3 tablespoons of dry rub and sprinkle the mixture over the wings and mix to coat.

6. Line a sheet pan with foil and place the wings on a lightly oiled wire mesh grate on the pan.

7. Bake the wings in the upper third of the oven for 25 minutes before turning over and baking for another 10-15 minutes until the wings are sizzling, brown, and crispy.

8. Serve the wings with Duck and/or Barbecue Sauce on the side, or toss the wings in your sauce of choice before serving.

Spicy Dry Chicken Rub
This will make more dry rub than you need for this recipe. Mix the ingredients and store any extra rub in a tightly closed container. Use it on turkey and pork as well.

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Barbecue Sauce
If you want to try an alternative to store-bought barbecue sauce, give this excellent barbecue sauce recipe a try. It will keep in a glass container in the fridge for over a week.

Ingredients:

• ½ cups ketchup

• ¼ cup Bourbon

• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

• ½ cup molasses

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard

• ½ shallot or ½ tablespoon onion powder

• 2 cloves of garlic grated or finely minced (or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic)

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne

• ¼ teaspoon Chipotle (or Ancho) chili powder

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire

• 1 Bay Leaf

Preparation:

1. Sauté the shallot and garlic.

2. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat; simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. The sauce should be thin, but not watery. Allow to cool; remove the Bay Leaf.

3. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. The sauce is better if allowed to sit for a day.

Spicy Duck Sauce
This is a complex fruity and tangy Duck Sauce with a hint of heat, but none of the weird artificial coloring you get in the packets of take-out Chinese duck sauce. It will keep refrigerated in a covered glass container for over a week.

Ingredients:
• ¾ cup apricot jam (or peach jam)
• 4 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
• 2 medium cloves of garlic (preferably finely grated, otherwise finely minced)
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger (or grated)
• ¼-½ teaspoon chili powder (optional)
• 1/16 teaspoon cayenne powder (or to taste)

Preparation:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat and simmer for about 5 minutes to soften the taste of the garlic and ginger.

2. Allow to cool and rest for at least an hour before serving so that the flavors can meld.

3. Store in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2022

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

Sticky Grilled Chicken Wings →

Tired of dried out, tough, burned, grilled, tomato/molasses-based barbecue sauce wings? Par-boiling the wings is well worth the minimal effort it takes to produce delicious, sticky, finger-liking-good, juicy, grilled wings. Try this delicious savory-fruity basting sauce on parboiled wings that take less than 10 min. to cook on the grill. The glaze will caramelize on the wings as you grill them. The wings will be tender and juicy and deliciously sticky-messy.

Serves 6
Total prep/cooking time less than an hour

For the Sauce-

Ingredients:

• 10 garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press, grated on a micro-plane, or minced

• 1 Tbsp grated peeled ginger

• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

• 3/4 tsp ground cumin

• Rounded 1/8 tsp cayenne (or to taste)

• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

• 2 cups bottled unsweetened pomegranate juice or cranberry juice

• 1 cup duck sauce (available in Asian section of your supermarket), or smooth apricot jam

• ½ tsp. sesame oil

• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

• 1 chopped scallion for garnish; tender, pale green, and white parts only (optional)

Preparation:

1. Cook garlic, ginger, spices, and 1 tsp. kosher salt in oil in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

2. Add pomegranate (or other) juice and boil until reduced to 1 cup, 12 to 19 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and add the duck sauce and sesame oil and stir until well mixed.

4. Cool (it will thicken slightly).

5. Transfer 3/4 cup sauce to a bowl and reserve for serving.

*Note: while you cook the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
While the sauce cools, par-boil the chicken wings.

For the Chicken:

1. Boil 3 lbs.chicken wings in salted water for 15 minutes.

2. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel

3. Toss wings and a cup of sauce in a large bowl

4. Grill wings over low-heat on gas grill, or indirect over charcoal 3-5 min. per side

5. Turn wings over and baste with sauce. The sauce will caramelize on the wings as they cook.

6. Remove from grill and plate

7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped scallions

8. Serve with reserved sauce on the side

Basting sauce recipe adapted from: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sticky-chicken-apricot-glaze