Chicken wings are a classic American food item, eaten by people across the country in different ways. You can have them dry with some type of spicy or salty rub, or wet with a massive amount of delicious, finger-licking sauce. They are not usually eaten as a full meal but as something to start off a grilled meal or a heavy snack. The origins of chicken wings in America were mainly in the southern parts of the country, where grilling is more a way of life than a method of cooking. However, restaurants like KFC and Wing Stop give a poor approximation of what real, well-cooked wings are meant to be.
For our own recipe, we decided to cook chicken wings on our coal grill for maximum authenticity. We put a honey barbecue marinade on them and sat, talking, while they grilled. I can still imagine and hear the dripping of the sauce onto the coals of our grill, adding to the crackle of the firepit. This is the essence of chicken wings, sitting around a fire with friends, and why so many Americans have fond memories of them. At the end of the day, the real beauty of wings is that they unite family and friends in a really nice way.
Cooking chicken wings also teaches you a lot about the culinary arts in general. Grilling is one thing, but the concept of a rub or marinade is very applicable to many different dishes. As you get more advanced, you can advance from a recipe or a pre-made rub to making your own accompaniments from scratch. This experimentation really makes you a stronger chef in the long run, and can lead to new and unexpected flavors that put an entirely new spin on a well-known traditional food item. So, to conclude, why not try chicken wings today?
RECIPE
Serves 5 (4 wings each)
Ingredients:
1) Buffalo sauce, 1 bottle
2) Garlicky honey sauce
3) Harissa Sauce
4) Honey Mustard Sauce
5) 20 Chicken Wings ( More is fine)
Wash the chicken wings thoroughly, and pat dry with a paper towel. Prepare a large mixing bowl for marinade.
In the bowl, add 1.5 cups of your favorite buffalo wing sauce, ½ cup of honey mustard sauce, and ½ cup of a thin harissa sauce, which is a sort of spicy sauce. We recommend Sweet Baby Ray’s sauces for the honey mustard and the buffalo sauces for best results, but that is just personal
Put your wings in, and mix thoroughly. Each wing should be nicely coated and very wet. Let sit for 10 minutes. Keep the extra sauce once you remove the wings, and add a about ¼ sweet-ish garlic sauce. EG if you have 1 cup of sauce left, add ¼ cup of the garlic sauce. if you have one. Keep the sauce, as it will be used to baste the wings while grilling.
When the grill is fired up and the temperature has reached at least 400 degrees fahrenheit, oil the grates liberally. Place the wings sideways on the grill to avoid fall through.
Flip once there is color on the side on the grates on the cooking side. Once you flip them, baste each piece generously and close the grill.
Once both sides are colored, flip and place the wings on the warming rack. Apply the baste one more time, but this time it will set on the wings as a glaze. Close the grill for 1 and a half minutes, and then take the wings out.
They should be glazed on the outside, hot, and a nice orange color with a little bit of black from the grill. Serve on their own or with your favorite dipping sauce.
