Grilling: Buffalo Wings
On Fridays, Joshua Bousel drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!
My hat goes off to whoever first paired pizza and wings. I don't know if it's just the fact that I've enjoyed the two together my whole life, but a hit of spicy buffalo sauce, followed by a bite of smooth mozzarella, is one of the great pleasures in the unhealthy diet I maintain. So, when I grilled up some pizzas last week, it went without saying that buffalo wings would be served alongside. But instead of busting out the fryer, I took them to the flames.
With a previous success in getting a great, crisp skin on grilled wings, I thought this would be a snap. Unfortunately, my fire may have been too hot and I started getting burnt, rather than crackling, skins—so I adopted a two-zone method to get them finished in an edible state. Although the skins did not get that super crispness that I prefer, the wings were a hit all around. They were juicy and had a pleasingly complex buffalo sauce, achieved by mixing multiple sugars and hot sauces together with butter. It was the perfect accompaniment to some grilled pizzas.
Grilled Buffalo Wings
Sauce recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated
Ingredients
3 pounds chicken wings (18 wings), cut up
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup hot sauce, preferably Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
Procedure
1. Mix together the cayenne, black pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture all over the chicken wings. Place the wing in the refrigerator until ready to use. (This can be done the night before.)
2. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the rest of the sauce ingredients until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Light a chimney 3/4 full of charcoal. When charcoal is fully lit and covered in gray ash, pour coals out and arrange them on one side of the charcoal grate, keeping the other side empty. Place the wings over the cool side of the grill, cover, and cook until skins are lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Move the wings to the hot side of the grill and continue to cook until the skins have crisped, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the wings to a bowl. Pour the sauce over the wings and toss to coat evenly. Remove wings to a plate and serve hot.
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14 Comments:
I love wings on the grill. There's a hint of smokiness and there's no fried chicken odor lingering in the house. Myself, living in CNY, the sauce is simply Frank's Red Hot Sauce, straight on for me, thinned with a bit of butter for the wimps in the house. Sometimes I go for the blue cheese dressing, with the rest of the family, but more often it's just wings alone, clearing out my sinuses. And you're right about the buffalo sauce and mozz. cheese thing. My 15 year old son can't get enough of that combo. He's started dipping mozz. sticks in Frank's rather than marinara sauce.
dhorst at 9:26PM on 07/10/09
I'd avoided wings altogether, thinking they would be too complicated, until I realized (d'oh!) that all they are is baked or grilled wings that are tossed in a sauce. My neighbor made some amazing Asian chicken wings (and gave me the recipe) that have changed my life. Imagine how well these would go with an Asian-inflected pizza!
GoodStuffNW at 9:40PM on 07/10/09
so perfect. i am having a party next friday and wings are on the menu. thanks, will try your recipe. cheers!
merlot at 10:48PM on 07/10/09
They should be fried the way God intended. It's not like you eat them everyday. Cannot imagine grilling them. I don't even like broiling them.
BITTER at 1:11AM on 07/11/09
we pop our wings in the smoker for an hour, then to the grill then the sauce. We get juicy, smokey wings with crispy skin. perfection
VerasTastyFreeze at 10:18AM on 07/11/09
Grilling is my favorite way to make Buffalo wings-- all that added grill flavor--
They're evn better if you pre-season them and refrigerate overnight before tossing them on the grill. ( a little seasoned salt, paprika, garlic....you get the idea)
Oh yeah!........
CJ McD at 1:16PM on 07/11/09
I have a pretty easy recipe for wings - either grilled on the BBQ or baked in the oven.
Cut the wings into the constituent bits and get rid of the tips. Place them in a freezer bag, and cover with vinegar and either soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce. About 1 cup vinegar to 1/4 cup of the other.
Allow to marinade for as long as you please - or (as I do), put this mixture in the freezer. When I feel like wings, I just take the wings out the night before to defrost, and in the morning put them in the fridge until the evening when I cook them - instant marinaded wings.
You can of course alter the flavourings to the marinade, but vinegar is a must.
mrbill1234 at 2:51PM on 07/11/09
The best way to do wings on the grill is over a low flame (I put mine on 2), and line up the wings on the upper rack of the grill. Leave the lid closed. About 15mins on each side and you have perfectly crispy skins with tender meat. Then just take your wings, put it in a bowl and pour over your favourite sauce (I usually do some hot sauce and melted butter/margarine so that it coats well).
dre2112 at 3:38PM on 07/11/09
Delicious! Grilled wings are fabulous!
jlew911 at 4:25PM on 07/11/09
I've had smoked wings at a BBQ restaurant and they were fantastic. I'm going to try them in my Weber kettle next weekend.
dmcavanagh at 9:45PM on 07/11/09
@dhorst...dipping mozz stix in Frank's sounds like a great idea, I'll be giving that a try real soon.
dmcavanagh at 11:50PM on 07/11/09
Nicely done! My favorite wings are the ones I do on our Big Green Egg, I don't ever fry them anymore! You just can't beat the flavor, IMHO.
swibirun at 8:49AM on 07/12/09
Grilling and frying are not mutually exclusive. Here in Syracuse NY the arguments continue about which local joint started the practice (which may well have started elsewhere and been imported here) but "char grilled wings" and now all the rage. The wings are deep fried and dipped in sauce as per usual but then get a few minutes on the grill to finish. They are indeed deep fried wings but with a nice bit of char. Tasty.
phaelon56 at 10:31AM on 07/13/09
I had the same burnt skin problem when I tried cooking my wings over direct heat. I spent the whole cooking time flipping, moving, and jockeying the wings around. A few were blackened anyhow:
Grilled chicken wings with spicy asian glaze
I agree with you, that indirect heat is a better way to go. My only problem with the indirect method is you can't put as many wings on the grill:
Grill roasted chicken wings
MikeV at 12:33PM on 08/25/09