|
From the oven |
|
Smokified: Finger lickin'! |
Chili
Chicken Wings
(from Kevin Dundon who is not Asian but sure knows how to Asian it up)
Pound together in a
mortar and pestle:
a few cloves of garlic
a 1” knob of ginger
1 or 2 whole hot chilis (hey, Peter!...you can even use pickled
peppers in a pinch,
just make sure they’re spicy, I’ve used pickled hot cherry
peppers)
a sprinkling of kosher salt to make things stay inside while
you begin pounding away
Once this is a nice paste that smells just this side of
delicious, think of someone who got on your wrong side and pound the frick out
of it some more.
Once you’ve worked out your aggressions, squeeze in the
juice of one lime and scrape everything from the mortar (or is it the pestle? Who
cares when you are making tasty!?) out into a large bowl. Zest, then add the zest
and the lime halves to this bowl, too.
Then throw in:
red chili flakes
a glug and a half of soy sauce
a couple glugs of olive oil
drip in a mess of honey to make it all thick and syrupy.
Once it is nice and messy, ADD MORE HONEY, because it is the magic of this
whole recipe and helps to temper the heat.
Toss in chicken wings (about a pound or so) and stir to coat
well. I like wings that have been cut up at the joint so you have a
mini-drumstick and that part with two little bones. (The wing tip is for soup
and should be left out of this recipe as it is not the proper vehicle for
delivery of this coating.)
Marinate for a few hours in the fridge. Two should suffice
and more is fine.
Spread in one layer on baking sheet. Dump the lime halves
in, too. If you have too many wings for one layer, hold the rest back… fill
another sheet or they also freeze well.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 or so minutes until brown,
caramelized and burny in spots. You will be fighting for these burny parts, so
the more, the better.
If you really like to feed your family well and have some
extra time, you can smoke these in a smoker at 225 degrees with an ounce of hickory
for about an hour and a half.
Mr. Dundon serves this with a Marie-Rose sauce that involves
mayonnaise, ketchup, brandy, tomato puree, Worcestershire and Tabasco. It is a
nice accompaniment and cools things down a bit but no one will complain if you
forget to make it.
As I am Asian, I eat these wings with rice. I have been told
that a meal doesn’t have to involve rice to be a meal. What!?! Don’t believe
them.