Bar-B-Que Chicken Wings
Central and Western New York is “wing country,” so you’ve gotta have some good wings on your menu. Most places fry their wings according to the original Buffalo recipe, but we smoke ours. You can make them hot or mild on your grill just by changing the rub and the sauce you slather on at the end. We serve them with the traditional fixin’s—Blue Cheese Dressing and celery sticks.
Recipe information
Yield
feeds 4
Ingredients
The Chicken
The Accoutrements
Mild Wings
Hot Wings
Preparation
Step 1
Wings require a two-phase cooking process. First you render out the fat and tenderize the meat on a medium-hot grill, 325° to 350°. Then you crisp and glaze them over hot coals.You might find it useful to light another chimney of briquettes (see Techniques of Outdoor Cookin’, page 12) when you give the wings their first flip after 45 minutes, so you can add a few fresh coals to boost the heat at the end for an absolutely perfect finish.
Step 2
Get cooking by rolling the wings, olive oil, and rub of your choice (All-Purpose Red Rub for mild wings and Creole Seasoning for hot wings) together in a large bowl.
Step 3
Fire up your grill and mound up the coals on one side. Spread the wings out on the other side of the grill, away from the coals. Cover the grill and cook the wings for about 45 minutes. Open the grill, flip the wings over, and switch them around—move the ones closest to the heat source off to the side, and move the ones on the outside edge closer to the heat source. (Remember to start another chimney of charcoal now.) Cover again and cook about 45 minutes more, til the meat is tender.
Step 4
Add some nice hot coals to the fire, and flip the wings over the direct heat of the coals. You should hear them sizzle a bit. Without waiting, brush the wings with some of the Mutha Sauce or Hot BBQ Sauce, flip them again, and let them cook for about 4 minutes so that the heat can caramelize the sauce. Brush the wings again with sauce and flip them over to cook another 4 minutes on that side. Slather the wings with sauce one last time to glaze them, and pull them off the grill as they get done.
Step 5
Serve with Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping, celery sticks, and plenty of napkins.
