Chicken Wangs

This winter I wanted to figure out how to make what, in my opinion, is the perfect chicken wing. It should be tender and delicious inside and have perfectly crisped skin. I have found that getting the 2 things just right is difficult to do. I also wanted this to be a dry rub wang and not one that was slathered in sauce. I tried a lot of things over the past 2 years and very intensely this winter. I also had to serve 2 heat palates as the wife likes very little heat and I want something much hotter.

So these were my criteria
1. tender and juicy
2. crispy skin
3. mild for the missus
4.spicy for me
5. great flavor from the dry rub

The full recipe:http://www.quelfood.com/lowcarb/cajunwangs

The steps that seemed to be key are:
1. allow the skin time to dry
2. toss with vegetable oil and rub
3. cook at 400 on a rack

I did most of my test runs in the kitchen on sheet trays and wire racks. I recently did a batch on the egg using the 3-tier rack. They were delicious and had all the quality of the others plus a little smokiness. I did not get photos of that batch as U of L was playing Florida and I was lucky to cook dinner while watching the game. Here are some results

Always good to have big wangs


dried and ready to rub


ready for the oven


Done






I like mine with celery & blue cheese as well as a little Trinidad Scorpion Pepper dipping sauce... that stuff is wicked hot!




I know there are eleventy billion wing recipes and I hear there is a place in Buffalo that makes a mean wing. This is just the way I like them and I hope you like them too.

Juju

Looks tasty. I'll never get done experimenting with trying new wing recipes. Love me some wings.

The drying of the skin overnight in the fridge I think is the best way to get that crispy skin. Also, you can't use a wet marinade if you want crispy skin.

I gots to try yours now.

Lookin' grate, juju!! +1 to air drying them in the fridge. That's a good tip.

Can't beat a big pile of wings, and those look great!

Brad

Don't know if I have ever tried wings without some sort of sauce on there.
But these looks tasty enough I will have to try.

Those wings look delicious QJuju.

Yep! Those wings look great!
Place in Buffalo is the Anchor Bar - place where the Buffalo wing was created. they are still the best. Use their sauce whenever I can get it
Saw a recipe for a jerk, think it was a dry rub, chicken wing a couple weeks ago. Was going to try them but something came up and I didn't cook.
Will only get to use the grills or smokers on Sunday but I'm going to make wings - some jerk and probably some qjuju's way.

Drying overnight in the fridge is a great tip. I've taken it one step further, and have been steaming my wings for 15 minutes or so prior to air-drying overnight in the fridge. This has helped render out a bunch of fat that leads to flare-ups on the grill. It also par-cooks the wings so you can really put the spurs to them heat-wise an crisp the skin right up with little worries on cooking the meat through. The steaming process also creates a nice chicken stock, if yer into that kinda thing...

Love my wangs!

Sometimes i really do want a dry rubbed wing. There's just something about the burn of those spices hitting you lips and tongue (especially when kissed by the grill) that can't be beat.

Now, i'm just asa likely to say this another day regarding sauced wings...

Those look great. Dry rub wings are tricky because it is a balance to nut burn the spices espescially if there is any sugars yet still get the skin crispy, and let's face it that's why we like wings after all the skin to meat ratio is greater than any other piece. Truthfully if I could just cook the skin I would. Sometime try steaming the wing first, I know it's blaspheme but it. Will get some of the fat out and let you cook the bird hotter and crisp the skin quicker with less possibility of burning your rubs.
I love love love wings on my Traeger cooked up around 425.

The biggest step to good crispy dry-rubbed wings is what QJuju figured out above - always make sure the skin is dry enough. I rinse the wings to clean them up, and then pat them dry with a paper towel before ltting them air-dry a while. This gives a better surface for the rub to stick to. Wet meat = soggy skin, and no browning (especially on steaks too).

The other thing I like to do is to smoke them on the Outlaw with the fire hot enough to crisp them up. I place them right over the SFB vent for this. Eggheads might even go one better by just adding a fair bit of smoking wood to the coals and letting it rip at normal cooking temps. That's true hot smoking and while it doesn't give as full a smoke flavor as slow smoking it crisps up the wings beautifully.

I've even done this on my old ECB smoker, in fact, by removing the water pan altogether and basically turning it into a smoke oven as the directions suggested. (Betcha didn't know you could do that, eh?)

Yeah... dry skin is where its at. I have known that for years... I believe it was Jacques Pépin that I first learned that from. Ironically he wasn't a fan of rinsing poultry. He said, and I think this is a quote, if whatever is on the skin can make it through a 400 degree oven it deserves a shot at me. I still rinse my poultry. Anyway, I have dried poultry skin for years.

I tried the steam method when I saw Alton Brown do that on Good Eats, but I didn't like the outcome. I thought it made the wings mushy in the end, but that could just be me.

I worked several temps between 350 and 450 and different times and different rub methods. I also tried frying for a few minutes to crisp the skin and then finishing in the oven. That produced my 2nd favorite wing, but was a very large mess from all the frying.

Like I said... there are more ways to do wings than one could count and I would say 90% are quite tasty. The important thing is to make some wings and have some fun.

** I would like to provide an update to my recipe. Watch the length of time. I am finding that the BGE cooks them a little quicker than the oven. I am hypothesizing that is due to the extra moisture from the gas oven. When I check them at the 40 minute mark I try to judge how much longer at that point.

I grill my wings over a 2 zone fire - just fill half the charcoal grate and leave the other half open. Start my wings on the hot side for 5 minutes turn and do 5 minutes more - move to the cool side for about 20 - 25 minutes - then back to the hot side to crisp the skin about 3 minutes on each side.
Bought a Cabela's brand jerk rub last Saturday - Jamaican Island Rum. This is good stuff - better than some that I've had brought back from Jamaica for me.
Didn't do wings but rubbed 1/2 dozen bone in skin on thighs and grilled. they were really good!