Grilled BUFFALO Wings

NFL AFC CITIES RECIPE #1

BUFFALO

GRILLED BUFFALO CHICKEN WINGS

 

This is the first entry into the series on the cities of the AFC in the NFL.  For the next 16 weeks, I will take you on a journey through great recipes that have a connection to the city of choice.  Starting here in the great city of Buffalo and there’s nothing that says Buffalo like one of the greatest pub food creations of all time – the Chicken Wing!!!

I love wings.  I really do.  Most of the time they are eaten fried or baked or a combination of both.  There are a lot of recipes out there for wings on the grill.  It’s bit more effort and time consuming but the taste is so much better than fried and a lot healthier too!  I prefer to eat my wings this way and I will show you how it’s done.

First of all, I normally prefer to make all my sauces, marinades, dry rubs, etc. from scratch but this is a notable exception.  I recommend buying a store-bought Buffalo Wing Sauce from your grocer or specialty food store.  There is a myriad of choices out there and some are superb and others not so great.  You should really try to find your favorite one and favorite temperature; mild, medium, or hot.  You can doctor the level of heat and I will make a few suggestions.  So, the basics are very simple.  Buy some raw chicken wings at the grocery store and your favorite sauce and get grilling!

 

THE RECIPE

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. uncooked Chicken Wings separated into drumsticks and wings (discard the extra piece of the wing if not already done)

1 TBSP Canola or Vegetable Oil

1 TBSP Salt

½ TBSP ground Black Pepper

½ TBSP Paprika

½ Bottle of your favorite Buffalo Wing Sauce

2 TBSP unsalted Butter melted

 

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Rinse and pat dry Chicken Wings then rub the Oil into them in a bowl or tray
2. Mix together the Salt, Pepper, and Paprika then rub all over each Wing piece evenly
3. Let sit while you start your gas grill. Set one half of the grill on high then leave the other half turned off so you can smoke the Wings on the cool side of the grill.  You can use wood chips in the smoker box if you want but it’s not necessary for this recipe.
4. Once the hot side of the grill has gotten going and the grill is about at 300 degrees F place as many Wings as you can get on the cool side of the grill or in the upper rack(s) away from the direct heat. Do not let them near the flames while you are smoking/roasting the Wings.
5. Grill, with the lid closed, turning occasionally, for about 45 minutes to an hour depending on your grill size until they are beginning to brown and have cooked mostly through on the inside.
6. Combine the Wing Sauce and the Butter in a bowl and grab a brush to prepare to coat the Wings
7. Move some or all the Wings to the hot side of the grill and begin to apply the Sauce to the Wings as you grill them over the flames making sure there are no flare ups when the lid is closed. Keep turning and adding more Sauce every few minutes as needed to coat the Wings with the Sauce.  This should take about 10 minutes or more.
8. Remove the Wings from the grill and let them cool a few minutes before tearing into the world’s greatest appetizer!

 

Serve with either Bleu Cheese or Ranch Dressing and Carrot and/or Celery Sticks

 

Some more of Steve’s tips to control the level of heat you want your Wings to be:

 

1. The Wing Sauce you purchase really dictates this so if you want Mild or Medium just buy that kind and stick with the basic recipe
2. If you want a little warmer than Medium but are not quite ready for hot consider using Hot Paprika in the dry rub instead of plain Paprika or add 1/8 to ¼ TSP of Cayenne Pepper to the dry rub. And/or add a few drops of Hot Sauce like Tabasco or Frank’s to the Wing Sauce and Butter.
3. You can do any one of those steps to increase the heat a bit to the Hot Sauce you buy too to kick it up a bit.
4. If you really want to get dangerous consider adding some ground hot Chili Powder like Chipotle or if you really want to live dangerously Habanero Powder but be extremely careful. That is very, very hot.
5. You can also kick your Sauce up with liquid Chilis or Siracha. Again, be very careful.

 

WINE PAIRING:  Sorry wine lovers Chicken Wings call for BEER!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, grab your favorite beer or two or more and start living the good life!!!