RECIPE - LOTW BBQ Rubbed Wings w/Hot Honey BBQ Sauce

What's this? Sunshine? Moderate Weather? An open patio? This can only mean one thing:

BAR-B-QUE!!!

The time was finally here and what better way to celebrate Spring and an open Bar-b-que
pitt is wings. So I got my creative juices going and created
BBQ Rubbed Wings v1.0 & Hot Honey BBQ Sauce v1.2.

Sorry for the photo - there was a problem with the transfer
from camera to computer and I am without Photoshop to fix it.

First, I decided to prep the wings before I did anything. The only wings I could get were PC split wings. I prefer to get wings from a butcher of poultry place or even the grocery counter, but on shopping day, this was all there was. I decided that I would brine the wings to ensure full flavour throughout the BBQ process.



I took out all the wings and put them in a large bowl of cold water, filled with salt. I don't know how much salt I put in, but it was a lot. I covered the bowl and put it in the fridge for more than an hour. Just like marinating, the longer you leave it, the greater the flavour. After, I dumped out the water and patted down the wings with paper towels to get them ready for rub. But first, I wanted to get a sauce for after the grilling took place.

Hot Honey BBQ Sauce v1.2.

Ingredients:

• Margarine (or butter could be used)
• Hot sauce (I used Frank's)
• Vinegar
• BBQ Sauce (only had Kraft Garlic on hand)
• Honey
• Garlic Powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Melt butter in sauce pan (medium to low heat).
2. Add rest of ingredients until mixture is well mixed.
3. Simmer for 20 mins or keep on minimal heat for longer.

What is not useful in this recipe on my part is measurements. I just added ingredients willy nilly. I knew I couldn't make it very spicy because LJ would be having some and wouldn't want it too hot. My rough ratio was 1 part butter, 1 part hot sauce/vinegar, and 1 part bbq sauce/honey. You want it hotter, more hot sauce. Sweeter? More honey. Get the point?

The cast of characters for the play: Spring Wing

Melting margarine. Well, not melted yet.


Pouring in the hot sauce. Mmmmmmm it looks so tasty, so savoury.

Everything boiling together; looks like a Hell's Kitchen pot.

I let the mixture simmer for over an hour, then turned the heat off and let it sit until I was going to need it later at supper. My next move, was to make a spice rub for the wings. A spice rub, as wikipedia describes it as,

"any mixture of ground spices that is made for the purpose of being rubbed on raw food before the food is cooked. The spice rub forms a coat on the food. The food can be marinated in the spice rub for some time for the flavors to incorporate into the food or it can be cooked immediately after it is coated in the rub. The spices are usually coarsely ground. In addition to spices, salt and sugar may be added to the rub, the salt for flavor and the sugar for caramelization. "

The article talks about how in some cultures a Spice Rub can be a very personal thing, and many chef's keep theirs secret. As for me, I just want to share the love, so here is the LOTW version of a wing rub:

BBQ Rubbed Wings v1.0

Ingredients:

• BBQ Spice Mix
• Garlic Powder
• Coriander Powder
• Red Chili Pepper
• Salt & Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix all ingredients
2. Hand rub mixture over wings
3. Let rubbed wings sit for at least 20 mins to absorb flavours

Again, I can't explain the amount of spices to mix. The first spice mix was used in the majority of the mix, with others as I think to taste.

The spices all together. I bought the two bags of spices from Bulk Barn. The second bag (Cayenne) was not used because I was pretty sure it was already made of cayenne to begin with (Now, a true bbq enthusiast will not buy bagged spice, but hey, I'm not an expert, yet!). I also have coriander in the mix. Now, normally I hate coriander (or cilantro as known mostly in North America) and often detest its flavour in dishes like pad Thai or salsa, but I find ground coriander to be a delightful spice for bbq.

Finally, the rub mixed onto the wings. I was so excited at this point. Can't wait!

Finally, I was off to the outdoor patio and ready to start grilling. To read my quick 'How to Prepare a Charcoal BBQ' and some other gratuitous grilled wing photos, head over to HERE.

Once the charcoal was red hot and ready, the wings were onto the grill.

Love that first sizzle of flesh on the metal.

All 26 wings rubbed and being grilled . . .


You can see the sauce starting to caramelize and become a bit gooey
on one of the more coated wingettes.


Grill marks: the sign that delight it on its way.

White Hot Coals over Red Hot Love.


I'm just drooling here days later writing this and looking at these picture.

Look how crispy and spicy looking this wing looks. How can I resist?

I can't. I have to test right? Just to make sure?


White as snow inside, but so much flavour!

One of the benefits of charcoal cooking is you get that
smokey flavour inbeded in the wings. Hank Hill may prefer
propane because you 'taste the meat, not the heat', but
the heat tastes so good in this situation.

Actually, one of the downsides to my grilling like this is that I can't control heat or how long I have heat. With propane, it burns as long or as hot as I want it to. Fortunately, the coals burned just right for the amount of heat the wings needed.

The Final Product: stacked and straight from the grill, it looked so good just sitting there! How could I resist?


I couldn't, again. There was so much flavour; spicy, smokey, it was all there.

LJ proclaimed "I think I just found my favourite wing. No seriously."


I was a little disappointed in the chicken itself. The wings weren't
particularly big, and I don't think I used enough salt in my brine.
But really, the skin kicked butt.

AND then, there was still the Hot Honey BBQ sauce. Spicy, sweet, it was all good. I was torn because the rubbed wings tasted so good on their own. But I really liked the sauce too. Decisions decisions decisions.



CONCLUSIONS:

1. The spice rub worked great and the wings were good just like that
2. I don't care for packaged wings and I probably never will
3. Hot sauce and rub might be too much flavour
4. My hot sauce was a slight variation on the hot sauce from HERE
5. I had lots of sauce left over and bottled it for later use. Yum
6. BBQ makes everything taste good
7. Brine needs more salt
8. Wings are good.