Coca-Cola Chicken Wings

As you may or may not know yet, Dude is back from China. And two weeks ago he stayed with us for week. We went on some adventures, ate some wings, ate some more wings and well, ate more wings. On the last wing eating, we made wings. And not just any wings, Coke Wings. I have to apologize, because this was 2 weeks ago now. I'm a little behind in my posting.

First off, I'm a Coke man. As is Dude, as is most of my group of friends from high school. My family, actually most people I know. That is not to say I won't drink Pepsi, or RC or some other brand. I'm not so much of a snob that I can't enjoy another cola, but Coca-Cola is my favourite. Knowing this, and being a Coke man himself, Dude on one of his last days in The People's Republic enjoyed a recipe for wings that he knew I would enjoy. And boy is it easy.







COCA-COLA CHICKEN WINGS

INGREDIENTS:

• chicken wings, split (or not it's up to you), cleaned.
• 1 litre of Coca-Cola Classic (you could substitute Diet, Zero or some other cola, but it won't be the same).
• Salt & Pepper.

Instructions:

1. Season wings.
2. In a pot/wok on very high heat, brown wings (about 5 mins)
3. Add in Coke until wings are covered (amount will vary on pot/wok and/or amount of wings).
4. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, for about 30-40 minutes until Coke become syrupy and wings are dark in colour.
5. Plate wings and pour thick-syrup leftover all over wings, serve and enjoy!

Dude watched the chef cook the wings right in front of him. And it is so simple. Brown wings, season wings, boil wings.

Pouring in the Coke. We used about 12 wings and not even a full litre of Coke. Dude tried making this recipe just before coming to Ottawa but it didn't work - we think it was because he didn't have the heat on high enough to transform the liquid Coke into more of a syrup.

I kept the heat on high and the wings stirred constantly.




Ok, I know, the above photo does not look appetizing. In general, boiled wings don't sound appetizing, but I was willing to stick things through and see how it turned out.

Wings are cooked and served up. The Coke had turned into a dark syrup, which you can barely see in the above photo hidden at the bottom. I should have let them go just a bit longer (Dude said the wings were much darker at the restaurant he first had them).

Of course the wings were not going to be crispy. They were 'fall off the bone' in that they just fell apart in your hands. The meat was very tender.

The flavour was actually not very Coke-like. If it was a blind taste test, I would have guessed teriyaki sauce. But for the amount of Coke it boiled in, it was very surprising. It was sweet, but not terribly so.

Dude and I dug in. LJ tried a little bit, but this was not for her. We scarfed these wings down as well as some Buffalo wings and poutine. It was a good contrast in flavours, the sweet vs the savoury.

What Would I Do Differently Next Time? The first thing I would do is cook it a little longer to get an even thicker syrup. But I got impatient and hungry and, well, it was go time. Also, I had looked at a few similar recipes and they added things like garlic and ginger. I think there was something lacking and a few more spices and ingredients would really jazz this up.

Coca-Cola wings, what will they think of next? Cherry Coke Wings? Hey, that's not a bad idea . . .