What Are You, Chicken? Wings

There's a common belief that chicken wings are bar food, meant only to be served by ill-mannered waitresses, ordered by the dozen, to be eaten with a side of another dozen chicken wings and a few pitchers of beer.

And while I'm not one to buck a good tradtion like enjoying $.50 wings while watching your favorite team at the local bar, a great chicken wings recipe is a must-have in your football season rotation, so if you don't have one already, you're now in luck!

Here's why homemade (and especially my homemade) wings are superior to to the bar fare you thought you've liked: wings in a bar are fried and tossed with a mixture of hot sauce and butter.  The white dipping sauce on the side is usually ranch or blue cheese salad dressing. Not bad, just very generic, and if you know me, we can do a whole lot better than that.

This recipe is makes great wings, and without being too modest, they might be the best you've ever had.  If you love wings like I do, try it. I generally serve the wings as a full meal and that's it, but if you're planning to make them as an appetizer, adjust your portions according. 

My chicken wings are a four part process: 

1. Season the wings. 
2. Smoke the wings for 10-15 minutes using indirect heat.  As you already know, chicken absorbs smoke very easily. 
3. Fry the wings. Peanut oil works best.
4. Toss the wings in your sauce.

I like to cut my wing sauce with honey and butter, as the honey gives the sauce a little hint of sweetness while allowing it to really hang onto the wing.

Then, just before my wings are ready to be served, I up the ante and make a fresh blue cheese dipping sauce.

 The recipes for my wings and dipping sauce can be found here.

Check out the video: