The owner of the wing joint down the street told me that their biggest day for wing sales each year is always Superbowl. People order dozens of wings, bring them to their party, but by the time they get eaten, the wings are a sad, lukewarm pile of skin, fat and bones. I tapped Twitter last week for some wing recipe ideas, and Greg Rempe, host and founder of the BBQ Central internet radio show swooped in with a winning recipe.
This is his prized wing recipe, normally cooked on his charcoal grill. They are smoky, sweet and garlicky with just the right hit of spice. Instead of a marinade, Greg recommends a dry rub. In fact, I’d recommend making extra dry rub and using it to BBQ pork.
I know Greg’s a BBQ pro, but I couldn’t help but test the wings recipe in the oven, as many of you don’t have charcoal grills or are too lazy to start the fire. Either method works perfectly, and I guarantee you that there will be no wings left after the first quarter of the game. Celery and dipping sauces not needed at all – these wings hold up on their own.
If you’re interested in Greg’s show, tune in every Tuesday at 9pm at www.thebbqcentralshow.com. It’s a 2-year old internet radio show, which means it’s available everywhere and it’s free. Each week, Greg chats with different guests, from regular ‘ol backyard guys to pitmasters to manufacturers of BBQ equipment. On Feb 2nd, Scott Roberts, a self-proclaimed “Chilehead” and hot sauce expert, will be on the show.
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We start with a dry rub of brown sugar, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper. Then you coat the wings! If you have leftover dry rub (that’s been untouched by the raw chicken), keep it in a little jar to use another time.
I got lazy. Ran out of parchment paper. Didn’t want to spend 15 minutes to run to the store.
Instead, I spent 35 minutes scrubbing the pan.
But these wings were sure worth it!
BBQ Central's Smoky Sweet Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings, joints separated, tips removed (save for stock)
Dry Rub:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients of the dry rub in a large bowl or sealable bag. Add the wings and toss to coat evenly.
- On charcoal grill: Start your kettle grill with a bucket full of coal, wait till they're nice and hot. When ready, dump the bucket on one side of the grill leaving the other side bare. Put the wings on the hot side the grill. Cook the wings until the coating starts to caramelize and you get some black grill marks, flip the wings and and repeat. Move them to the cool side of the grill, cover and cook for 30-35 minutes (less time if you like your wings juicy, Greg likes his drier).On gas grill: Turn one side of the grill to high heat, the other side on medium-low heat.In oven: Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil (this is an important step unless you want to spend an hour scrubbing your pan after cooking). Lay a baking rack on top of the baking sheet and place the chicken wings on top of the rack. Bake for 20 minutes, flip the wings and bake for another 15-20 minutes.
More great recipes
Here are some recipes that would be perfect with the wings:
Blackberry Lemonade Margaritas by Valerie’s Kitchen
Black Bean Hummus by Heather Cheney
