The BBQ BRETHREN FORUMS. - Crispy Sriracha Hot Wings

I found a really cool wing recipe a while back, and thought this would be a good entry for the “Crispy” throwdown, not to mention trying something new and delicious. While the recipe called for the wings to be cooked in the oven for 30 mins, I knew grilling them indirect would be just as good, if not better.

In a plastic ziplock bag, I put some sea salt, cumin, coriander and olive oil, and threw in the wings and tossed so they could get coated with the spices and oil. I let this sit in the fridge for about 7 hours.

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I fired up my Kingsford oval for indirect grilling. I still had some Kiawe wood that Saiko sent me, so I decided to put a piece on to give the wings a mild smoke flavor.

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Once I put the wings on, I closed the lid of the kettle and opened all the vents. The oval quickly got up to 350 degrees...

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I turned the wings every 10 mins:

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After the wings had been on for 30 mins, I pulled them:

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Now it was time to prepare the sauce mixture. The recipe called for butter, Sriracha sauce, chopped garlic, and cilantro. When I pulled the cilantro out of the fridge, I found these:

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Those are Thai bird chiles, and I thought they would kick the heat up a few notches, so I chopped up two of them to add to the sauce mixture.

Meanwhile, the missus started frying up the wings in our cast iron chicken fryer to get them nice and crispy:

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I melted the butter in a small saucepan, and decided to add the garlic as well so it could cook a bit. After that, I put all the sauce ingredients together:

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Then, we tossed the wings in the sauce, and served them with sliced carrots, celery, and ranch dressing.

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The wings were excellent - nice and crispy on the outside, but moist and tender on the inside, and they really packed quite a kick with the addition of the thai chiles. We will certainly be doing them again! Next time however, I will be doubling up the marinade/rub, and I may try chopping up a jalapeno and adding it to the sauce and see how that affects the flavor profile.

Here's the recipe I used:

Crispy Sriracha Hot Wings

The basics:
* 4 pounds chicken wings, cut up (serves 4)
* 1-2 quarts vegetable oil for deep-frying
For the marinade:
* 1/8 cup ground coriander (2 Tbs)
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1 Tbs kosher salt
* 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil(2 Tbs)
For the sauce:
* 1/2 cup Hot Sriracha chili sauce (or to taste)
* 3/4 stick (6 tbl) unsalted butter, melted
* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
* finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
* 4 large cloves garlic, minced
1. In a large zip-lock bag, combine coriander, cumin, salt and olive oil. Toss in the wings and massage the bag to coat. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Though the volume of the marinade seems small and barely coats the wings, it is critical to the success of this recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place wings in a single layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes, until wings are firm, but not done. (They’ll finish cooking in the deep-fryer). Remove them from the oven and place on a platter to dry before frying.
3. In a clean bowl, blend cilantro, minced garlic, lime zest and juice, and melted butter. Add 1/2 cup Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, combine and set aside
4. Working in small batches, deep-fry wings until crispy and browned, 2-4 min. Drain briefly on paper towels, then toss the hot wings in the sauce. Let the wings sit for 2-5 minutes before serving so the flavors soak into the wings.
5. Serve hot, on a platter with your favorite condiments
(serves 4 – figure 1lb wings per person)