Joshua's Special Wings
When my son was very young, I was always trying to find ways to broaden his horizons and give him opportunities to try new things. He was about three years old at this time. He loved barbeque sauce, but he had never tried a chicken leg on the bone before. One day, he was invited to a best friend's outdoor barbeque picnic. The adults were having a contest and grilling all things barbecue. The kids got to taste test and judge the results. My son came home having tried his first chicken leg, commenting that they tasted like "rib legs". A pretty good way of describing it for a three year old.
I have always loved to create spicy dishes from around the globe. While my son wished to partake, I usually prepared his meal plain with sauce on the side. I was making one of his favorites, Buffalo Style Wings. Suddenly my son said, "Mom, where's the sauce?" My response was, "Son, I'm not sure you would wish to try it!" I was judging from past experiences. It turns out, he is very much like me in this respect and the rest is history. Now every Super Bowl or special occasion my son requests his special wings. I will have to come up with some spicier versions as he now likes Ghost and Habanero peppers and is quite adventurous in the kitchen. My original recipe is below.
Joshua's Special Wings
Ingredients for the Wings
Three pounds chicken wings
One quarter cup melted salt free butter
Six tablespoons Buffalo our Louisiana style wing sauce
Two tablespoons sweet Paprika
Four cloves garlic minced
Two teaspoons ground cardamom
Two teaspoons Kosher or Sea Salt
One teaspoon ground white or pink pepper
One teaspoon cayenne pepper
Four tablespoons melted salt free butter or canola oil
Juice of half a small lemon
Two Tablespoons honey
Chopped parsley for garnish
Ingredients for the Blue Cheese Dressing
Three ounces of soft fresh crumbled blue cheese
One quarter cup whole milk
One half cup high quality mayonaisse
One garlic clove minced
One Tablespoon lemon juice
One teaspoon paprika
One teaspoon salt
Method For The Wings and Hot Sauce
1) Rince, pat dry, and separate at the main joint the chicken wings. Many times they come already butchered for your convenience. I like to use Amish, Organic or Kosher chicken.
2) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3) Sprinkle the wings with half the dried spices including: One Tablespoon paprika, one teaspoon cardamom, one teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon white or pink pepper, and 1/2 cayenne pepper.
4) Mix two cloves of the minced garlic together with the melted butter, or Canola oil if using and paint both sides of the wings. Make sure you put the spice rub on both sides also.
5) Squeeze with half of the lemon juice and drizzle the top with one tablespoon of the honey
6) Sprinkle with the parsley and space out the wing pieces on a lined or lightly oiled cookie sheet, lasagna pan, or pizza pan.
7) Bake the wings, turning over after fifteeen minutes. Bake another fifteen minutes. Remove from heat briefly and brush lightly with the sauce below.
8) In a small sauce pot, melt the quarter cup butter and take off the heat to cool. Swirl in the wing sauce, and the other half of the dried spices as described in step 3. Add as well the tablespoon of honey and the two remaining cloves of minced garlic bring to a boil and then down to a simmer. After painting both sides of the wings, bring the remaining sauce to a boil. Be sure to separate out the small bit of sauce you paint on into a separate bowl, so as not to waste it. Discard this small bit of sauce.
9) Serve your wings with Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing. A recipe for Blue Cheese is below. Also traditionally garnished with celery and carrots.
Method for Blue Cheese Dressing
1) In a medium sized bowl mix together the blue cheese, with the milk well until there are very few lumps.
2) Add just a dash of lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika and the minced garlic.
3) Fold in the mayonaisee and sour cream.
4) Let chill for thirty minutes.
Recipe Developed By: Sarah J. Hall World Cuisine Today Originally Published February 3, 2017
