Visit my other site, For The Wing, for all things chicken-wing!
“Blown away” were the first words that crossed my mind when I took my first bite of chicken wings (cooked using a Vortex) tossed in Meijer’s Sweet Chili wing sauce. With no artificial flavors, I found the sauce to be nothing but pure goodness.
The sauce has a nice heat level, not too much and not too little. A little sweetness and the perfect consistency. Not too gloppy, but perfect for sticking to wings and your fingers. Better than many top shelf wing sauces and a whole lot cheaper.
My wife’s favorite eat-out wings are the Thai’R Cracker wings from Quaker Steak and Lube. She said that the Meijer sweet chili wing sauce is at least as good and maybe a bit better. That’s saying a lot.
Visit my other site, For The Wing, for all things chicken-wing!
I’m usually a crispy, grilled or fried chicken wing kind-of-guy. But I am open to other ideas, and I can’t pass up a tasty wing no matter what. So I went into the idea of cooking wings in my slow cooker with an open mind and empty stomach. What resulted were very tasty, very tender wings covered in a fantastic homemade Buffalo wing sauce. Slow cooker chicken wings made a believer out of me.
Cooking the wings in Buffalo sauce in the slow cooker before transferring them to the oven ensured that each and every bite was packed with that great traditional wing flavor. These wings aren’t just covered in sauce, there’s sauce all the way through.
The sauce is what makes these slow cooker chicken wings great. It’s the perfect traditional Buffalo wing sauce. I make a big batch and keep it on hand. I like to fill a squirt bottle with wing sauce and squirt it on macaroni and cheese. Yep, try it. It’s good.
You can get a bit of a char and crisp on these wings if you put them under the broiler for a bit just before serving. Keep an eye on them, though. You don’t want to burn them.
Cooking the wings in Buffalo sauce in the slow cooker before transferring them to the oven ensured that each and every bite was packed with that great traditional wing flavor.
Visit my other site, For The Wing, for all things chicken-wing!
After making roasted harissa cauliflower the other day (my first encounter with harissa) I knew after the first bite that the next thing I was going to make with the spicy red pepper paste would be Harissa chicken wings. There was no doubt in my mind that I was in for a wonderful treat. You get a nice kick, but don’t be afraid. Harissa is not crazy spicy, not at all. It has a wonderful earthy flavor to it. I could eat it all day, On wings I could eat it all week.
The paste for making these harissa chicken wings can be found in the Mediterranean section of your local grocery store. I haven’t tried making it home yet, but I will. The consistency reminds me a bit of hummus, though it’s certainly not hummus. But, oh…. it just hit me… harissa sure would be great in hummus! I’m off to try that now!
I store my leftover homemade sauces in squeeze bottles. If refrigerated, I set them out an hour before using so they come to room temperature. You don’t want to put cold sauce on hot wings!
These have a nice kick, but don’t be afraid. Harissa is not crazy spicy, not at all. It has a wonderful earthy flavor to it. I could eat it all day, On wings I could eat it all week.
Visit my other site, For The Wing, for all things chicken-wing!
Wonderfully smoky, tender meat with a lightly crispy skin, these smoked and then fried chicken wings were a thing of beauty. These are one of most dangerous things you could ever put in front of me. I don’t even need any sauce to toss or dunk them in, either. Just give me a big basket of them and get out of the way!
Smoke ’em
The process is simple. Season your wings, and place them onto your smoker. No messing around with them either. Just smoke for 2 hours.
Fry ’em
When the wings are done you toss them into a deep fryer for a minute or so, until golden brown and lightly crispy. You can also make a big huge batch and freeze the smoked wings (before frying). All you have to do is thaw them and deep fry them when you’re ready to serve them at a later time. I was worried that making them from the frozen smoked wings would result in over-cooked, tough wings, but oh no, they were fantastic!
Grill ’em (optional)
There’s a brewpub by our house that makes crazy-good chicken wings. They smoke them first over a mix of mesquite and cherry woods, then flash fry them. They sauce them then place them over a hot flame to finish them off. My approach is similar, but I don’t always put them onto the grill at the end. They are fantastic either way, but grilling them real quick does help set the sauce.
I get out my big deep fryer when it’s time to fry a large batch of food. It comes to temperature quickly and it maintains that temperature perfectly. It has a built-in oil filter and storage unit so I can re-use the oil several times.
Fire up your smoker for 225 F. Use any wood you like. I used Jack Daniel’s whiskey barrel chunks because I wanted a good, noticeable smoke flavor. Use a lighter wood if you want your wings to be a little less smoky.
Toss the wings in the seasoning.
Place the wings onto the smoker and smoke for 2 hours. No need to rotate or flip them.
When done, remove from the smoker. You can deep fry them immediately or freeze them for thawing and frying later.
To fry, heat canola oil to 350 F.
Working in batches, add the wings and fry for 1-2 minutes or until they are the desired color.
Let cool slightly. Serve tossed with your favorite sauce and your favorite dipping sauce on the side.
Optional: Toss the wings onto a hot grill for 1 minute after saucing them to set the sauce.
Visit my other site, For The Wing, for all things chicken-wing!
Oh yum! Mexican-inspired chicken wings with kicked up easy Ranch dressing! I loved these enchilada chicken wings so much I had to make them two days in a row. The wings by themselves are fantastic. You could serve them dry, without the sauce but the sauce will remind you of traditional wing sauce with a great south-of-the-border twist.
I prefer to make my own taco seasoning mix, but you can of course use pre-made. For these enchilada chicken wings you’ll want to use a seasoning that is fairly fine in texture. You don’t want any big chunks of spice on your wings. First, it might burn when you cook the wings. Second, no one wants to bite into a big chunk of… .something.
I store my leftover homemade sauces in squeeze bottles. If refrigerated, I set them out an hour before using so they come to room temperature. You don’t want to put cold sauce on hot wings!
Oh yum! Mexican-inspired chicken wings with kicked up easy Ranch dressing! I loved these enchilada chicken wings so much I had to make them two days in a row. The wings by themselves are fantastic.
Visit my other site, For The Wing, for all things chicken-wing!
Boy howdy, these Buffalo wings on the Char-Broil Big Easy came out great! 30 minutes marinating, 30 or so minutes cooking and it’s time to devour some traditional-flavored wings. I used the Big Easy Cooking Rack, which lets you cook on up to 6 different levels, enough room for a family pack (around 4 pounds) of wings. You can also use the standard Big Easy basket along with the bunk bed basket, but you won’t be able to cook as many wings at once. The rack is no longer available, but has been replaced by the bunk bed basket.
I did ‘finish’ the wings on a grill to get a little char and crisp, but doing so is completely optional. These Buffalo wings on the Char-Broil Big Easy are fantastic right off the cooker. If a little crunch is what you want do what I did and put them over high heat on a grill for a few minutes before serving.
To make this dish on the Char-Broil Big Easy I used a bunk bed basket. It lets me double or even triple the amount of cooking space I have.
Boy howdy, these Buffalo wings made on the Char-Broil Big Easy came out great! 30 minutes marinating, 30 or so minutes cooking and it’s time to devour some traditional-flavored wings.
Place the wings into a large resealable bag or container.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.
Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Let cool slightly. Pour all but 1/4 cup of the marinade onto the chicken. Save the 1/4 cup for finishing the wings later.
Seal the chicken and toss to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Fire up your Big Easy.
Add chicken to the cook racks and lower into the cooker.
Cook for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is done. Note that depending on conditions, chicken at the top of the rack may cook quicker or later than those on the bottom. Don’t just check one piece for doneness.
NOTE: At this point, you can if you wish, transfer the chicken to a hot grill to get a nice char and a little crunch on the wings. It’s completely optional, though.
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
Warning: The term ‘sticky’ is a tremendous understatement when it comes to describing these Wicked Sticky wings made on the Char-Broil Big Easy. Think sticky molasses, and then think stickier. Don’t spill the sauce (like someone I know might have done) or you will be cleaning counter tops and sinks and what-not for days. Trust me. Now, on to the wings…
These wings are crazy good. Wicked heat. Sticky sweet. I made them crispy style on my Char-Broil Big Easy, but you can make them anyway you like, from smoking them to deep frying them. It’s the sauce that shines here, and boy is it messy great. Wicked sticky wings are called that for a reason.
I went simple with the dipping sauce for these wings. Just straight-out-of-the-bottle chilled Ranch dressing. Nothing fancy, just something to offset the kick of the sauce just a bit.
These wings are crazy good. Wicked heat. Sticky sweet. It’s the sauce that shines here, and boy is it messy great. Wicked sticky wings are called that for a reason.
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
I bought a Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Oil-less Turkey Fryer a while back. It is one of my favorite “grills” by far. It doesn’t get any easier – marinate/brine/rub/whatever meat you wish to cook and put it into the cooker. Turkeys and chickens take about 15 minutes per pound. A family pack of wings takes about 30 minutes. Done. No mess, no fuss. It’s a beautiful thing. And trust me, I cook a lot of wings on my Big Easy. A lot. To get a family pack of wings onto my Big Easy, I use my homemade mod, the Wingin’ator 3000. You can always cook the wings in an oven or charcoal or gas grill of course.
Just The Right Kick
These fire-eater chicken wings from Steven Raichlen’s The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition are absolutely amazing (as are the other recipes in the 575 page book). Yes, they have some kick, but it’s not overwhelming at all. They’re perfect. I plan on using the rub recipe on whole roasted chickens and turkey from my Big Easy, it’s just that good.
I cook the wings for about 30 minutes in my Big Easy, then I toss them onto a hot grill for a few minutes to crisp up the skin. You can skip that final step and still enjoy really fantastic wings. I served them with our cool Ranch dipping sauce.
Fire-Eater Chicken Wings on the Char-Broil Big Easy
These fire-eater chicken wings are absolutely amazing (as are the other recipes in the 575 page book). Yes, they have some kick, but it’s not overwhelming at all. They’re perfect.
I was looking for a different take on chicken wings and boy, did I find it. These pineapple chicken wings are sweeter than the “usual” wings you get, with a slight Asian flavor thanks to the soy sauce. The dipping sauce was fantastic. So good in fact that I ended up using the same sauce later for our grilled glazed kielbasa bites.
If you have a Char-Broil Big Easy oil-less fryer, try out my Wingin’ator 3000 modification. It lets you cook a large amount of wings all at once. It’s great for cooking these pineapple chicken wings. Any wings for that matter!
I was looking for a different take on chicken wings and boy, did I find it. These pineapple chicken wings are sweeter than the “usual” wings you get, with a slight Asian flavor thanks to the soy sauce.
Place chicken wings into a large resealable baggie (or two) or a large container.
In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add to the chicken and toss to coat. Seal and refrigerate for 1-3 hours, turning occasionally.
For the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir and warm until thickened.
If you follow this blog at all you know that I’m a huge fan of chicken wings, and in particular, wings that are cooked on the Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Oil-less Turkey Fryer. I made a simple modification to our Big Easy that lets me cook a big batch of wings at once. They take less than an hour and always come out fantastic, like these spicy chicken wings with apple onion dip. Of course you can cook your wings using whatever you have, from a gas grill to a deep fryer to a convection oven!
These spicy chicken wings with apple onion dip have a wonderful savory flavor. The apple onion dip is fantastic, and would also work great for dipping chips, crackers, vegetables… you name it.
These spicy chicken wings with apple onion dip have a wonderful savory flavor. The apple onion dip is fantastic, and would also work great for dipping chips, vegetables… you name it.