After many years with 2 Eggs, 1st Chicken Wings! Really good, but a learning experience.

Theophan · June 2017

My wife wants NO part of chicken wings, so I've never made any. It's just not a lot of fun for me to spend some time cooking something and then have someone really not like it. But she's out of town, so I made some wings! I had a recipe that sounded really good to me, had apricot jam, soy sauce, black pepper and fennel in the glaze, among other things, and it was delicious, but less spectacularly so than I had hoped.

One mistake I made didn't seem to hurt me: I just wasn't thinking, and almost 100% of the time when I put in the plate setter, I'm SMOKING something, so I threw in some hickory chunks and only later realized that I don't usually like super smoky chicken. Oh well. But they didn't seem as smoky as I'd feared, and I liked them fine the way they were.

Another mistake, though, cost me: I cooked them around 350° and it wasn't till about an hour that they looked like they were probably done, but then I brushed on the glaze and let it set for 10 minutes, brushed it on again and let it set another 10 minutes, and I think in that 20 minutes they got overdone. Still really good, scarfed down more than half of them, but another time I guess I'll glaze them before they seem quite done. And I think I may try one of the tried-and-true methods I've seen on this forum, like maybe RRP's "50-hour" Georgia Red Wings. Here are the wings when they first looked done to me, about an hour (you can see how smoked they got -- next time I probably won't add the wood), and then glazed about 20 minutes later:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/sz/z6ibabgdgqth.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/gg/j1ce2zgli2zl.jpg

littlemb8899 · June 2017

look good to me

Killit_and_Grillit · June 2017

They look great.

I always cook mine raised direct instead of smoking them. My crew likes them dry, coated after the cook or with dipping sauce.

I literally was looking for a recipe for bacon last night and thought, "man, I think early 2016 all I cooked wings"

zman51 · June 2017

that glaze sounds yummy. Have a link to recipe?

SciAggie · June 2017

They look good. Kudos on branching out and trying something new - it's fun to cook things that are outside the norm.

Theophan · June 2017

zman51 said:

that glaze sounds yummy. Have a link to recipe?

I dug it out of an old Gourmet magazine (March, 1988), so there's no link. But here's the recipe, with the original, non-Egg directions:

Apricot-Glazed Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wings, wing tips cut off and reserved for another use such as wing tip stock and the wings halved at the joint

Glaze:

1 to 1 ½ teaspoons black peppercorns, or to taste
½ teaspoon fennel seeds

½ cup apricot jam
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon Oriental sesame oil if desired

Directions:

Glaze:

In an electric coffee or spice grinder or with the bottom of a small heavy skillet grind medium coarse the peppercorns and the fennel seeds.

In a saucepan combine the jam, the vinegar, the brown sugar, the soy sauce, the mustard, and the oil and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until the jam is melted.

In a blender puree the mixture and return it to the pan, cleaned. Stir in the peppercorn mixture and keep the glaze warm, covered, over low heat.

Cook:

Broil the wings on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from the heat, turning them, for 20 minutes, or until they are golden. In a bowl toss the wings with salt to taste and three fourths of the glaze until they are coated well.

Broil the wings, turning them, for 1 to 2 minutes more, or until they are browned lightly, and serve them with the remaining glaze, heated.

Serves 2 as an entree or 4 to 6 as an hors d'oeuvre.

As I said above, I smoked them for an hour, then brushed on the glaze twice, letting it set each time. Again, I thought these were delicious, but not as wonderful as reading the recipe had made me hope. This recipe for Korean-style chicken skewers, for example, I just found spectacular, and I guess I was hoping it might be that good. It was really good, but not as wonderful as that one. I'm actually thinking I might try adapting that recipe to chicken wings, sometime.

zman51 · June 2017

thx! going to do these Friday

ronw9471 · June 2017

I'm going to try this recipe too...for my first chicken wings on the XL.

northGAcock · June 2017

I go direct on a raised grid. I think you captured the glaze process. I do glaze mine before they are done. I think you will be dialed in perfectly (next time) with your learning assessment. My wife is not a Wing fan either. They are too good to avoid however. There is always cereal for her.

Theophan · June 2017

northGAcock said:

... My wife is not a Wing eater either. They are too good to avoid however. There is always cereal for her.

<guffawing>

I do get frustrated, sometimes, about how many foods there are that I just don't feel like it's worth making because there are so many things she really doesn't want to eat (lamb, liver, duck, goose, grits, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, sauerkraut and cilantro are all on the list). And she certainly could just have something else if I wanted to make a dish that she really wouldn't want to eat. It's just that part of the fun of cooking something usually is serving it to someone who enjoys it! It just takes some of the fun out of it if I make something I really think is wonderful but my wife can't stand. At least when she's not home I don't feel selfish about it cooking something I really like that she doesn't.

ronw9471 · June 2017

I've decided to try it on chicken thighs Friday evening. Should work just as well I think. Wings will have to wait a few more days.

northGAcock · June 2017

Theophan said:

northGAcock said:

... My wife is not a Wing eater either. They are too good to avoid however. There is always cereal for her.

<guffawing>

I do get frustrated, sometimes, about how many foods there are that I just don't feel like it's worth making because there are so many things she really doesn't want to eat (lamb, liver, duck, goose, grits, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, sauerkraut and cilantro are all on the list). And she certainly could just have something else if I wanted to make a dish that she really wouldn't want to eat. It's just that part of the fun of cooking something usually is serving it to someone who enjoys it! It just takes some of the fun out of it if I make something I really think is wonderful but my wife can't stand. At least when she's not home I don't feel selfish about it cooking something I really like that she doesn't.

I totally get it. I share your sentiments....with the exception of grits. That would be reason for divorce around my place. Just kidding of course.

Austin Egghead · June 2017

Nice save and cook. We do our wings direct 350 for 45 to 60 minutes depending on how wings are cut. The Glaze looks interesting. We do wings about 1 per week. If other half had his way they would be cooked several times a week..

etherdome · June 2017

I have always smoked them indirect at 300-350 for an hour or so with whichever glaze/rub chosen , then to oven at 500 for a few minutes to crisp up.

After many years with 2 Eggs, 1st Chicken Wings! Really good, but a learning experience.

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