Okay, this one is totally off topic and probably sort of silly, but am I alone in thinking that chicken wings ought to be a lot yummier?

Most recipes produce faintly-differently-flavoured variations on a theme.   Aside from buffalo wings (which I grill instead of frying – yum!), there’s just not much to be said for any of them.  And what’s truly baffling to me is that many of them require overnight marination - which is absurd, in my view, for something as small as a chicken wing!

And yet, chicken wings are the quintessential small-bite, tasty finger food.

Or at least, they ought to be.

I was thinking about this a few weeks ago, and – remembering a technique I’d read in a recipe for spareribs in the June/July 2010 issue of Cook’s Country magazine – I came up with this recipe.

Recipe:

The quantities listed here will provide plenty of marinade and sauce for 6 wings.  Adjust according to how many wings you plan to serve. 

Cut the chicken wings apart at the joints.   Freeze the wing tips for stock (or discard them if you must).

Put the wings in a bowl.

For every 6 wings (12 pieces, cut apart), stir together:

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 to 4 teaspoons Asian chili garlic sauce (depending on your tolerance for heat!)
• 2 tablespoons honey

(Both the Asian sauces should be available in your supermarket’s International aisle.)

Pour this marinade over the wings, and stir to coat the wings evenly.  Allow them to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

While they’re marinating, heat your barbecue grill and brush the grates clean.  If you’re using a gas grill, set it up for indirect grilling at about 350 degrees F.  If you’re using charcoal, build a two-level fire with a cool side that will allow the wings to cook slowly without burning.

Pour the marinade off the wings into a small saucepan, leaving a few tablespoonsful with the wings for basting.

Set the saucepan over medium-low heat to reduce while you grill the wings.  It’s about to become the sauce.  (No fears of contamination, because the sauce is cooking at the same time as the wings are cooking.)

Oil the grill grate and grill the wings at low temperature, basting occasionally with the marinade left in the bowl.  You want to cook the wings slowly – about 10 or 15 minutes per side (it’s okay as long as your heat is low enough!) – so that the fat that’s often thick under the skin of the wings has a chance to render out, without causing flare-ups and burning.  The wings should be crisp and brown on all sides, without being dried out.

Stir the marinade as it simmers.  When it’s cooked down by about half, add 2 tablespoons of tequila.  (If you don’t have tequila, you can also use bourbon – or skip it altogether.)  Keep stirring.  It will thicken down into a lovely sticky sauce that will be about 1/4 of what you started with.

When the wings are done, put them in a clean bowl (don’t re-use the bowl you marinated them in without washing it thoroughly to avoid bacteria contamination).  Pour the hot, sticky sauce over them, stir to coat thoroughly, and dive in. 

Serve with lots of napkins and a good white wine or plenty of beer!

I think it qualifies as the recipe I’ve been looking for all these years.  How about you?