Last night Wahine & I went to a fav pizza place, but neither of us felt like we wanted a pie. So we got a chef salad and chicken wings. For quite some time, we’d debated ordering the wings there, but never had, because the pizza is most excellent.
I was startled to see that the wings (mostly drums!) were served un-sauced with the sauces on the side. This civilized practice I applaud in BBQ, but it was new to me with wings.
The MOST impressive aspect of this dish, however, was that these wings were neither breaded nor fried, but were baked to order in the pizza oven. This resulted in a rich caramelization and a crunchiness that isn’t really attainable when even crispy wings are sauce-tossed before serving.
I typically have a hate-hate relationship with wings. No drums and chisel-y small grade, coupled with relatively high price and the mess, and I rarely order them. But these were large, meaty, great (and cheap–$16 for 10). I 'm ordering these again the next chance I get.
I almost always order my wings naked, as the point of wings is their crispiness, and the longer time they spend sauced, the less crisp they retain.
I made AB’s baked wings once that were surprisingly close to fried. Bit of a hassle, tho, so I prefer to use the air-fryer, which I guess is just a super-charged bake.
I also prefer either unsauced or sauce on the side. My preference is to load them up with either salt and pepper or salt/pepper/cumin/red pepper flake/sichuan peppercorn (depending on my mood) once they arrive.
Just curious. Have you tried making wings on the BGE? A different result than what you experienced at the pizza joint, but pretty good.
FWIW, here’s my method:
Prep egg for raised direct/indirect. Pre-heat as hot as you can get it - 500 minimum, but 600 is better.
In a single layer (even then, the less crowded it is, the crisper the wings will get) on the indirect side,
skin side up, lid closed - cook for 23 minutes. If the batch is perfect, it will be golden and puffy (not
always the case ).
Remove from grill and toss in sauce of choice. At the same time, choke the grill a bit so the wings don’t burn in the next phase.
Return to the direct side and cook 1-2 minutes per side, closed, keeping a close eye on it to prevent scorching.
The best way we’ve found to do wings is to brine them, then put them in the rotisserie basket in the Kamado and let the charcoal fire do its thing. Crispy, tasty wings. Often eaten without sauce.
No, I haven’t tried wings on the BGE, but now I shall!
A bottleneck for me is finding a better grade of wings to cook. I suspect a resto duppy store may be a source, but I’m not enthusiastic about buying a 20-pound box of loose wings.
When I lived in Seattle, I could find very meaty wings at one of the Asian grocers in the ID - drumettes and flats sold separately. Not that that helps you - the store no longer is there (and neither am I).
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