Sweet n' Stickey Wings

I've always been hesitant to make wings at home - as a self-appointed "wing-expert," I find that homemade wings seem to lack a certain pizazz that can only be attained by consuming all-you-can-eat wings at your local sports bar. With that being said, however, I thought I would give it a try . . . I'm glad I did. This will be the first in a series of blogs on WINGS.

There are about as many different sauces/flavours/spices for wings are there are grains of sand on a beach. For my first batch, I thought I would keep it simple and use my homemade Sweet n' Stickey Sauce (check out the recipe from my older post). The rest, however, is original. Here's how it goes:

Step 1: Make the marinade:

• 1/2 Cup White Vinegar
• 1 TBSP Chili Powder
• 1 TSP Cayenne Powder

Wisk these ingredients together to combine.



Step 2. Rinse and dry the wings - this recipe used 15 wings - if you are going to use more, double the marinade.




Step 3. Put the wings and Marinade in a Freezer Bag, smoosh around and let it refrigerate for 2 hours

Step 4. Once the wings have absorbed the vinegar and spice, drain them in a colander and discard the marinade

Step 5. Drizzle some oil over the wings and toss to coat.

Step 6. Prepare your BBQ. Below you can see I'm using my Weber Charcoal Kettle with a full Chimney of charcoal.

Step 7. Prepare a 2-zone fire. As you can see below, the heat is focused on only one side of the BBQ. This will enable us to use high heat, when needed and indirect heat later on. You can achieve the same effect on a gas grill by using only 1 burner.

Step 8. Place the wings directly over the coals and flip/toss often to avoid burning. Keep them over the high heat for about 10 minutes so the skin gets crispy


Step 9. Move the wings to the edge of the coals so the are on indirect heat. Let them cook here for another 10 minutes, turning over every few minutes.


When the wings are cooking on the cooler side of the BBQ, you can cover them up to protect the heat.


Step 10. Sauce the wings. Use the sauce from my blog on Sweet n' Stickey Chicken n' Ribs Sauce. Let them cook for another 10 minutes; turning and saucing as much as you desire.

Here is the finished product:

These wings were very tasty. I had initially thought the vinegar, chili, cayenne marinade would add more heat, however it simply added some flavour. To add heat, we'll have to kick it up a notch next time. All in all, these wings were sticky, crispy, juicy, and delicious.

Happy BBQ'n

Seb

BBQ Side Ribs

Well, BBQ weather is finally here (although that hasn't stopped me in the past). This time, I thought I'd tackle ribs. I use the term "tackle" intentionally because, to do it right, it takes some effort. Far too often we go to the grocery store, pick up a pack of Baby Back ribs, put them in the oven for a few hours and smother some store-bought sauce on them and then try to convince ourselves that they are good . . . please. In order to do ribs any justice, it takes effort.

First off, the big debate is what type of ribs to do - Baby Backs or St. Louis Style (Side Ribs). The reality is Baby Backs have enormous popularity - due in part to the "Baby back baby back baby back ribs" jingle from the chili's commercials and then popularized by Mike Myers in Austin Powers (great movie, by the way).

Anyway, most BBQ grand masters say that side ribs are where it's at as they have more flavour. I tend to agree . . . plus they are also cheaper, so when Baby Backs are not on sale, give Side Ribs a try - you won't be disappointed.

Depending on how your local Mega Mart packages your side ribs, you may see the picture below and not know exactly what to do with it as it doesn't look like a typical rack of ribs you would order at a restaurant:




Once it's unpacked and turned over, you can see the rib bones, which are covered with a white membrane - YOU WANT TO REMOVE THIS. Too many people do not know about the membrane and cook the ribs with it on. This results in a plastic-like backing on the ribs which is inedible and has a horrible texture.

Step 1: Cut out 10 - 12 bones from the rib.

Step 2. Separate the main set of ribs from the "chain" at the top. Then separate the excess meat from the chain. The result is you get 3 cuts of meat - 1. Side Ribs. 2. Ribletts. 3. Ribwich meat (Great on a bun).


Step 4. RUB. Use the rub from my previous blog titled "Rub Your Pork". It is loaded with flavour. Rib's themselves need help to have a "flavour pop" and this rub goes a long way. After you have rubbed the ribs, cover them and put them in the fridge for 4 hours to overnight (but 4 hours is enough).


Step 5. Prepare your smoker. Use hickory wood (or apple wood) and get your smoker to 225f

After 3 hours the ribs should look like the picture below:
Step 6. You can tell the ribs are done when the bones are sticking out from the sides and the meat can be torn away easily (NOT FALL-OFF-THE-BONE). Once they are ready you can immediately transfer them to the grill OR wrap them in foil till dinner time.


Step 7. Put your ribs on the grill over low heat and sauce. Check out my blog titled "Sweet n' Sticky Chicken n' Rib sauce - it too, is loaded with flavour and really compliments the rub, smoke and flavour of the meat.


Step 8. - Enjoy.

Thoughts - these ribs rocked - there is so much happening with flavour each bit was a joy. My 3 year old son couldn't stop eating them.