Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Easy Chicken Wings for Dad

Well, is everybody enjoying summer? Although it won't officially arrive until Saturday, I think we're all finally feeling some warmth, aren't we? Kav, how about you?

Here in Texas, we're just thrilled that we haven't hit 100 degrees yet. That means we can actually be outside. We had  pleasant temps and a nice breeze this weekend, meaning it was delightful weather to just sit outside and read, grill or hang by the pool.

But Sunday was Father's Day and while not quite as exciting as Mother's Day, we had a grand time.
As always, I was faced with the dilemma of what to fix for dinner. And since I'd been staring at a large package of chicken wings in my freezer for a few months now, I decided it was finally time to give those babies the lovin' they deserved.

First, I had to thaw out the wings. These were real wings, the kind with three sections to them, so first I cut off the tip section and set it aside. No real meat there anyway. Then I cut the little drumette from the rest of the wing and tossed both sections into a bowl. 


Now let's add a little seasoning. You can use whatever you like. Anything from seasoned salt to hot and spicy.
You might remember Julie and I talking about Penzey's Spices before (you can find them here).
They have all kinds of wonderful seasoning blends, but there were two in my cupboard that fit the bill.

I actually prefer the flavor of the BBQ3001, but I only had a couple of teaspoons of that. So I started there, then added a teaspoon or so of the Barbecue of the Americas and tossed everything together.

Nope. They're not there yet. They needed something more. 
I grabbed my old standby that I mix up and keep in the cupboard in a large container. It consists of kosher salt, ground black pepper, granulated garlic, some paprika and who knows what else. I put several tablespoons into a bowl then added some wonderful smoked paprika (also from Penzeys) and stirred it all together.

PERFECT!

I sprinkled in some of that.

Stirred it some more and then let it sit while I fired up the grill.

Once the grill was nice and hot (I used a gas grill), I added as many of the wings as would fit and still have enough space in between to get crispy.

Flip them halfway through cooking.
They're looking good.

When cooked through, remove from grill and keep warm until ready to serve.

Of course, if anyone sees them, you might find yourself missing a few.

Oh. My. Word.
These were some of the most delicious wings I've ever had. Hubby even told me they were "way better than the frozen ones" and that I was not to buy the frozen variety any more. Now if that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is.

Just think of the fun you could have with these little babies. We had them for a meal, but you could also do them for a party. Set up a little wing bar with a variety of seasonings and dipping sauces. Hot sauce, Ranch dressing, Terriyaki sauce... You name it. Bet there'd be a crowd gathered there.

Ah, but summer is just beginning.

How is yours shaping up? Are you doing anything special?

19 comments:

  1. looks yum! so you're officially on 'real food' now? (or were you, um, cheating LOL!)
    I think I'm gonna have to get a gas grill..me and charcoal aren't buddies - I need easy but not sure about changing out those gas containers. though I do similar stuff at work.
    now I"m wanting brisket and wings..
    Susanna

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    1. I've not made it to real food yet, but I can have chicken, so long as it's chopped up. And that works for me.

      Susanna, I love the flavor of a charcoal grill, but I love the ease of gas. And with the new connectors they have, it's really not that difficult to change out. Of course, there is still the weight of a full tank.

      And is there ever a bad time for brisket or wings? :)

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  2. "... and who knows what else." Sounds like my kind of recipe! Just throw stuff in the bowl until it looks right.

    Mmmmm....

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    1. Yeah, you know how it goes, Virginia... A little bit of this, a little bit of that... Oh, how about a dash of this. :)

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  3. We;ve been having a pretty decent spring now that it's finally here...warm days, cool nights. Very few humid days...until this week. Ugh. Definitely no snow piles left any where.

    I have only one comment about this recipe....To my untrained eye there is nothing more pathetic looking than a naked chicken. All that goosebumpy flesh just lying there. They look much better once you've done your magic. :-)

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    1. Kav, I have to agree with you on naked chickens. Then again, how attractive would we be without our feathers? :P

      Glad to hear you're finally enjoying some warm weather. The humidity is just part of it, so you have to look at the bright side. Think of the money you save on lotion. :-D

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    2. LOL, Kav! That's so true about how awful they look! Whole chickens and turkeys freak me out when I handle them. LOL

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  4. You are back to solid food????? Love the Penzey spices. Makes everything so easy.

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    1. At least one more week on soft foods. Though I am starting to push the envelope a little. Still being careful, though. I don't want any setbacks. Nor do I want Ruthy yelling at me. :)

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  5. THOSE LOOK AMAZING!!

    I was just going to ask about the solid foods too.One more week! Hurrah!!



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  6. I just ordered a Penzey's catalog. Thank you.

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    1. Yep, only one more week. At least I hope so. We'll see what the doctor has to say next Tuesday.

      You will love Penzey's catalog. It has lots of wonderful recipes, as well as all their spices and blends. I find that, in most cases, they don't cost much more than what I pay at the grocery store, but the quality is so much better.

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  7. I would never think to do wings on the grill!! Thank you for this. I thought you had to fry them, but these look just like restaurant wings! I can't wait to try them. But I need order spices first. :)

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    1. Missy, they're not quite as crispy as what you'll get at a restaurant, but they're pretty darn close. Besides, I'd much rather grill than deep fry.

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  8. Mmmmm, these look so good! And you can eat them - if you cut the meat off the bones and chop it into tiny pieces, right?

    We're actually having summer yesterday and today - highs in the mid-80's and some pretty powerful thunderstorms. I'm thankful tornadoes are rare around here, although there was one northwest of us last Friday. Our biggest threat is hail. Everyone has hail damaged cars!

    If the storms hold off, I'm doing chuck roast on the grill tonight. I'm with you, Mindy - I love the way charcoal cooks, but I like the convenience of the gas.

    Now I'm off to order Penzey's catalog....

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    1. Yep, off the bone and chop it up. So I still get the flavor.

      Jan, one thing I really like about Penzey's is that they have a lot of no-salt blends for those trying to cut out sodium. Not a big deal to me, but for those who are trying to limit their salt intake...

      Now about that chuck roast on the grill. How do you do a roast on the grill?

      So glad you're not getting those big storms they got in Nebraska. Those poor people.

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  9. so when you dumping all these spices on it how do you know it's not there yet? smell? I found out there's a penzey's in Houston -but it's far enough away I'm tempted to just order and wait for delivery LOL! guess that means I'll get charged tax like amazon does me now since I'm lucky enough to have an amazon warehouse in TX...
    guess on night shift tonight I'll be pricing grills LOL!
    Susanna

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  10. I'm agreeing on all of this!!!! I love when we have wood-fired grill food but there's a tight timeline on summer and chores and jobs so the gas grill gets the nod during the week. But on weekends we love to fire up the fire pit... and the casual cooking pit Dave tossed together alongside, 8 concrete blocks and a big ol' grill grate that came from something H-u-g-e and we saw and grabbed because it's the perfect grill size for a family... and then we lay the washable grill plates from our old grill on top and cook. But during the week, it's quick and on the gas grill more often than not!

    I've been meaning to try wings on the grill, Mindy!!! I'm just afraid I'll walk off and ignore them and OOPS. Grill fire at Ruthy's. If I take a good book out with me, I can hang out and keep my eye on things, but then I get tempted to rake something. Or spread mulch. Or trim flowers. I'm ridiculous. Clearly silly. Because good food should be worthy of my attention!!!!

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  11. Jan, love that new profile picture! So pretty!

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