Grate grilled wings

Nearly every bar and restaurant has them. Nearly every stadium, rink, tailgates from Three Rivers to Mile High, even upscale hotel menus and airports have long been in the act. Huh, guess that explains the near misses lately. What could be worse for pilots than eating chicken wings? Wings are a bit like pizza: anyone can make them, but the art is in making them great, and today you will learn how to make them batter-less and better, and healthier, using your grilling grate.

I consider my hometown to be Rochester, N.Y., yet I spent the first two years of my life in Buffalo. That’s right, the name made famous by four straight Super Bowl losses (a dubious record but a record nonetheless! The Bills went to four straight Super Bowls). Prodigious snowfalls of larger cities inhabited with cold-souled yet remarkably warm-hearted people (94 inches annually, the country’s ninth highest — Syracuse is #1 with 117; higher than Anchorage; Lititz has a whopping 24 inches, so stop complaining) and of course, Buffalo Chicken Wings.

Do you know how they began?

In 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the now famous Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo. Late that evening, after the kitchen had closed, a group of Dominic’s friends arrived at the bar hungry. Dominic asked his mother, Teressa, to prepare something for his friends. At the time Teressa was using wings in the stock pot for soup. Teressa deep fried the wings and flavored them with a secret sauce. The wings were an instant hit and it didn’t take long for people to flock to the bar to experience the new taste sensation. The phenomenon created in 1964 by Teressa Bellissimo has spread across the globe.

Buffalo wings are fried 98 percent of the time. Okay, I made that up, but I dare you to prove me wrong. Besides being inexpensive and easy for bars and restaurants, frying things is like covering them in chocolate or wrapping food in bacon. All three, unfortunately, are magic to our mouths. Yet the average fried wing is loaded with grease. Now multiply that by a dozen and well, that’s hardly a good thing.

Enter the grilled chicken wing. Much better for you, and if you’re thinking they won’t taste as good without the deep fryer — au contraire, my slippery fingered friend.

See the photo? Words can inspire but a picture is worth a thousand thumb lickings. I’ve been grilling wings for a good many years yet, alas, mine pale compared to The Federal Taphouse’s Coal Fired Wings, located in the heart of Lancaster city. I sat with The Fed’s Sous Chef, Mike Casey. He explained how they turn the humble appendage of a bird from average to superb.

Unlike many grill masters pro and amateur, Mike agrees with me that good hardwood makes a big delicious difference. The Federal Taphouse uses charcoal logs made from pure Mesquite for their wing heat, and other premium fruit tree hardwoods for their meats, pizza, fish and fowl. But first he bakes the wings at low temperature after a light coat of olive oil and a hand-packing of their proprietary dry rub. In the wood-fired oven the wings begin to baste as their natural juices simmer with the rub creating a flavorful slightly crispy skin.

When a lucky patron orders a batch, Mike then places them over the hot coals that cook each wing into a caramelized masterpiece. He then shakes the wings in a bag of their secret sauce. The sauce, thankfully, has ditched the day-after misery and childish practice of too hot for human’s nonsense of making plutonium fueled wings. Really, seriously? Any restaurant that dares you to eat their food should strongly reconsider what they want be known for. Good food is meant to be enjoyed and returned to, not causing lip and bowel replacement. I want my picture on the wall smiling and hugging the chef out of gratitude, not a fire hose nose and crying tears of fear.

After a good coating of sauce that’s it; they’re done, and gone-zo is the pooled grease so often seen. What are delivered to you are six jumbo combo drummies-and-wings-as-one perfectly charred with savory sweet pungent smells wafting over you.. You can immediately taste through the air the lightly sweet mesquite and grilled chicken meat.

Dig in with both hands, and scrap the ranch. It’s blue cheese that will please. Oh, and my beer choice, compliments of The Fed’s bar manager? Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, by Stone Brewing. It’s a fantastic dark IPA with a light, cocoa colored head. I tasted hints of smoky smooth, malted chocolate that betrayed its high 8.7% ABV. It was an excellent accompaniment. And frankly, unless this beer tasted like the too common drivel too often served, the bravado over-the-top name alone made it worth a try. I’m glad I did.

Grate Grilled Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• Obtain two, three or more dozen plump chicken wings. There are several ways to buy and produce your wings:

You can buy 12 whole chickens, but that’s a lot of work.

Call a butcher. Super markets are fine, butcher shops are best. Ask him or her to cut you as many as you’d like — whole wings: the “drum” and wing together. This makes for a much better grilling experience with less chance of burning. And they are impressive!

Call your market of choice asking if they offer banquet or jumbo wings. Small wings are no fun to eat and to grill.

• Mesquite (preferred) or hickory wood charcoal available at stores likes Lowes and Home Depot.

If using a gas grill, use one of these mesquite chip methods that will provide woodsy smoke without clogging your gas grill. (See below or online.)

• Olive oil to rub on chicken while baking

• Your favorite dry rub. See Grate Grilling — Remarkable Ribs Aug. 14 edition (lititzrecord.com/social/remarkable-ribs)

• Your homemade or favorite store bought barbecue sauce.

• Really good blue cheese dressing, like Ken’s Steakhouse Blue, Marie’s Super Blue, T. Marzetti’s Organics Blue cheese…

 

Cooking Instructions

• Rub your wings with a light coat of olive oil

• Roll and caress them with your dry rub

• Slide them, uncovered, into a 275-degree oven and cook until 175 degrees

• Test your wings with a meat thermometer. 175 degrees is when chicken is safe to eat. Do not overcook.

• Place them over hot wood coals or on your gas grill with smoking hardwood

• Give them a slight char, keeping a close eye

• When they are cooked to your desired crispness, shake them in a freezer bag with several ounces of barbecue sauce

• Tip: after placing your wings in the bag, blow-up the bag, seal and shake holding the zip lock.

• Serve immediately with sliced celery and good blue cheese. Homemade recipe found online at The Lititz Record.

Smoking wood on a gas grill

Use a foil packet for your wood chips. Place a large handful of chips in the center of an 18-inch square of HD foil. Fold-in all sides. Slice 6 to 8 large holes on top to allow the smoke to escape. Place packet with holes up directly over lit gas grates. The wood chips create smoke without making a mess.

Or use the can seen online. Same procedure, only with a cheap tin can saving cash on expensive foil. Clean can well and cover with its lid with four large nail holes to let the smoke permeate your meal.

Wayne Bagrowski has been grilling for 30 years, often 150 days annually. An Upstate N.Y. guy who isn’t afraid of rain, cold and snow, he can be found in foul-weather gear on his deck and patio, often shovel and hat in-hand, sending smoke signals to fellow enthusiasts. Long-term wine and spirits and restaurant careers round-out his food and drink passions.