Name a more iconic tailgate staple than chicken wings, we’ll wait. There simply isn’t one. Now, there are a myriad of ways to get your wing on during football season: you can bake them, fry them, air fry them or just order a bunch for takeout. Our wings are grilled. And like peak Belichick-Brady era Pats, they are ELITE. In a class of their own. Admittedly, grilling is more labor intensive than placing a takeout order at your local wing spot. But is it worth it? Oh baby, is it ever. The resulting wings are fall-off-the bone tender, with a touch of smokiness and delightfully crispy skin. Sometimes it pays to do things the hard way. No days off right??
GRILLED WINGS TWO WAYS
5 lbs. chicken wings (two packages Bell & Evans split wings from Kinnealey’s)
⅓ cup olive oil
Salt, pepper
STICKY SOY GARLIC STYLE
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup sugar
8-9 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ cup crushed red pepper
For Serving:
Toasted sesame seeds
2-3 chopped scallions
1 sliced English cucumber
BUFFALO STYLE
1 12oz. jar Frank’s Red Hot
6 tbsp. salted butter
Salt, pepper
For Serving:
3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
4 celery stalks, cut into sticks
Blue cheese or ranch dressing
Make sauces:
Sticky Soy Garlic Sauce: combine soy sauce, sugar, garlic and crushed red pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a light boil and then reduce to low, stirring often, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Turn heat off and pop a lid on the pan to keep warm. Heat up again if necessary once the wings come off the grill.
Buffalo Sauce: combine Franks and butter with a pinch of salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until the butter is completely melted. About 8 minutes. Turn off heat and pop a lid on the pan to keep warm.
Grill wings:
Heat grill to medium-high heat on all burners. In a very large bowl drizzle wings with olive oil, two big pinches of salt and one big pinch of pepper. Toss to thoroughly coat.
A key step to grilled wings is staying close to the grill. Essentially, you are grill-roasting these so the heat is slightly lower than high and the lid mostly closed; but, chicken wings have a lot of fat, so things can go from sizzling to nuclear quick. Stay close to the grill and lift the lid every 2 minutes or so to make sure nothing is engulfed in flames. A little char is great but too much can be bitter.
Spread wings out on the grill in a single layer, skin side down. Grill for 5 minutes on the first side with the lid mostly down, and then turn. They should turn easily. If skin is sticking, they aren’t ready yet. Repeat for about 5 minutes on the second side. Then turn the wings again and grill another 2-3 minutes on the first side; repeat and turn all the wings to grill another 2-3 minutes on the second side. It takes a full minute and a half to turn all of the wings, so account for that as you move along and work from one side to the other in the same direction from start to finish. All told, your wings will be on the grill for about 20-25 minutes. Ours took 23 on the nose. The first pass of cooking renders out some of the fat, the second crisps up the skin and ensures things are cooked through. The end result should be wings that are golden brown on each side, charred in spots and the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. We used wings that were already split into flats and drummettes and would suggest you do the same. You will find some of the smaller flats are ready to come off the grill after the first 12-15 minutes or so of cooking, because they are far smaller than the drummettes. Just pull them off as they appear done.
Remove wings from grill and separate into two batches. In a very large bowl place half of the grilled wings and pour about ½ cup to ¾ cup of the soy garlic sauce over. Toss well to coat. Plate the wings and garnish with another drizzle of sauce, a sprinkling of sesame seeds and a scattering of sliced scallions. Cucumbers on the side make for a nice addition as well, because one cannot live on wings alone.
In another sizable bowl, place the second half of the grilled wings. Pour about ¾ cup of the Buffalo sauce over, tossing well to coat. Add more if desired. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping and garnish with sliced carrots and celery. You will have extra sauce in both cases, we like to put out a bit of that in a small bowl on the side, for those that like their wings extra, extra saucy.
To make ahead: grill and sauce the wings and then pack into a baking dish. When ready to serve, reheat wings in a 350 oven for about 10-15 minutes. Drizzle a little extra sauce on before serving. If you’re taking these to the tailgate, you can always warm them up on the hibachi grill, if you’ve got one cooking.
BEVERAGE PAIRING SUGGESTIONS
Both of these tantalizing sauces lend the wings a salty tang. The soy garlic wings are a bit sweeter while the Buffalo pack their signature punchy heat. Pairing wines with such pronounced and different flavors can be a little tricky, but typically something fruit-forward with a touch of texture works really well. For a white wine that fits that bill, we love chenin blanc and we have two that would pair perfectly. First up is the Marquis de Goulaine Vouvray, a medium-bodied, off-dry chenin from the Loire Valley in France. Golden yellow in the glass with aromas of citrus, quince and honey. On the palate, it’s balanced, with a little sweetness and zippy acidity. Another favorite chenin for us is the Tania et Vincent Carème Terre Brulée Blanc from Swartland, South Africa. This wine is an insanely good chenin at a ridiculously sharp price. Golden in the glass with aromas of bright citrus and honeysuckle. On the palate, this wine is plush and easy-drinking, with flavors of ripe apple, lime and orange blossom, framed by terrific acidity and a clean, crisp finish.
For red, whenever we’re grilling, we think of zinfandel. It works so incredibly well with anything smoky, slow cooked or spicy. Admittedly, it’s not super fashionable. But it’s not through any fault of its own! It’s because some value-priced zins can be a bit lackluster. This is due to the fact that when this grape is grown in too hot of a place and not made with care, the resulting wines can get overly jammy and hot with alcohol. But, we would argue, when California zin is done right it is such a surprising and delightful wine, all bright red fruit, with hints of spice and singing acidity that make it perfect for savory, smoky fare. The Valrvn Zinfandel is one such bottle that gets it all oh-so-right; ruby-purple colored in the glass and bursting with aromas of black and red berries, hints of spice and tangy red rhubarb. On the palate, this wine is flirty and fruit-forward with loads of red fruit flavor and a touch of warm cocoa, sweet spice and tobacco, followed by a fresh finish. This wine in particular will have you giving zinfandel a much deserved second look. It’s just perfect with these sumptuous wings and would also work awesome with pulled pork, ribs or burgers.
Beer with these, of course, is a no brainer and to be honest, almost any style would work. But we think a particularly perfect pairing would be a Märzen-style Oktoberfest. For a hyper traditional, the Weihenstephaner Festbier is as classic as it gets. But we really love our beer locally made (because local means FRESH). So, if we’re sticking with New England brews, our pick is Zero Gravity Oktoberfest. Brewed in Burlington, Vermont, using German malts and hops and a traditional cold lagering process, this is one of our best selling fest beers every fall. Clean, crisp and a little bit bready with just a tiny bite of hop bitterness, this brew is perfect for fall weather, football and chicken wings.