Fire Up That Grill and Prepare to Get Your Hands Messy!

Now that it’s finally getting warmer here in the Northeast, it’s been virtually impossible to not fire up the grill for at least one meal a day. We absolutely love the smoky smell and delicious char that can really only be achieved from the grill. Needless to say, it’s become the cornerstone of our cooking life. A couple days ago Liz mentioned she was craving something Asian inspired. I recalled a delicious grilled Chinese chicken wing recipe that my family used back when I was a kid. It was a bit citrusy, tangy and sweet. Finger lickin' good!

Not having the actual recipe in my possession, I was forced to recreate it from memory (some 20-something years ago!)  I wanted to stay as try to the recipe as I could recall but also knew that changes I made to it would make it my own. Quite liberating if you ask me! Naturally I incorporated our Chinese Takeout Spice Blend just because we love it!  

I would suggest trying this on your own. It can be a bit daunting changing a recipe due to fear of completely messing up the dish. Been there, done that. Don’t be afraid! Take it from me, when cooking, unless you dramatically increase an ingredient like salt or hot peppers, you’ll find that small changes in measurements or ingredient substitutions will make a recipe your own and embolden you to go on more cooking adventures!

So here it is, in all its glory, my family’s ancient Chinese secret...er...my newfangled recipe for Grilled Asian Chicken Wings.

What you need:

• 5 pounds chicken wings  (you can buy these frozen in a bag or fresh. Obviously fresh is preferred, but frozen will suffice.  Just remember to thaw them before throwing them on the grill)
• 1 tablespoon Wayward Gourmet Chinese Takeout Spice Blend
• 2 cups orange juice (we prefer fresh, but we won’t yell at ya if it’s from the carton)
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil (we like sesame oil because not only does it have a delicious flavor, it’s smoking point is higher than something like olive oil which equals less flare-ups on the grill.)
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions for garnish (make it look purrdy!)

Here’s what you do:

1. Combine everything except the chicken in a large bowl and stir until nicely mixed.
2. Place chicken in bowl with mixture, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours (the longer the better!)
3. Remove chicken from marinade
4. Preheat your grill to 400 degrees F. (we had all 3 burners on “medium” which ended up working perfectly)
5. Move marinade to saucepan and simmer over medium heat for around 10 minutes. (This ensures any bacteria is killed and allows marinade to thicken into a fanny-kicking sauce!)
6. Grill wings for 8-10 minutes, flipping over halfway through to cook evenly.
7. Remove wings from grill and place on a platter.
8. Pour sauce over wings ensuring they’re completely coated (don’t wanna make any wings feel bad not getting sauce)
9. Let sit for about 5 minutes to let wings absorb sauce.
10. Get those hands messy! NOM! NOM! NOM!