Uncle Mase's Hot Wings

I made these for my good friend while pregaming for a concert and they were spectacular. Wings are a rite of passage. There are plenty of folks who enjoy “boneless wings,” aka saucy nuggies, but there’s something magical about real wings that fall right off the bone after a nice crispy bite. These aren’t buffalo wings, either. They are hot. 

There are various ways to cook wings, but ultimately they need to be fried at some point to achieve that earth-shattering exterior crispiness. My method only fries the wings at the very end. We’re using the barbecue smoker to give these a nice smoky note and to bring them to temp.

• 3lb Party Wings (Drumettes and Flats)
• Kosher Salt
• Amigo All-Purpose Seasoning Blend (link)
• Shelby Street Heat Nashville Hot Blend (link)
• Fry Oil (Peanut Oil Preferred)

Prep:

Line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire rack on it. Spread wings in a single layer across the rack and cover liberally with kosher salt. Cover loosely with paper towels and leave open in the fridge overnight the night before to extract water from the chicken and draw in some seasoning. This step is mostly to dry out the skin to accomplish a better texture from cooking.

Preheat your grill to 300F and move the wings to countertop at least 30 minutes before cooking in order to temper. Season both sides with Amigo All-Purpose Seasoning Blend and temper for those 30 minutes. Place directly on the grill, careful not to crowd. Cook at 300F for about an hour or until internal temp reaches 170F. At this point, the wings are fully cooked and can be stored until ready to fry and serve.

Cook:
Preheat oil to 350F in a dutch oven. Fry wings in small batches for about five minutes and remove to paper towels to cool. Ladle about a cup of fry oil to a large bowl with a half cup of Shelby Street Heat Nashville Hot Blend and whisk it until fully incorporated. Toss wings in bowl to coat and serve with “That Good Ranch” (recipe link) with carrot and celery sticks.