I am addicted to chicken wings. I have eaten some absolutely amazing things in my life, meals and dishes that were so good I could have died happy after eating them. That being said there is nothing in this world I crave more than chicken wings. At any given point in any given day I could tell you when I last ate chicken wings and when I intend to eat them again. One of the only reasons I shop at Cub foods is because they have a chicken wing bar and I can get a box to go and eat them on the way home from the grocery store.
The first chicken wing I can remember eating was a Buffalo style chicken wing at Max's on Broadway in Rochester, MN. They were fried to perfection and serve whole in a zesty and hot buffalo sauce. I prefer my buffalo wings served whole as opposed to broken down into the little drummies we are used to buying. My first few attempts at making wings were not very successful, but I am happy to say that I can now make 20 plus varieties of wings and do a pretty good job of it.
Which brings us to my latest attempt at wings, I was at a bar not so long ago and had a dry rubbed chicken wing that I thought was fantastic. It was very simple but full of flavor and sweetness that a good dry rub has. It got me thinking about how to make them and make them better. The wings I had were fried crispy and then tossed in a dry rub. My thought was to dry rub them first and then cook them in my stove top smoker. Dry rub + smoke + chicken wings, how could that be bad.
The wings were perfect, Fall off the bone tender and full of smoke flavor, coupled with the sweet and hot spice of the dry rub. They were everything I wanted as far as flavor was concerned, the only thing I would have liked more was that crispy texture you can only get from frying. I will have to figure out a way to get that crispy skin, maybe putting them under the broiler for a few minutes would crisp up that skin. I'll have to try it the next time I make wings, which might be tomorrow.
Dry Rub
8 tsp brown sugar
3 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp penzey's northwoods seasoning
Rub wings and let stand in the fridge for 1 hour, cook in stove top smoked for 30 minutes or until meat is pulling away from the bone.
