Crispy, Smoked Chicken Wings and Legs

Is it wrong that I did my own throw down with my self using Chef Symon’s wings as my opponent HaHa? If there’s one person I would love to meet at the moment it would be Michael Symon. I really like his style of cooking and his appreciation of food. I have another recipe of his that I’ll post on Wednesday. I grill my wings then the last 5 minutes on the grill I glaze them with a Jack Daniels sauce I make and once they caramelize they’re ready. We couldn’t pick a winner as my sauce was sweeter and Chef Symon’s had a sweet heat. I will be making them again because they where amazing!

If you’ve never had Sriracha Sauce it’s really tasty and hot. We like to call it the rooster sauce and it’s fantastic on sushi. You can find it in the Asian isle.

The original recipe was for “Crispy, Smoked Chicken Wings and Legs, Cilantro, Lime and Sriracha and a Celery and Radish Salad” I decided just to make the wings. The only change I made is Chef Symon smoked his wings before frying them, and I grilled them.

Crispy, Smoked Chicken Wings and Legs
(Adapted from Michael Symon)

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Chicken:
8 chicken wings
8 chicken legs

Marinade:
Big pinch kosher salt
Pinch sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Juice of 2 limes
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (1 quart) duck fat
Wing Sauce:
1/4 cup sriracha, plus more, if desired
Splash apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey, plus more if desired
1/4 cup unsalted butter
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch salt

Special equipment: Applewood chips, soaked in water for at least 15 minutes, plus deep hotel pan and perforated insert for smoking or roasting pan and cooling rack, for smoking.

Place a deep hotel pan or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Place 2 handfuls of soaked Applewood chips into the bottom of the pan and top with a perforated hotel pan or set a cooling rack over the roasting pan. Allow the wood chips to smoke. (I skipped doing this and opted for grilling the wings. His are on the bottom of the picture and mine are on the top.)

For the marinade:
Combine the kosher salt, sugar, paprika, juice of 2 limes and drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil into a bowl.

Add the chicken wings and legs and toss to combine.

Place the legs and wings into the perforated hotel pan or cooling rack set over the smoking chips and cover the pan with foil to smoke about 3 to 5 minutes. This will impart flavor, not cook the chicken.

Meanwhile, place a cast iron pan over medium heat and add 4 cups duck fat and using a deep fry thermometer to monitor the temperature, allow the fat to heat to about 320 degrees F.

For the wing sauce:
Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the sriracha, apple cider vinegar, and honey (or to taste, depending on preference of sweetness versus spicy and vice versa) and place over medium heat to combine. Once the sauce is heated, taste and season with salt.

When the fat is heated and the wings and legs have smoked, add the legs to the heated duck fat and cook for about 4 minutes, being careful of any of the fat spattering. Once they crisp and brown, flip the legs and add the wings. Be careful of splatter when adding the wings and cook until brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Flip the wings to finish cooking, about 2 more minutes or until caramelized and crispy on all sides. If desired, use a meat thermometer and make sure the temperature reaches 160 degrees F.

I grilled the wings instead of frying them.

When ready, remove the legs and wings and place into the heated hot sauce and turn to coat.

Add 1/4 cup unsalted butter and place into a bowl and stir to coat.

Taste the sauce and season with salt and juice of 1 lime and a touch of honey, if needed or desired. Toss to coat evenly and set aside.