originally posted in January 2016
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of cooking, it’s that no matter what the occasion – be it game day, movie night, in-laws visiting, a happy hour shindig at your place, or even just 10am on a Saturday – wings, and specifically THESE wings, are always appropriate. They’ve become a no-brainer signature dish of mine and are, at risk of sounding cheesy, fingerlickin’ good.
Ingredients:
Servings: 12 Wings
1 dozen Chicken Wings (I look for wingettes or ‘party wings’) 1 Garlic Clove, minced 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Original Blend 1 tsp Herbes De Provence (or an Italian herb blend) ¼ tsp Paprika ¼ tsp Black Pepper ¼ tsp Salt ¾ tsp Chicken Bouillon Cube (I use ‘Knorr” brand) 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes (add more to taste – depends on spice level of the chili) 2 tbsp Olive Oil ~⅓ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce (I highly recommend Dinosaur BBQ or Jack Daniel’s brand)
Directions:
Start by preheating the oven to 450°. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mrs. dash, herbes de provence, paprika, black pepper, salt, bouillon cube, and red pepper flakes. Take the back of a teaspoon and muddle the ingredients to make a dry rub (think: mortar & pestle, which you can by the way totally use for this, if you prefer – mine just happens to be predestined to smell like curry until the end of time…but that’s a future blog post). Muddle/mix until you have a crumbly dry rub going (you want the garlic to be virtually crushed into the rest of the seasoning, so it doesn’t burn later). Stir in the olive oil.
Place your wings on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet (pat dry if needed) and coat with your oil rub – you’re going to want to get every inch of these wings covered, so get up close and personal and massage the rub in.
Let them bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes (we’re letting the fat render, while also getting the skin nice and crispy). Once they’re looking good, turn your oven temp down to 350° and let them bake for another 10-15 minutes (time may vary slightly depending on the size of your wings). This will allow the meat to finish cooking through while not sacrificing the crisp skin we just worked on – nobody likes a burnt wing.
Take the wings out of the oven and let them sit for ~5 minutes. While we wait, let me take this opportunity to let you know that if you’re ever in the mood for a crispy, flavorful, sauceless wing – just stop right here. Eat them now. They’re perfect as is and I promise you’ll have no regrets. BUT if a bbq wing is what you want, a bbq wing you shall have.
Transfer wings to a big bowl and toss with the BBQ sauce until each one is covered. Transfer them back to the backing sheet and spoon any excess sauce left in the bowl on top of each wing. Put them back in the oven for 3-5 minutes to allow your wings to become glazy and sticky and what dreams are made of.
Serve with your wing accoutrements of choice and plenty of wet wipes. Dip, Eat, Repeat!
TIP: I love adding a fresh herb aspect to the wing rub if I have any on hand – so if you have fresh rosemary, oregano or thyme for example, throw it on in. And if you don’t, do not worry – they’re spectacular either way.