Habanero-pineapple wings recipe
In movie trailer voice: In a world where genetically-modified chickens have overrun the earth, humanity will finally find a way to fight back. One unlikely woman will embark on a journey to lead humanity against the greatest enemy we have ever faced. This summer… a hero will rise… poultry will fall… and the world… will never… be the same. (Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, brief language and intense and disturbing sci-fi chicken action.)
That unlikely woman was Teressa Bellissimo. And while she may not have saved humanity from an angry horde of mutant fowl*, she did change the world just a little bit when she invented buffalo wings at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Her culinary improvisation made for much more than a quick, clever snack, it jumpstarted a cultural phenomenon. Buffalo wings and Buffalo style are now everywhere, from the smallest mom and pop diner to the nationwide chains bearing their name.
To experience the buffalo wings phenomenon in its full, unmitigated glory, walk through almost any section of your grocery store. Unbridled Buffalo-ing is rampant. Frozen wings, strips, nuggets, bites — and whatever Wyngzs are supposed to be — are nearly falling off the shelves. But frozen buffalo-style chicken isn’t completely unexpected. Could Mrs. Bellissimo have ever predicted how far her invention would reach into popular cuisine decades later? Buffalo-style filo blossoms, french fries, potato chips, sausage, Hot Pockets, pizza, quesadillas, mozzarella sticks, dips, jerky, poppers, shrimp, soups, sunflower seeds and even something no one could have predicted — the Mextremes Buffalo Ranch Chicken Taquito** are all competing for space in your kitchen. With such a stunning assortment of Buffalo wings and Buffalo-style foods, it’s difficult to imagine a time when chicken wings were simply discarded or used for soup stock and hot sauce was used only sparingly.
Unlike Mrs. Bellissimo’s Buffalo wings, these habanero-pineapple wings use a tongue-tingling habanero and pineapple sauce with roasted pineapple, fresh ginger and honey that has very little in common with the basic Frank’s RedHot and butter used in her tried and true recipe (although nothing will ever taste as good with blue cheese dressing). One taste and you’ll know that habanero and pineapple are meant to be together — especially roasted in wing sauce. The sauce is exotic and fresh, spicy but sweet with that distinctive fruity heat unique to the habanero pepper.
These wings are healthier too, as they aren’t deep-fried in oil, they’re baked in the oven. Unlike some oven-baked wings though, these wings come out really crispy thanks to a clever baking powder and salt coating technique we first discovered on Ultimate Grilled Buffalo Wings from The Meatwave. These crispy oven-baked wings are pretty spectacular but the habanero-pineapple sauce might actually work a bit better all smoked up on a grill, as anyone that’s savored Hawaiian Huli Huli chicken can likely attest. If you do grill up some these wings, drop us a line and let us know what you think.
* And there is a horde — they’re just not angry — yet. There are over 20 billion chickens on the planet — many of which are genetically modified — which means that there are three of them to every one of us. With all the weird chemicals we routinely pump into chickens, it’s really only a matter of time before they rise up.
** The Mextremes Buffalo Ranch Chicken Taquito is more than just the questionable portmanteau on the box. Like many horror stories, the Mextremes taquito is a terrible tale of science gone wrong; a mad scientist unleashes an unholy abomination on the world that must ultimately be destroyed. Like the Pringles Screamin’ Dill Pickle before it, the Mextremes taquito seems to exist solely to defy nature and all that is good and righteous in the world, and like the monsters from those horror stories, it must be destroyed.
Image: ForkingSpoon
Habanero-pineapple wings recipe
These crispy habanero-pineapple wings are oven-baked and coated with a tongue-tingling sauce made from roasted pineapple, habanero, fresh ginger and honey.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare the oven
Adjust the oven racks to the lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and place an oven-safe wire rack coated with cooking spray onto the sheet.
Trim the wings
If you can't find pre-trimmed wings at the supermarket, you'll need to separate the flats, drums and tips yourself. Hold each wing upright on a cutting board and feeling with your fingers, find the soft spot of cartilage and ligament at the joint between the wing tip and the flat. Using a very sharp knife, make a smooth incision into the joint, turn the wing over, and complete the cut from the opposite side. Repeat the process to separate the drum. If you are experiencing difficulty locating the joint or making a clean cut, hold the wing inverted (so it makes a "v" shape) and cut through the skin flap to better expose the joint and bone.
Prepare the wings for the oven
Pat the wings down with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture. In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking powder and the salt and toss the wings until they are completed coated. Arrange the wings on the wire rack (on the baking sheet) skin-side up in a single layer. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
Cook the wings
Place the sheet of wings on the lower-middle rack and cook for
30 minutes. Move the wings to the upper-middle rack, raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees F, and cook the wings for an additional 40 minutes until the wings are golden brown and crispy. Rotate the wings after the first 20 minutes to ensure even cooking. Let the wings rest for 5 minutes.
Sauce and broil the wings
In large mixing bowl, toss (or brush) the wings in the habanero-pineapple sauce until the wings are completely coated. Arrange the wings on the wire rack and place them back into the oven on the upper-middle rack and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the wings and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Let the wings stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
If you've lined up wings for game day, a solid pale ale or IPA is a popular pairing choice (Sierra Nevada, Stone, Dogfish Head all have excellent beers and are commonly available). And this may seem strange to some, but I also like a creamy milk stout — Milk Stout Nitro from Left Hand Brewing is my current favorite.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the oven
Adjust the oven racks to the lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and place an oven-safe wire rack coated with cooking spray onto the sheet.
Trim the wings
If you can't find pre-trimmed wings at the supermarket, you'll need to separate the flats, drums and tips yourself. Hold each wing upright on a cutting board and feeling with your fingers, find the soft spot of cartilage and ligament at the joint between the wing tip and the flat. Using a very sharp knife, make a smooth incision into the joint, turn the wing over, and complete the cut from the opposite side. Repeat the process to separate the drum. If you are experiencing difficulty locating the joint or making a clean cut, hold the wing inverted (so it makes a "v" shape) and cut through the skin flap to better expose the joint and bone.
Prepare the wings for the oven
Pat the wings down with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture. In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking powder and the salt and toss the wings until they are completed coated. Arrange the wings on the wire rack (on the baking sheet) skin-side up in a single layer. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
Cook the wings
Place the sheet of wings on the lower-middle rack and cook for
30 minutes. Move the wings to the upper-middle rack, raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees F, and cook the wings for an additional 40 minutes until the wings are golden brown and crispy. Rotate the wings after the first 20 minutes to ensure even cooking. Let the wings rest for 5 minutes.
Sauce and broil the wings
In large mixing bowl, toss (or brush) the wings in the habanero-pineapple sauce until the wings are completely coated. Arrange the wings on the wire rack and place them back into the oven on the upper-middle rack and cook for 3 minutes. Turn the wings and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Let the wings stand for 5 minutes before serving.
IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING: The USDA cautions against washing your meat before grinding or cooking due to it's ineffectiveness and risks of cross contamination. Additionally, they recommend that all ground beef be cooked to 160 degrees F as measured by a "thermistor or thermocouple food thermometer if possible" (a ThermoWorks Thermapen or Lavatools Javelin for instance).
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