Tag Archives: chicken

Meaty, Recipes

BBQ Chicken Wings – Recipe

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BBQ wings of joy

Mmmm, wings. My personal favourite BBQ side dish and a wonderfully simple addition to any serious grill-based cook-up. Some might argue that they are fiddly and end up either dry and miserable, or woefully undercooked and instantly bin-able but I beg to differ – all you need is a bit of patience, a decent rub and BBQ sauce, and a decent BBQ. If you are lucky enough to have a proper smoker then hurrah, but anyone with a standard kettle BBQ can do this recipe with very little fuss and as the wings only take a fraction of the time of, say, spare ribs or pulled rub, they can be added to form part of a bigger meaty feast. It’s better to joint the wings up as they will cook more evenly (you can get a butcher to this for you but it’s pretty easy) and a remote BBQ thermometer is a veritable boon. You can do this in an oven and then finish the wings on the grill but you will lose out on the delicate smoky flavour that runs through the meat. It’s up to you…

Oh, you’ll end up with a lot more of the rub than you need but it will keep in an airtight container for a couple of weeks. And of course if required the recipe can be scaled up or down as required.

Ingredients

For the rub

  • 1 tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp. smoked paprika or ground chipotle
  • 1 tbsp. sea salt
  • 1 tbsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • ½ tbsp. chili powder (as hot as you prefer)
  • ½ tbsp. ground coriander
  • ½ tbsp. granulated onion
  • ½ tbsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp mustard powder

For the wings

  • 10 chicken wings, jointed and tips removed
  • BBQ/hot sauce of your choice

Method

  • Set your BBQ up for indirect cooking – charcoal on one side, drip tray with water on the other. Light the BBQ and give the charcoal a chance to get up to temperature – once the flames are gone and the coals are turning white then you are good to go. If you have a chimney starter this part of the process is infinitely quicker but if you going old school, it should take about 30-40mins depending on the charcoal. Don’t use cheap fuel – it’ll make everything taste horrible.
  • While the BBQ is getting up to temperature, mix all the rub ingredients together in a bowl then rub generously into your jointed chicken wings.
  • Once your charcoal is ready to go, put a few good chunks of wood on to smoulder (I generally use oak), replace the grill and arrange the wings over the drip tray – a bit space between each one is good. If you are using a remote thermometer, put it into the fattest part of the biggest wing you have.
  • Put the lid down and leave to smoke and smoulder for about 1 ½ – 2 hours. You will probably need to refresh the charcoal after an hour although top-end briquettes (like Weber) will be good for up to 3.
  • Once the internal temperature of the meat is 74c/165f – this is where the remote monitor is useful – then brush the wings with a sauce of your choice and move them over to the charcoal side of the grill to char a bit, turning once or twice depending on how fast they colour.
  • Serve immediately with any other delicious meats and sides you are preparing, or just pile into a bowl and scoff them all yourself – dip optional.
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Meaty, Recipes, Spicy

Spicy chicken and red pepper curry – recipe

This recipe is adapted from an amazing dish by the ever dependable Madhur Jaffrey – my parents only ever used her cookbooks when we were growing up and my Dad’s (signed) copy of Indian Cooking is coated in oil, spices, and memories.

I am always tempted just to turn to the same reliable recipes when I flick through this book – lamb with onions (do piaza), butter chicken (makkhani murghi), lamb with potatoes (aloo gosht) but I recently decided to go for something that I definitely hadn’t made before and I am so, so glad I did. This recipe is absolutely delicious and very simple to make – I always use chicken on the bone for this as it adds extra flavour but it would be equally delicious with chunks of lamb neck (cook it for a good couple of hours) or even just as sauce with some chunky white fish. If you are using boneless meat, reduce the cooking time accordingly. I have made a few tweaks to the version in the book and the results are, I think, pretty spectacular. The heat factor can be adapted to personal taste – I like mine fiery but not everyone does, simply reduce the amount of fresh chilli and cayenne if you want something milder…

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1kg skinless chicken pieces, bone in
  • 1 large onion roughly chopped
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 25g ground almonds
  • 2-3 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
  • 1-2 red chilli, chopped (with seeds if you like)
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsps ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • 1/8-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Water
  • Black pepper

Method

  • If using chicken legs, divide into thigh and drumsticks. Breasts should be cut in half and kept on the bone.
  • Put the onion, garlic, ginger, almonds, peppers, chilli, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and salt into a food processor and pulse until you have a thick, smooth paste.
  • Put the oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and, when hot, stir in the paste and fry for 10-12 minutes, stirring to stop it from colouring. Your kitchen will start to smell amazing.
  • Add the chicken, lemon juice, and pepper then add enough cold water to just cover the chicken. Stir and mix together then bring to the boil.
  • Cover and turn the heat to low and let the curry simmer for 45mins to an hour, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked and falling away from the bone. If you like, you can remove the pieces and shred the meat back into the sauce but I don’t bother. Adjust the seasoning as required.
  • Remove the lid and turn up the heat to reduce your sauce – you can have it as thick or as runny as you prefer – then serve immediately with steamed rice and flatbreads.

If you were doing this with fish, cook the sauce for about 45 minutes and reduce slightly before adding the fish – it will only take a few minutes to cook through.

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