Char-buffed chicken wings

A few nights ago I decided to try and create Oscar's Pizza style chicken wings, or as they refer to them, Char-buffed wings.  What this terminology refers to is the way that the wings are finished on the grill giving them the charred appearance and flavor.  I can only assume that the wings are prepared very traditionally up until the point of grilling.  Something about adding the grill flavor takes the wings to a whole new level of awesomeness.   Follow along.

The first thing I'd like to mention here is how I like to prepare my fried foods.  By using the side burner on a gas grill, you can avoid smelling up the house.  Also, any splatter created by the frying process is outside on your patio rather than in the kitchen.  A simple hose or wipe down afterwards makes for an easy clean up.

I've prepped my wings by thawing and patting dry.  A fellow foodie friend of mine mentioned that brining the wings in a 1/2 and 1/2 salt and sugar brine would have made a substantial improvement.  In essence, the sugar absorbed by the chicken would make for a crispier skin created during the frying process.  I don't know about you, but crispy chicken wing skins sound pretty damn good.

As with any fried food, seasoning immediately after removing from the oil is a must.  I've chosen a BBQ rub mixture by Penzey's Spices called BBQ 3000.  It's a great all-purpose BBQ rub good for any, and I mean any thing grilled or smoked.  Next step, toss and baste with sauces and grill. 

In the picture above there are 2 sauces, Cookies sauce and a basic honey BBQ sauce.  Cookies is a great local BBQ sauce company from NW Iowa.  They make good all around sauces that are always a staple in my fridge.  The Wings-n-Things Hot Sauce is a buffalo style sauce that I have chosen to toss 1/2 the wings with.  I also mixed in a little Garlic Garlic by Tastefully Simple.  This stuff is great if you don't have fresh chopped garlic on hand.

After tossing the wings with the hot sauce mixture, place on the grill at medium heat.  Char both sides and you're done.  If you like your wings dripping in sauce, go ahead and toss again in more hot sauce.  This method will create what Oscar's calls Char-buffed double dipped wings.  To each their own.  Myself, I go for the double dip!                                                                     In the above picture of the grill, you will notice a sauce pot in the front portion of the grill.  This is a little cast iron pot and basting brush made especially for grilling by Sur la Table.  If you enjoy cooking like I do, check this place out!  They have amazing cooking gadgets and I might as well own their entire outdoor/grilling section.  The sauce pot came in handy for the honey BBQ half of my chicken wings.  You can place it right on a lit grill and have easy access for basting.  A big mistake people make when grilling with BBQ sauce is applying the sauce too early.  The sugars contained within the sauce will char and burn quickly.  Only apply sauce towards the end of grilling and keep a close eye so you don't end up ruining dinner.  Here's what the char-buffed honey BBQ wings turned out like. 

Also note the sweet corn.  It's not summer in Nebraska if there's no sweet corn on the table.  Nosh on!  Next up....Key lime pie.