Baked Chicken Wings and Sweet Heat Pineapple Habanero Hot Sauce

 

While my original goal was to post the recipes for these chicken wings and hot sauce pre-Super Bowl, technical difficulties (i.e. hard drive failure) has delayed the unveiling. Nevertheless, I promise these easy baked wings are worth the wait, and will have you making wings for other occasions, say Saturday night hockey games, or the curling finals at the Olympics. Yes I am Canadian.

These wings are served un-sauced and un-breaded, but they are seasoned with a spicy, homemade seasoned salt. You can eat them the way they are, or dip them in hot sauce. I do both. I was inspired to makes my wings like this because this is similar to how they do them at Greensleeves on George Street in St. John's Newfoundland. They are my favorite wings and their dry spice is excellent. Their spice has a hint of something different in it, which I have come to guess is curry powder or something similar. For my spice rub, I add garam marsala,  a "hot mixture" of ground spices common in Indian and Asian cuisine. 

Baked Chicken Wings

This couldn't be simpler. Preheat your oven to 350 and get a large sheet pan ready.

Trim the wings by removing the tip, and splitting the joint on the meaty halves with a sharp, sturdy knife.

I don't do any seasoning at this point. I just arrange them on the baking sheet (fattier side up) and let them cook on this fairly low heat for about 30 l. After 20 minutes I give them a check and see if any need turning. After 30 minutes, a lot of the fat will have rendered out, and then I drain (if necessary) and crank on the broiler to finish crisping the wings and rendering more fat. That's it. Juts make sure to keep a close eye on them at the end.

While the wings are cooking make a simple seasoned salt to toss them in. This recipe will make more than enough, but is great to have on hand for seasoning fries and onion rings or even soups.

1 Tbsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garam marsala

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional if you want extra kick!)

Toss the wings while still hot with about a teaspoon of the seasoning, add more if necessary.

  

"Sweet Heat" Pineapple Habanero Hot Sauce

While I love hot, spicy food and using chilies and peppers in my cooking, this was my first time using Habanero peppers. Habanero chili peppers are one of the hottest chilies, so handle with care. I would recommend wearing latex gloves when chopping these. I've made the mistake of handling jalepenos and later taking out my contact lens...BURNNNNNN! The overall result of this sauce will be a medium heat, at least for my palette.  If you want more heat, add less honey and/or some cayenne pepper powder. If it is too spicy, remove and discard the seeds of the chili. The seeds and membrane contain the most heat.

Habanero-Pineapple Hot Sauce

In a sauce pan, heat:

- 2 tbsp canola oil over medium heat.

Add:

- 1/2 a large sweet onion (Vidalia), minced

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

Saute until soft.

Add:

- 1 large can of crushed pineapple

- 1 habanero, minced (including seeds)

- 1 Cup apple cider vinegar

- -2-3 tablespoons of honey

- pinch of salt

Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 10 minutes. Add to a blender or use a wand blender right in the pot. Puree the sauce, but leave some texture to the pineapple.

Let cool and serve! Great for dipping chips and chicken wings into.