Hot Chicken Wings - IPA

Grilled Hot chicken wings with blue cheese sauce

Weight watchers points – 1/wing - 2/wing w. sauce

Yield – 10 wings

1 lb chicken wings

1/2 c season salt

¼ c  Louisiana hot sauce

¼ c  chicken stock

¼ c  apple cider vinegar

1.       You make them even healthier by remoivng the skin or getting skinless but I keep it on, separate at joint and discard tip

2.       Cover wings with half of the season salt

3.       Mix season salt, hot sauce, chicken stock, and vinegar together

4.       Put wings and sauce together in zip lock bag, marinade at least 30 minutes

5.       Heat outdoor grill

6.       Grill for 5 minutes, dip back in marinade, place back on grill turned

7.       Repeat 4-5 times until crisps on the outside

Sauce

1/3c low fat buttermilk

¼ c (1 ounce) crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola

1T light mayonnaise

1T red wine vinegar

1t Worcestershire sauce

½ t salt

¼ t pepper

1.       Mix all ingredients together

This is a slightly modified version of my Dad's chicken wing recipe.
                                                                                                                    -Kate

NOW we’re talking. When it comes to bar food, nothing captures my imagination more than some delicious buffalo wings. Now, I’m no coward when it comes to the spicy stuff (and I’ve gotten the chemical burns to prove it), however, when it comes to wings, my favorite spiciness is notch down from blister-inducing. I love a wing with good heat, that doesn’t overpower the flavor. After continually being disappointed in restaurants after ordering “Medium”, I’ve learned that this is what most people call “Hot”.

Katie’s wings were perfect. We both agree that good wings don’t need breading – a perfectly crisped skin can add all the crunch you need, while keeping the juiciness of the chicken inside. Additionally, as opposed to being lathered in hot sauce, I thought the wings tasted more like they were in a spicy rub. I knew there was hot sauce on there, but the texture and flavor from the spices really popped more in my mind. Together, the hot sauce that was on there combined with the other spices worked really well.

To go with the wings, I chose an IPA. IPA’s are known for being a cooler, crisper beer, and their hoppiness can complement the heat and spice of the wings, while staying out of the way of the flavor. The wings should be center stage here, and with the IPA, they stay that way.

 If you’ve read this blog, or know me in real life, than you know I have one strong opinion on beer: I don’t like IPAs. The irony, of course, being: Katie loves them. She had a plethora of favorites to choose from, but I knew there aren’t many that I can say I honestly like; let alone enjoy. The Samuel Adams “Latitude 48 IPA”. Katie’s not as big a fan of Sam Adams as I am, but even this is one she likes. Like all their beers, it’s jam-packed with flavor. The biggest plus for me, is, the hoppiness doesn’t overwhelm the beer, as can happen in other IPAs, and the other flavors can come out and play a bigger supporting role. To me, this beer went really well with the wings, and I didn’t mind having  another after I was done eating, either.

Sláinte! - Mike