Grilled Spicy Oriental Chicken

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Last weekend I was going to make chicken wings, hot & spicy oriental style wings on the grill. Then I saw the price of raw wings. WTF?


Seems that with the proliferation of Buffalo wing joints beginning with the original Anchor Bar to the corner tavern to chain restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings has strained availability and therefore the cost of wings (similar to ammo). Even Pizza Hut is offering their own brand of Buffalo-style wings under the Wing Street brand.

Supply and demand happens. Now the consumer suffers from the high demand for what once was a throw-away item or a low cost part used in making chicken stock. I remember buying a family pack of wings three years ago for 99¢ per pound. Not today. Last weekend the large family pack of wings at my local grocery went for $1.69 per pound doubling the cost of raw wings.

It’s probably a combination of reasons for this increase. Higher feed costs due to the ethanol folly and the higher cost of fuel in general too, but the real blame is because of the “wing joints”. I’m sure if I poked around I could find wings for 99¢ per pound but the cost of fuel getting there makes that foolish.

When you think about it, a chicken wing is probably 50% bone, 40% meat and 10% fat and skin (the best part). This doesn’t count that little worthless little “tip” that gets tossed in the trash.


Now I’m not a cheapskate and if I am in the mood for frying or grilling wings then I’m going to do it, dammit. This is the similar to what happened to pork ribs, especially the baby back cut. What was once an undesirable cut tossed to the slaves by their slave masters over a century ago in the deep south has recently become a delicacy for urban and suburban time poor young moderns at chains like Chili’s or Famous Dave’s. But I can still find spare ribs for slightly over $1 per pound, and to me, spares are much better especially if they place the tips in the shrink wrap package. Baby back ribs are generally well over $3 per pound.

When grilling wings I prefer a recipe that involves a bottled siraracha sauce, an oriental hot sauce that tastes like nothing else. BBQ sauce is OK but siraracha is far superior to me. Adding butter, garlic, ginger and lime juice and bringing the siraracha mix to a boil then simmering we get a fine marinade and outstanding dipping sauce. Hours before grilling the wings I skewer them lengthwise individually with bamboo skewers, baste them with the sauce and allow them to sit covered and refrigerated for 4-6 hours. This is also a fabulous tailgate food item.

Anybody who has had these tell me they have never had anything like 'em.

Before throwing a few packs of wings into the basket at the grocery store I glanced to the right and saw chicken leg/thigh quarters for $1.19 per pound vs. $1.69 per pound for the boney wings. Done. I tossed eight quarters into the basket instead. This I have done before but not because cost was an issue, it was an experiment to see if the same recipe worked on a meatier cut of chicken. It works.

After washing the quarters and cleaning out that back kidney (if there is one) I stick my fingers under the skin and spoon in a small amount of the sauce between the meat and skin. Think about this – skin is meant to keep moisture out, not in. By placing some of the marinade sauce between the meat and skin more flavor is exposed to the meat. It works.

A problem I have encountered in the past is burning the sauce coated skin before the meat is done. I always used a gas grill with one burner off for an indirect slow-cooking style. It never met my expectations on the over-charred skin to cooked meat ratio. So this weekend I tried something different. I used my old red Weber grill and cooked it in true indirect style. It works.

Here's a shot you should click to enlarge.


On the gas grill it would take less than an hour to finish the chicken quarters. Using the charcoal grill enabled me to create a hot fire on one side while a drip pan kept the other side cool, similar to the way I make pulled pork shoulder roasts. I laid the quarters skin side up to allow the fat and sauce to baste the meat while cooking at a lower temperature longer and it also meant a crispier, less charred skin with much less fat. I allowed the meat to stay put on the grill for an hour.

After an hour I turned the quarters and let them sit for about 20 minutes. Then I placed each quarter over the heat side to control a final char-crisp before removing them to the platter. Hotdamn! It worked.


These came out perfect. There was more meat and less cost. The result was tender, juicy and crispy as chicken could be without too much dark burnt skin. Try it!
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