Grilled Party Wings With Cholula Butter

I made these fabulous wings with a whole group of people involved in a virtual cookbook club. The book chosen for that particular month was Food52’s Any night grilling. It’s a book full of grilling recipe tips and ideas. I also love how it doesn’t limit grilling to meat but has some wonderful grilled vegetable recipes in it too among other things. Fabulous for grilling Inspiration. I would strongly recommend getting this book if you want to expand your own grilling abilities/repertoire and it would also make a great gift for someone you know who loves to grill.

I made a double batch of these wings because my whole family was going to be home for dinner and I sure am glad I did. They were completely devoured. They are that fantastic. So let that be a warning. If you are making these definitely make a double batch. You won’t regret it. You will be hooked! They are absolutely perfect for game day snacking, or any kind of snacking or party for that matter. These are the ultimate homemade buffalo wings full of amazing flavours, smokiness and buttery tang!!

The original recipe called for drumettes but I opted for wings as I couldn’t find any drumettes at the time and also cause my family prefers full wings. The recipe uses a fabulous smokey Mexican hot sauce called Cholula that is absolutely delicious with these wings but also great on eggs, tacos and pretty much anything you want hot sauce on. Now this sauce isn’t the most inexpensive sauce out there and in some places may not be available. There are very few hot sauces that match the smokiness and the flavour of this one but a few that did the challenge with me used other hot sauces in it’s place like Frank’s Redhot or tabasco and thought they were excellent substitutes. I am a lover of Cholula and was able to get my hands on some and so I didn’t use a subtitle and so I personally can’t recommend any. The group that did the challenge are major foodies though and I trust their judgement and taste so feel free to sub it out for one of those.

The best part about them for me is how easy they are to make. Grilling them is quick and easy. Easy enough even for me as a very amateur griller. The Cholula hot sauce takes care of the heavy lifting when it comes flavours, and the add-ins are just a few simple ingredients. They have a little heat but I would not say hot, but then again I tolerate heat quite well. I would categorise them as just barely medium in the wing heat department. My whole family enjoyed them and they were completely inhaled. Hope you enjoy them just as much. Happy grilling!!

Ingredients

• 3 lbs of chicken wings
• Olive oil for drizzling over the wings
• Salt and black pepper
• ¼ cup of Cholula hot sauce plus more for extra dipping later (Frank’s can be substituted but you will lose some flavour that Cholula brings)
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
• 2 tbsp unstated butter at room temperature
• 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic minced

Directions

1. Place the wings in a large bowl and drizzle enough olive oil to lightly coat them and then season them generously with salt and pepper

2. Prepare your grill for two zone cooking if possible and heat a gas grill to high. Wipe the preheated grill grates with oiled paper towel and then scrape the grill clean with a grill brush. Then wipe with oiled paper towel again to clean and lightly grease them.

3. While the grill is heating up get your sauce ready. In a separate bowl whisk together the hot sauce, parsley, butter, lemon juice, and garlic.

4. Once the grill is hot enough, grill the wings over direct heat, flipping them and rotating them as needed for even cooking until lightly charred on all sides, approx 5-7 minutes.

5. Move the wings to indirect heat, and close the grill and continue to let them cook turning them often (keeping the grill closed as they cook) until cooked through and the juices run clear (cut into one and check if unsure), approx 10-15 minutes depending on size of each one.

6. Once cooked through place the wings in the bowl with the Cholula butter, toss well until well coated and serve immediately with extra Cholula sauce on the side.