Serves: 6 as an appetizer, 4 as a light main course.
Fire Eater Chicken Wings Ingredients:
• 3 pounds chicken wings
Gear:
• Chef’s knife
• Mixing bowl • Small bowl • Basting brush • Saucepan
For the Seasoning Mixture:
• 1 tablespoons pimentón or sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon sea salt • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1 teaspoon onion or garlic powder • ½ teaspoon celery seed (optional) • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
For the Sauce:
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter • 2 to 5 jalapeno peppers (preferably red, or other hot peppers—depends on your tolerance for heat), thinly sliced crosswise • ½ cup cilantro leaves • ½ cup Louisiana-style hot sauce (Frank’s RedHot®, Crystal Hot Sauce, or Tabasco) • ½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional) •
You’ll also need: 1-½hardwood chips, soaked in water to cover for 30 minutes, then drained.
Recipe:
- Set up your grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium-high (400 degrees). Brush and oil the grill grate.
- Cut each chicken wing through the joints into 2 sections, the drumette and the flat, discarding the wing tip (or save it for stock). Place the wings in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine the pimentón, salt, pepper, cayenne, onion and garlic powder, and celery seed, if using and mix with your fingers. Sprinkle over the chicken and toss to mix. Add the olive oil and toss to mix.
- Arrange the chicken wings rounded side up on the grate over the drip pan away from the heat. Leave a little space between each wing. Toss the wood chips on the coals (or place in the smoker box of your gas grill.) Indirect grill the wings, turning once with tongs, until darkly browned and cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes depending on the size of the wings. To check for doneness, make a slit in the thickest part of the largest drumette: there should be no traces of pink.
- Don’t have access to a grill? Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place a wire rack over a foil lined baking sheet. Oil the rack with a folded paper towel dipped in vegetable oil. Arrange the wings on the rack. Bake until browned and cooked through, turning once or twice with tongs, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in skillet. (Bubbles will dance when you dip a chile slice in the butter.) Add the chile slices and cilantro to the butter and cook over medium-high heat until fragrant, 2 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and bring to a boil. If cooking the wings in the oven or on a gas grill, add a few drops of liquid smoke.
- Transfer the chicken wings to a large shallow bowl. Pour most of the butter mixture over them and toss to mix, reserving some of the chile slices. Pour the remaining butter mixture and chiles on top and serve at once.
Belgian Beer Brownies:
Time: 15 minutes prep time, plus 20 to 30 minutes for baking
Serves: Makes 12 brownies
Belgian Beer Brownie Ingredients:
• 1 cup Three Philosophers ale, or ½ cup stout, such as Guinness
• 2 ounces really good bittersweet eating chocolate • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose white flour • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter • 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate • 4 large eggs 2 cups granulated sugar • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract • Pinch of salt • Confectioners’ sugar (optional), for dusting the brownies
Recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- If you are using ale, pour it into a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil the ale until it is reduced by half (to ½ cup), about 5 minutes. Place the reduced ale in a heatproof bowl and let it cool. If you are using stout, there’s no need to boil it down.
- Coarsely chop the bittersweet chocolate into ½-inch pieces and place them in a separate bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the flour and toss to coat the chocolate (this keeps the chocolate from sinking to the bottom of the batter).
- Wipe out the saucepan, then add the butter and melt it over low heat. Brush or smear a little of the butter all over the inside of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Refrigerate the pan to chill it for about 5 minutes, then sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour inside the baking pan, shaking and tilting the pan to coat the bottom and sides.
- Add the unsweetened chocolate to the melted butter in the saucepan and melt it over low heat, about 4 minutes, stirring with a rubber spatula.
- Place the eggs and granulated sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk to mix. Whisk in the reduced ale or the stout and the vanilla, salt, and the melted butter and chocolate mixture. Stir in the remaining flour and the bittersweet chocolate chunks. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and place it in the oven.
- Bake the brownies until the top is puffed and firm to the touch, 20 to 30 minutes. A skewer or toothpick inserted in the center will come out mostly dry—a little stickiness is OK.
- Remove the brownies from the oven and let cool in the pan to room temperature. Cut the brownies into 12 rectangles for serving and dust them with the confectioners’ sugar if desired.
Raichlen Bloody Mary Or Smoky Mary
Serves 1 and can be multiplied as desired.
Raichlen Bloody Mary Or Smoky Mary Ingredients:
• 1 lemon wedge
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning or your favorite barbecue rub (mine is on page 000) in a small dish • ¾ cup tomato juice • 2 ounces (¼ cup) gin or vodka • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice • 1 teaspoon prepared or freshly grated horseradish • 1 teaspoons Sriracha or other Asian hot sauce • 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce • 1 celery stalk (preferably from the inside with leaves still attached)
Recipe:
- Rub the lemon wedge around the rim of a highball glass to wet it. Dip the rim in Old Bay Seasoning. Add the tomato juice, vodka, lemon juice, horseradish, Sriracha, and Worcestershire sauce and stir well to mix. (Take care not to knock off the Old Bay Seasoning.) Add a few ice cubes and stir to mix. Insert the celery (like mom says, eat your vegetables). Serves 1 and can be multiplied as desired.
- To smoke the Bloody Mary: Fuel a handheld smoker, like the Aladdin or PolyScience Smoking Gun, with hickory or mesquite sawdust (or wood of your choice). Place bloody Mary in a tall glass and cover with plastic wrap. Insert the end of the smoking tube under the plastic to the bottom of the drink and smoke for 15 seconds. Remove the tube without letting the smoke escape and let the drink smoke, covered, for 3 minutes. Uncover and stir well. Repeat as needed until the smoke flavor is as strong as you desire.
Steven's book, "Man Made Meal's" is available at BarbecueBible.com!