Iraqi Wings

My good friend Rogers Brewer has been spending the last few years in Iraq, first as a marine nobly serving our country and for the last couple, as a contractor. In any event, like most of our troops overseas they crave some good ol' fashioned American cuisine, and that includes, of course, wings.



Rogers has earned the reputation among his friends out there to be the Go To Chef, and he's managed to recreate the flavorful and spicy goodness of the wing but doing it now Al Asad style, using what he has to work with out there. I thought that was such a great thing and wanted to share his recipe and some pictures with you.

Often as home cooks we get hung up on not having every exact ingredient to make what we were originally craving or planning. Sometimes you just can't get those things and have to make do with what you've got. But where there's a will, there's a way, and as Rogers proves, not even Iraq can stop you from having your wings!

I'm so loving everything about this.

So here's his recipe that I'm calling Iraqi Wings.

Iraqi Wings
chicken wings
canola or olive oil (canola preferred)
salt
pepper
your favorite bbq sauce
Italian dressing
splash of vinegar
ketchup
Dijon mustard
garlic powder
fajita seasoning packet
honey
Texas Pete
1 jalapeno, roasted and peeled then pureed in the food processor* (optional)
1 stick butter


Coat the wings with some oil and season with salt and pepper. To make the sauce, combine the BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, a touch more vinegar, ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, fajita seasoning packet, honey, and then Texas Pete. The hotter you want the wings, the more Texas Pete you should add. After you achieve the desired balance between sweet, spicy and heat with the sauce, add some butter. Cook all of the ingredients in as saucepan until combined and heated through. Take out a small portion for extra dipping, and leave the majority of it for basting. Set aside.

Note: This recipe can easily be adjusted for amount of wings. More wings means more sauce, so play around with the ingredients. In terms of butter I think you'll probably need between 1/2 stick to a whole stick depending on how much sauce you want. The butter is going to help baste the wings and keep them nice and moist!

Heat your grill. Baste the wings with the sauce you reserved for basting and then toss on the grill. Grill the chicken until it's cooked all the way through, basting as you go. The sauce will caramelize on the grill, creating a sticky sweetness that will be incredible. When cooked through, remove and toss in the sauce again while still hot. Serve immediately with the side of extra sauce and lots and lots of napkins.

*To roast a jalapeno, wrap a whole jalapeno pepper in tin foil and roast in a 350 degree oven until very soft and tender, about 40 minutes. Remove tin foil, cut off the stem and gently peel off the skin (should come off quite easily). Puree the pepper in a food processor with seeds if you want it very spicy; remove the seeds if you want it milder.

Go for it!!