I'm not one of those chili and hot sauce fanatics, however, I love their
intensity of heat, sweetness, and the all around flavor profile they can add when one is not stupid with the amount that
gets added to a dish.  If you are at all put off by hot foods, maybe you've been force fed too much heat in a particular
recipe.  My style is to add the touch of heat, and its' flavor and put some extra heat on the side and you be the judge on
how hot you want your food.  Personally, I put chili flakes on tons of my dishes, over and above what my recipes call for.
And that is my decision to make it hotter for my palate, your palate I must respect.  So, after saying all of this, over the
weekend with the sun shining bright, no wind, no humidity...perfect Jersey Shore weather...I had to grill. One of my
favorite grilled items are chicken wings.  Recently I had bought in the Mexican section of Shop-Rite, a variety of chili
powders, not the American multi-ingredient blend, but powders made of a single type of chili.  I purchased a bag of
Arbol Chili Powder and one of Pequin (or Bird) Chili Powder.  Nothing in the bags except the finely ground flesh of those
particular peppers.  Both carry a searing heat.  So why would I use one of these on a wing recipe?  Heat and wings
are a classic combo, ie: Buffalo wings.  My girls had a friend over for the weekend and wings seemed to fit the easy bill.

I started with making a rub...1 tbs. granulated garlic, 1/2 tsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. black pepper,
1 tsp. Pequin Chile Powder (omg, it's soo good), 1 tsp. kosher salt, 1 tsp. thyme leaves, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp sage.
Blend this well.  Now add 20 chicken wings, washed and patted dry with
paper towels.Coat the wings and let them sit covered in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  Mix 3 tbs. olive oil, 4 tbs. of bal-
samic vinegar together.  Pour over the wings and let this marinade for additional 1 hour.


   15 minutes before you start to cook these wings,
turn on your grill to high.  Keep the cover on.  In a large foil tray, layer the wings and sprinkle 4 tbs of soy sauce over
them and a little more olive oil.  Place them on the rack and let them cook undisturbed for 10 minutes.  Then,
turn the wings and let them cook another 10 minutes.  They should be nice and golden now.  Carefully remove
the wings from the pan and place them on the grill, which you have oiled so the chicken doesn't stick.  Lower the
heat on the grill to low and cook them for 5 minutes on each side. 
   Garnish the hot wings with fresh sage and
thyme...this adds a little more flavor to the wing, an earthy and fragrant herb essence.  Now, to finish these
wings MY WAY, add a squirt of two of my favorite condiment, Sriracha Rooster Chili Sauce. 

  I love this stuff so much I actually posed the bottle...it's very photogenic.
A little of this drizzled over the wings adds more depth and just the right amount of heat without you screaming for
the NYFD to come an put out the fire in your throat. 
  Isn't that pretty?  or handsome? 
The different chilies with soy(which does wonders for the color of the wings), and the tenderizing tang and
caramelizing properties of the balsamic all make these wings special.  The char from the grill adds more
intensity.  Serve this up with some homemade kidney or pinto beans...i sauteed up a strip of smoked pork
jowl (one of the staples in my freezer, don't make fun of me, i'm sensitive) in some vegetable oil..add diced
small onion, 1 slice clove of garlic.  Let this meld together.  Add 1 can of beans, 1/2 the liquid poured off..
add a 1/4 cup of ketchup (Heinz preferably), 1 tsp. of mustard powder, 1/2 tsp. pequin chili (just because),
1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. molasses, 1 tbs. brown sugar.  Mix well and let this simmer on low
for about 45 minutes...beats that can of B& M you had in the pantry.

Check out those beans, the perfect foil for the
wings.  This summer, spring or whatever your grilling season is, experiment with rubs, and oils, and chiles,
and side dishes...If you need some extra help, post a comment to the blog and I'll do my best....life is too
short to waste it on the same old same old...Get out and grill....It's the season!!!

  Just a picture of the Pequin (or Bird) Chile...it just
makes me want to cook with it.....