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Cast Iron Sambal Wings – The Best Spicy Chicken Wings in History

Posted on | January 11, 2010 | 3 Comments

There is something uncanny about the call of chicken wings in January. Whether it’s the Pavlovian combination of football, beer, and long bouts of time holed up in the house, or the warming comfort of spicy wings – as well as the effort to eat them – the dog days of Winter is the ideal time to perfect the oft-bastardized art of The Wing.

I’m not typically one for hyperbole, but if you’re a wing fan, and especially if you’re a spicy wing fan, the following recipe is the one to end all recipes. I shouldn’t recount it in detail, here; I should bottle it and sell it  at county fairs.

Why, you might ask, do they deserve this distinction?

I’m a closet fan of wings, but have grown extremely tired of the prevalence of the “buffalo wing” – you know, the rubbery, underdone (often poorly fried) skin and flesh, and that piercing vinegar hot sauce flavor of Tabasco.  I have nothing against Tabasco, but I think wings can be a whole lot more. What makes these wings really stand out is the complex, but far more savory, flavor of the Sambal – the famed Southeast Asian chili garlic sauce available for sale in most Asian markets, and increasingly, in our banal neighborhood stores.

Combine this magic ingredient with the cooking method I used below, and the result is a fall-off-the-bone wing with sticky-crispy flesh, elevated but reasonable mouth heat, and a depth of flavor not often found in your common pub or wing-shack grub.

Full disclosure, the basic idea for these emanated from the wings served at Rick’s Press Room in Meridian, Idaho. Rick made a version of these on the food network show Diners Drive-ins & Dives (what I believe is, quietly, one of the best shows on the food network for Guy’s subtle kitchen play-by-play and focus on real cooks).

I took a few notes during the show, jotted down a few potential modifications, and vowed one day to test them out. Yesterday was that day.

I decided to go against the cooking guidance from Rick and make the entire batch in my 14′ cast iron skillet. This method takes a little longer, but it produced the best wings I’ve ever had. If you’re patient, you’ll receive quite a reward.

I’m going to list the ingredients here as they are called for in the cooking process:

• 20 wing pieces (a good mix of wings and drumettes)
• 1.5 tablespoons salt
• 1 generous pinch of black pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked, hot, Paprika

1. Add wings to a large bowl.

2. Whisk together salt, pepper, onion powder, and paprika.

3. Shake mixed spices over chicken and toss to coat evenly.

4. Add enough oil to the cast iron skillet just to cover the bottom with a thin layer. Heat to medium high.

5. When oil is hot, add wing pieces to the skillet and brown on both sides. The timing here will depend on your stove and your pan, but it should take about 1-2 minutes per side.

6. Remove wings to a large glass or metal bowl, cover lightly with foil and set aside.

7. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees F. NOTE: Cooking time is a touchy subject. Ovens, ranges, stove tops, fire pits – whatever device you may use to cook your food – very greatly from one to the next. The key, here, is to listen to your nose and your eyes. I know, it’s a strange idea. But your eyes will tell if you if something is moving too quickly  – bubbling too aggressively, for instance. Your nose will tell you of something is burning, or is close to burning. Pay attention to these senses and adjust your temps if they just don’t seem right. It’s better to slow your food down then start fresh because the batch you’re working on is burnt to a crisp.

Turn the skillet to low, or, if it’s bordering on smoking hot, remove it to a cool burner. The cast iron will hold quite a lot of heat, so don’t worry about it going cold. Next, I added the following ingredients to large bowl:

• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2  cup rice wine vinegar
• 4-5 heaping tablespoons sambal (red chili garlic paste)
• 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup minced (macerated in a food processor is better) green onion
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (great for adding color and depth of flavor)

1. Add the ingredients to the bowl and give the ingredients a gentle whisk.

2.Return to the skill to the heat, pour in the ingredients from the bowl and simmer, on med-low, until the sauce starts to bubble and thicken – likely about 5-8 minutes. Depending on the heat, the cooking vinegar is going to give off quite a strong smell. Don’t worry about it. Turn on the fan and think of the joy to come.

3. When the sauce has thickened, pour it into the bowl over the chicken wings. Grab a rubber spatula to pick up all the stubborn bits of sauce and small charred pieces. NOTE: cast iron skillets are heavy and typically very hot after being on the stove or in the oven. Be sure to use pot holders to handle your skillet when pouring its contents into the bowl. If your skillet is too heavy for you, have a friend scrape out the sauce into the bowl while you provide a secure grip on the handle and the opposite side of the pan.

4. After a quick toss in the bowl, making sure to cover all the pieces thoroughly with sauce, return entirety of ingredients to the skillet.

5. Arrange the wings around the pan so that there is little overlap.

6. Cover the skillet in foil and add to the hot oven.

7. Set a timer for 45 minutes.

While I’m a believer that wings should stand on their own, I do think a great dipping sauce can vastly improve the wing-eating experience. This is especially true when consuming spicy wings, where some sort of cooling sauce can make the difference between bliss and, well, serious pain.

At this point, I focused on my sauce.

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons minced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
• 2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, depending on taste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 teaspoons black pepper

1. Mix above ingredients and adjust to taste. You may find you want more cheese, more Worcestershire, more pepper – or even more sour cream to offset any extremes in in the previous ingredient list.

2. Once you’ve mixed this thoroughly, cover with plastic film and add to the fridge.

When the timer goes off, pull the skillet out, lift the foil (careful, there will be steam) and take a look at your little babies. The sauce should be bubbling calmly and the wings should be glistening, and breaking down. Gently turn the wings with thongs, careful not to tear any of the tender flesh away from the bone.

Turn the oven down to 225 degrees and cook uncovered 10 minutes longer.

Once the second timer goes off,  turn on your broiler to high. Broil the wings, uncovered, for 4 minutes, checking frequently to make sure they do not burn. The last-step broil will ensure the sauce thickens and the wings receive one last crisping before serving.

Remove the skillet from the oven, and let cool, lightly tented with foil, for 3-5 minutes. While the skillet will be very hot, serving the wings within it at the table on a solid trivet, and with tongs for removing the wings, makes for a nice touch.

Serve with cold tecate beer (in the can, and with lime) and the blue cheese dipping sauce.

Please let me know how it turned out and of course if you found any ingredient or recipe modifications that worked for you.

Enjoy.

Serve

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