Calabrian Chili Wings
sweet, spicy and a lil funky with a creamy gorgonzola dressing
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Chicken wings are a cut of meat that I find myself wildly underrating. That is, until I get my hands on a pack and immediately remember why I love them so much. They have a ton of texture, are full of flavor, and make a great base for just about any combination of flavors you like. This is all because they contain lots of collagen, fat, bone, and skin—all the finest things in life. It makes them the ultimate chickeny piece of chicken. Plus, the fact that they’re bite-sized makes them even more appealing.
If I’m making chicken wings at home, its usually for dinner and I’m not cooking anything else. So I like to serve them with a giant side of raw veggies, typically with a ton of blue cheese dressing, though ranch or any other dip you like works just fine. It’s basically wings and a giant crudités platter. It is very delicious.
These chicken wings are baked, mainly cause I hate frying at home. While I love fried food, the cleanup, the light misting of oil on every surface, and the lingering smell for days just aren’t worth it. I’ll order out for fried food. But these oven-baked wings are just as good as fried ones. They’re nice and easy since they’re baked in the oven, no need to stand over a pot of boiling oil. And the secret is in the flour and baking powder coating. It gives them a bubbly, crunchy exterior that’s very, very satisfying.
You can toss these wings in whatever sauce you like—classic buffalo, leave them plain, BBQ, or even a Nuoc Cham-style sauce. The possibilities are endless, so use this cooking method as a base. But, for this version, I went with a sweet, spicy, and slightly funky Calabrian chili and honey wing sauce with a Gorgonzola blue cheese dressing on the side for all your dipping needs. It’s very good because those Calabrian chilies have a touch of heat to them—not enough to completely blow out your palate, but enough to add a ton of chili flavor.
Calabrian chilies are a type of chili pepper native to the Calabria region in southern Italy. The tip of “The Boot” if you will. They’re bright red and don’t have an overwhelming amount of heat. They’re hot, but not mouth numbingly hot. The flavor is slightly fruity, funky and almost a little smokey. They make a great base for these wings.
Ok, now onto the recipe…
Ingredients
For The Wings
4 lbs chicken wings
¼ C flour
¼ C oil neutral flavored oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt diamond crystal kosher salt
For The Gorgonzola Dressing
½ C Gorgonzola ~2 oz, more or less depending on your taste
½ C mayo
½ C milk
pepper
salt
For The Calabrian Chili Wing Sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp Calabrian chili paste
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Instructions
Thoroughly blot wings dry with a paper towel. In a large bowl, toss with salt, baking powder, and flour. Make sure wings are all evenly coated.
Arrange coated wings on a baking sheet in one even layer. Let wings rest, uncovered, in the fridge for at least an hour. The wings will dry out, the flour will form a crust, and the baking powder will penetrate the chicken skin so they get nice and crispy when you bake them.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Remove wings from the fridge. Toss wings one more time with a generous drizzle of oil in a large bowl. Make sure wings are totally coated in oil. Wipe off any excess liquid that may have accumulated on the trays.
Arrange wings in an even layer on a baking tray with a rack or a foil-lined tray.
Bake wings for 1 hour, turning them every 20 minutes. The last 20 minutes are where the magic happens. The wings will take on color in this last bit of cooking time. They’ll turn a deep golden brown, and the skin will crisp up. If you think you need to cook them for a few additional minutes, do so.
While the wings are baking, you can start your Gorgonzola dipping sauce and Calabrian chili wing sauce.
For the Gorgonzola sauce: Combine your cheese, milk, mayo, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well. Check for seasoning and adjust. Let your sauce sit in the fridge. The sauce will thicken the longer it sits; thin it out with a little milk if it gets too thick.
For the Calabrian chili sauce: Combine your Calabrian chili paste, honey, olive oil, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Stir frequently so it doesn’t burn. Set aside while the wings finish cooking.
Once the wings are done, remove them from the oven and add a dozen or so to a large bowl and toss with a few spoonfuls of your Calabrian chili sauce. Reheat the sauce if you need to. You want to toss these with warm sauce. Toss and toss to make sure the wings are fully coated. Then plate up and repeat with the remaining wings.
I like to serve these with some sliced jicama, daikon, or celery, depending on what's available, lots of that Gorgonzola dipping sauce, and some extra chili sauce on the side.
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