Making the Best Chicken Wings

It's my opinion that BBQ chicken recipes are one of the most underrated BBQ foods that are available when considering what to cook on a BBQ. In fact I think that chicken wings, no matter what method of cooking is used, are often overlooked. Paradoxically ask anyone if they like to eat chicken wings and most people will tell you that they love them.

Obviously I'm writing this from my own experience and point of view and I can honestly say that I've eaten lots of barbecue food, but I've never attended a barbecue where anyone has ever served chicken wings, in any form. I'm discounting restaurants; I'm talking about private events as well as where barbecue food has been served as part of an evening's entertainment. Most of us have been to these occasions when on holiday and the hotel has a BBQ themed night.

I've discounted restaurants because chicken wings are an ever popular starter item on the menu of many restaurants. It's not too difficult to see why either. Most restaurants will buy in whole chickens and then joint them on their premises. They'll be left with the carcass which they make stock from, and chicken wings. If they can sell the chicken wings its profit for little cost.

Of course putting an item on the menu doesn't mean a lot if no one buys it, but they do. I've been carrying out an informal survey noting who does and who doesn't sell BBQ wings. I visit a couple of restaurants regularly as well as a couple of local pubs and also order in food occasionally. Guess what, they all serve barbecue chicken wings. That tells me that their customers must be buying them in quantities that make them worth offering on their menu.

During my travels as well I've found that barbecue wings are on the menu what appear to be most restaurants. I'm not just talking about barbecue restaurants here; I visit Chinese and Italian restaurants mainly. From what I've seen barbecue wings are served in about 70% of the restaurants and take-away food places that I've visited, which is considerable.

Have chicken wings always been popular? I don't think so, I think that they are a relatively recent phenomenon and I consider them to be similar to lamb shanks and ox tails. They were once very cheap to buy but as they became popular the price increased. Don't get me wrong, chicken wings are still relatively inexpensive but their price has increased disproportionately over the last few years.

Well, enough said, what about a BBQ wings recipe?

When you buy your wings they'll usually have the wing tips attached and you can cut these off if you want. I cut them off and use the wing tips with a chicken carcass to make chicken stock; there's no real meat in them

Place the wings over hot coals and grill for few minutes, turn over and grill for another few minutes; while they're cooking heat up some BBQ sauce. When cooked through put the wings on a serving plate pour over the sauce and serve. You're after wings which are cooked through and have a crispy skin but are not dried out or burnt.

Grandma's Chicken Recipes

Making a twist on Grandma's chicken pot pies, I'll be letting her try this when I go visit. Now these I learned the basic of these pot pie recipes from Grandma and for that let's thank her. Now the second is somewhat a simple gourmet recipe but make no mistake, Grandma makes hers delicious!

Chicken pot pie is basically chicken soup covered with a bread or pastry crust. The following pot pie recipes use canned soup to make preparation easier. The first simple gourmet recipe has a topping made from biscuit mix and a filling that reminds me of canned chowder. The second is probably the quickest way to make chicken pot pie; it's even quicker if you choose to use rotisserie chicken. The last is another pot pie with a biscuit topping.

Chicken Chowder Bowl

Cooking oil

1 carrot, sliced

1 stalk of celery, sliced

1/2 cup of frozen corn or green beans (optional)

one cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

one 10.5 oz can of cream of potato soup

1 cup of milk, divided

1 cup biscuit mix, Stater Bros. brand

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese or grated Parmesan

a dash of garlic powder

1 egg, beaten

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Saute the carrots and celery in a bit of cooking oil until they're tender. Add the chicken, corn/green beans, cream of potato soup, and 1/2 cup of milk. Mix filling ingredients together and pour into a round 9" casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, combine the biscuit mix, cheese, garlic powder, egg, and rest of the milk (1/2 cup). Mix the topping ingredients together and pour over the filling in the casserole dish. Drizzle melted margarine over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Quick Chicken Pot Pie

2 cups of mixed frozen vegetables, thawed

1 cup of chicken, cooked and cubed

one 10.5 oz can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup chicken broth

one storebought pie crust

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the mixed frozen vegetables, cooked chicken, canned soup, and chicken broth together in a round 9" casserole dish.

Unroll the pie crust over the top of the dish and tuck the edges of the dough in. Cut vents into the top so that steam can escape during cooking. Put the pie into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.