Most family recipes consist of lasagne, your Grandma’s secret recipe for oatmeal cookies, or your Great Aunt Betty’s special spaghetti sauce. In my family, we have my Uncle Tom’s hot chicken wings, which we now lovingly refer to as Tommy Wings.

These hot wings are pretty much the best things I’ve ever had, and I don’t even like chicken wings. Seriously. I don’t eat meat off the bone (hello, neurosis) and I certainly don’t really like hot things. (I’m more of a Tikka Masala girl.) However, these wings will blow your mind. I promise.

Perfect for a large family get-together, BBQ or a gathering that involves many men (which may be an average Saturday night for you) – these wings will take just over an hour in total, and will get you plenty of praise. Which is why we all cook right? No? Just me?

Tommy Wings

Makes 50 saucy wings

Ingredients

50 pre-cut chicken wings

12oz Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce

(Tommy always use Frank’s Hot Sauce, but Texas Pete or any hot pepper sauce will work, too! Just do not use pre-mixed hot sauce as they use hydrogenated oil which causes the sauce to not taste right.)

4oz Teriyaki glaze

Crushed garlic (optional)

Half a stick of butter (roughly 56g)

Method

The biggest thing to remember when you’re making Tommy Wings (aside from washing the hell out of the wings before you get started) is that you can easily regulate how hot/mild/sweet the wings are. Tommy himself suggests a good starting point is 12oz of the hot wing sauce and about 4oz of the teriyaki glaze, which is the equivalent of your sauce being ¾ hot sauce, ¼ teriyaki glaze.

The amount of butter you use controls how hot or mild the sauce is. More butter = milder wings. Less butter = hotter wings. If you like your wings sweeter, add more teriyaki sauce. As I mentioned before,  the beauty of Tommy Wings is that you’re totally in control of the taste.

Wings

To cook the wings you can use a gas grill or a charcoal BBQ. Using a gas grill means it’s is easier to regulate temperature, but Tommy says that using charcoal gives the wings the best taste.

Grill your well-washed wings on medium, to medium high heat for about an hour and until they’re crispy. To check if the wings are cooked, take one off the grill and make sure it’s cooked well down to the bone. Tommy also notes that turning your wings frequently is important, as chicken has a tendency to flare up as the skin and fat heats up, and turning them frequently ensures you won’t burn your precious wings!

Sauce

While the wings are on the grill, heat the hot sauce, teriyaki glaze, smidgen of crushed garlic, and your “half a stick” of butter (again, totally up to you how much you add) to medium-high heat, stirring regularly. It’s during this time you can add more or less butter, garlic, or teriyaki sauce. You just do whatever your heart and taste buds desire.

Once everything is hot and melted together, switch off the heat and let cool to room temperature while the wings are cooking. (This recipe turns out much better if the sauce is room temperature and the wings are hot.)

“Shaken, not stirred”

When your wings are done, put them into a bowl or container with a snap top lid – a large Tupperware container will work perfectly. Put the wings in, add the sauce on top and shake them all together like a mad-crazy-meaty cocktail. Shaking the sauce and the wings together is the best way to coat the wings, as just stirring the wings in the sauce doesn’t really work as the sauce just sits in the bottom of bowl.

Make sure wings are well coated, and let them sit for a bit, and then you’re ready to enjoy the magic of Tommy Wings!

Extras

Blue cheese and celery or ranch dressing for dipping.

Beer Pairing

The best beer for Tommy Wings is Yuengling  if you’re on the East Coast, or if you’re in the UK,  try out Casablanca, a delicious Moroccan beer that goes well with spicy food. 

All images © BitchBuzz.com