One of the staples needed for any true sports fan is good food. Whether you are at the games, tailgating, or at home getting ready for the football games to begin, you need manly sustenance. Most guys love chicken wings, and Stray Monkey is about to deliver the best wings you've ever ate. From our backyard to your computer, here is the recipe for The Official Stray Monkey Wings.
I'm a big fan of Guy Fieri's show Diners Drive-ins and Dives and in one of the episodes they went to Paola, KS to check out the BBQ Shack. They make their wings using a smoker. A smoker and chicken wings? That's two of my favorite things in this world, so I had to make my own recipe. After months of tweaking, here's how you can make your own:
Start the night before by marinating the wings using the marinade below. Take the wings out of the supermarket packaging, add the marinade, and put them in a one-gallon zip lock bag. Make sure you push all of the air out of the bag before sealing it. Below is the marinade for one serving, but depending on how many wings you are making use these portions until you have enough to cover the wings completely.
Stray Monkey Wings + Marinade:
4 lbs of wings
3 bottles of Sam Adams Coastal Wheat (Or another wheat beer of your choosing)
1 1/3 cups of honey
1 tbs of dry mustard
1 tbs of kosher salt
4 tbs of lemon juice
Let the wings sit in the marinade overnight, and then add a coat of dry rub onto them before placing them in the smoker.
Stray Monkey Dry Rub:
1 cup brown sugar
Equal parts paprika, chili powder, ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt
Add cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper to taste
We've left the exact measurements up to you since people like some of those flavors more than others. We use about 1-2 teaspoons of each of the ingredients (other than the brown sugar) for our rub.
Alright, now that the wings are marinated and rubbed, bring your smoker to heat and throw on the wood chips. Ideally you will use a half and half mixture of hickory and cherry. You can change this to suit your taste though, and another good option for is apple-wood.
(If you are not using a smoker, remember to use indirect heating on your grill - you want these cooked low and slow.)
Throw the wings on the smoker for about an hour at a temperature of about 200 degrees. Next, take them off of the grill and put them into a deep fryer for at least 2-3 minutes. This won't ruin the flavor of the wings, but it will make sure they are cooked through. (Consult the manual of your fryer for cook times and temperatures - nobody wants undercooked chicken). This will also put a bit of a crisp on them for you. Now, pat them dry to get any extra oil off and put them into a large mixing bowl.
In our burger special we used a bourbon sauce, and we're using some more (you would use bourbon in everything too if you have known Ray as long as I have). You can pick up some store bought variety, but if you have the time you should try out this recipe. Make sure its warmed up on a stove top, not boiling - just a little bit of warmth will do. Pour some over the wings while you're tossing them in the bowl enough to coat them to your taste.
Next step? Sit down, grab some paper towels, and taste the best wings you've ever had. Enjoy!
Check out some pictures of the action below:
