Smitty’s Wings

I never met Smitty, but his presence has been in the kitchen since I met my wife. Long before I learned to make Buffalo wings, my wife taught me to make Smitty’s wings. He was her college friend, now long lost, and he used to make sweet, sticky chicken wings. She learned the recipe from him, and I took it over from her.

The recipe is about as simple as it gets; two ingredients in addition to the chicken itself – honey and soy sauce – although Smitty’s original recipe included butter, which at some point during our relationship we deemed an unnecessary health risk. Cooked outside on a grill on a hot summer day, they are excellent as the main attraction or perfect as a party food. They are charred in spots from the grill’s flame and tan and glistening from the soy sauce and honey. One of my favorite flavor profiles – salty and sweet. Just know that Smitty’s wings are not neat food; they are best served with a side of moist paper towels to wipe your fingers and face.

Smitty’s Wings

It is certainly possible to make Smitty’s wings on the spur of the moment, but they are better if allowed to marinate in the soy sauce and honey for at least a few hours and preferably overnight.

Chicken wings are fatty, and when grilled, that fat will render out and cause grill flare ups. This is great to char the wings in spots. But if you do not keep a mindful eye, move the wings while grilling, and moderate the temperature of your grill, you can easily burn them to a colon cancer-inducing crispness.

The flavorful sauce is endlessly adaptable; you can easily enhance it with a wide variety of add-ins: sriracha, sambal oelek, gochujang, minced chipotle in aodbo, or chopped jalapeño for a spicy sauce; garlic is always good and ginger would add an Asian flare; orange juice or mango or peach for a fruity version; lemon zest or lime juice might be nice. And different herbs, in the sauce or as a garnish, can be used to different effect. The variations are endless.

1 hour plus marinating time, serves 4

4 lbs. chicken wings, wing tips removed and saved for soup, separated into drumettes and flats

1 cup honey

¼ cup soy sauce

1. Heat the honey and soy sauce in a 2 quart saucepan on low for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the honey thins out and they combine easily.
2. Put the chicken wings in a shallow tray (like a lasagna pan) large enough to hold them and coat with the sauce. Stir to combine. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least a few hours; preferably overnight.
3. When ready to cook the wings, prepare the grill for two-zone cooking. One side should be ripping hot with direct heat, while the other side should be out of direct heat of the flame, so food can be cooked without getting charred. If cooking over charcoal, bank the coals on one side of the grill. If using a gas grill, heat one or two burners on high, leaving one or two burners completely off or on low.
4. Remove the tray from the refrigerator, stir the wings, and pour off all liquid into a 2 quart saucepan. Bring the honey-soy sauce mixture to a boil in the saucepan and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about a half hour, until it is reduced to a thick, viscous sauce.
5. Grill the chicken wings, flipping frequently and alternating between the direct and indirect heat, until cooked through, about 15 or 20 minutes. They should be charred in spots, but not all over.
6. When the wings are cooked through, transfer them to the indirect heat side of the grill and baste with the reduced honey-soy sauce mixture. Cook, flipping a few times and basting again if necessary, until the thick sauce sticks to and completely coats the wings.

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