Spicy chicken wings in a bold Sriracha sauce with sweet apricot jam and zippy mustard. Try the new Canadian version of buffalo wings and you'll be converted! (Skip to recipe.)
We've had a curious, marauding moose visit our yard several times this winter. He likes to wander around and nibble on whatever tender branch tips he finds appealing. Our fruit trees are getting a drastic pruning, whether we like it or not. It's kind of like that old joke; Where does a 1000-lb. gorilla sit? Answer: Wherever he damn well pleases. Well, a 2000-lb. moose can do whatever he damn well pleases in our yard, too, and there's nothing we can do about it (like the moose that moved into my mom's yard last year).
I've been trying to get a picture of him, but every time Raymond calls me to Come quick! There he is again! I'm too late. By the time I grab my camera, the moose has ambled off into the distance. He even had the audacity to leave a pile of his droppings less than an arm's length from the edge of our deck when we weren't looking.
The day I was working on this recipe for sriracha-sauced chicken wings was one of those days I missed getting a photo of him, so I decided it was fitting to name the chicken wings after our visiting Mr. Moose.
After all, flaming hot, spicy Buffalo Wings (named after the city) have elbowed their way into our food culture: they're offered in every pub, bar, and self-respecting diner, sold from food trucks and food stalls, found pre-prepared in the frozen section of every grocery store, and included in any recent cookbook showcasing barbecue or grilling recipes. So, if the hardy buffalo can cash in on all that fame and culinary notoriety, I think it's time the mighty Canadian moose gets its share of some of the spotlight, too.
Move over Buffalo Wings - Moose Wings are here to steal some of your glory.
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Kitchen Frau Notes: For a mustard allergy, you can substitute prepared horseradish instead of the Dijon mustard - it tastes very similar once mixed into the sauce.
If you don't have a blender, you can still make this sauce - just pick out the large chunks of apricots from the jam, and use the smooth jam that's left, or push the jam through a large-mesh strainer.
Sweet 'n Spicy Moose Wings (Sriracha Chicken Wings)
- 2½ lbs. (1.2kg) split chicken wings (wing tips discarded), 27-32 pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup (120ml) apricot jam
- ¼ cup (60ml) dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (or other hot sauce)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish, optional
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper that sticks up on all sides.
In a bowl, toss the chicken wing sections with the oil, salt, and pepper.
Spread the wings out on the prepared baking sheet. Don't bother washing the bowl.
Bake for 30 minutes.
While the chicken wings are baking, prepare the sauce.
In a narrow, deep container, like a 2-cup measuring cup, place the jam, mustard, Sriracha, soy sauce, and vinegar. With an immersion (stick) blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Alternately, blend the sauce in a regular blender.
Pour the sauce into the bowl you used to toss the chicken wings.
Remove the baked chicken wings from the oven. (Don't clean the pan yet.) Use tongs to transfer the wing pieces to the sauce in the bowl. Toss with a rubber spatula to coat all sides of the wings.
Return the wings to the baking pan, spreading them out in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
Use tongs to turn the wings over, stirring them around in any puddles of sauce to get maximum sauce onto each piece.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until the sauce is sticky and browned in spots.
Remove the Moose Wings to a serving bowl, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions to make them look pretty, if you like.
Serves 4 as a main course, 6-8 as appetizers (or about 2 hungry teenage boys).
Guten Appetit!
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Elsa
The Moose Wings look great, I'd give anything to have some right now on Sunday night at 10:45.
Margaret
I wish I had a little kitchen elf - I'd have him make you a batch and send them right over!
Jeanette
When you are finished with that kitchen Elf please send him to my home? Look forward to making this recipe. Will wait till the wings are on sale. I remember when my Mother would purchase wings as they were a cheap meal. I am sorry to say that is no longer the truth here.
Margaret
That darn elf keeps hiding just when I need him!
You're right, wings used to be the part of the chicken nobody wanted - and now they've become so popular! I guess people figured out how tasty those little morsels of meat hiding between the bones are.
Happy cooking!
Jeanette
Happy Cooking too you !
Christine
My dear Margaret I could not resist to think of my mother in law with a similar recipe she made with apricot jam, tomato sauce and wings. I believe you when you say you can feed 2 hungry teenagers with 1 batch! Thank you for bringing new and zesty variation to a family recipe!
Margaret
Isn't it wonderful how the memory of foods we've eaten can remind us of people in our lives? Forever after, just a taste of something will bring back special memories of sharing meals with people. Tomato sauce and apricot jam sounds like an interesting and savoury combination. Those teenage boys can sure polish off a plate of wings in the blink of an eye!