Peri-peri chicken wings on the braai

Name: Peri-peri chicken wings on the braai
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 1.4 kg (3 lb) chicken wings, about 20, tips removed; 125 ml (1/2 cup) peri-peri sauce, or a bird's-eye chilli sauce; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 3 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 60 ml (1/4 cup) of the marinade, set aside before the chicken goes in; 2 tablespoons honey or smooth apricot jam

Chicken wings in a garlic and lemon peri-peri marinade, cooked over a two-zone fire and finished with a honey baste.

Coals: Medium coals
Prep: 15 min
On the fire: 25 min
Plan ahead: 2 to 12 hours marinating
Serves: 4

Ingredients

1.4 kg (3 lb) chicken wings, about 20, tips removed

Marinade

125 ml (1/2 cup) peri-peri sauce, or a bird's-eye chilli sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Baste

60 ml (1/4 cup) of the marinade, set aside before the chicken goes in
2 tablespoons honey or smooth apricot jam

Method

Pat the wings dry with paper towel. Split them into drumettes and flats if you like.
Mix the marinade ingredients. Spoon 60 ml (1/4 cup) into a small bowl, stir in the honey, cover and put it in the fridge. This is the baste.
Toss the wings in the rest of the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours. Do not go longer, because the lemon turns the meat soft.
Light a fire and let it burn down to medium coals, 5 to 6 seconds in the hand test. Bank the coals to one side so you have a hot side and a cool side. Set the grid at medium height.
Lay the wings on the cool side in a single layer with space between them. Put the lid on if you are using a kettle. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once.
Move the wings over the coals. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, turning every 1 to 2 minutes, until the skin blisters and crisps.
Brush with the honey baste in the last 3 minutes only, turning once more so both sides catch a little colour.
If fat drips and flames come up, move the wings back to the cool side until the flames die, then carry on.

Done when: the skin is blistered and crisp, the juices run clear, there is no pink at the joint and a thermometer in the thickest part away from the bone reads at least 74°C (165°F). Wings eat better at 80°C (175°F) or more, when the collagen has softened.

Tips

Wet skin never crisps. Pat the wings dry, or leave them uncovered on a rack in the fridge overnight before marinating.
Sugar burns. Keep the baste to a thin coat and put it on late.
Do not crowd the grid. Air around each wing is what crisps it.
Colour tells you nothing about doneness. Use a thermometer or cut to the bone.
For a crowd, cook the wings in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes ahead of time, then finish over the coals with the baste for 5 minutes.
If you cannot find peri-peri sauce, mix 2 tablespoons hot sauce with 1 teaspoon cayenne and 1 teaspoon paprika.
For a Durban-style version, swap the marinade for 1 1/2 tablespoons chilli powder, 1 teaspoon masala, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Peri-peri is the African bird’s-eye chilli, and the way of cooking with it reached South Africa through Portuguese Mozambique. A chicken shop founded in Johannesburg in 1987 took it around the world, but it had been a braai flavour long before that.

Wings need a two-zone fire more than most things. The fat under the skin drips and flares, so they cook through on the cool side and crisp over the coals at the end. Read reading your coals for setting up two zones and safe braai temperatures for checking the joint.