Chernobyl Chicken Wings

from Ray, a Jets Tailgater

Seems like a lot of tailgating people love wings. I have a homemade recipe that I've been using since the 80`s. The history behind the name, Chenobyl Wings, came about during one football season back in the late 80`s. Been a long suffering Jets fan and so are my tailgating buddies. The name came about when the Jets had back to back home games. The following week after my buddy ate the wings, he said the fallout the next day was something he never seen or felt before. He imagined it close to what the Chernobyl disaster must have been like. So there's the history. :)

Anyway, there are 3 variations to this recipe. Grilling, baking and deep frying. Believe it or not, the preferred method by my buddies is the baked version. Regardless, all 3 work superbly and is simply a preference.

Ingredients to make 5 lbs.:
5 lbs. chicken wings - fresh (tips removed) or Tyson IQF (Individually Quick Frozen)
1 medium sized bottle Franks Red Hot sauce
1 stick butter
1 small bottle Tabasco Sauce
half a small bottle of Mongolian Fire Oil (found in the international isle of any supermarket)
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 chopped fresh Habanera pepper( or more if you can handle it)
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (sage/rosemary/thyme/basil/oregano or any combo of these spices)

Cook wings till done. (Baked - 45/60 minutes; grilled over medium coals till done - approx 30/45 minutes; or deep fried till golden brown - approx 12 minutes).

Meanwhile make sauce.
In a saucepan heat Fire oil and butter till melted
Add chopped Habanera pepper and simmer 2 minutes till soft
Add lime juice, Franks Red Hot, Tabasco sauce and paprika. stir
Add Italian Seasonings and black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
Now is the time to take a good whiff. If you cough, it's good to go!

For baked wings:
Remove wings from pan and let drain a few minutes (also drain baking pan), then add wings to sauce pot a few at a time to cover well.
Return wings back to baking pan and "double bake" for another 15 minutes so sauce dries onto wings. Enjoy!
Before heading out to game, put wings into foil baking pan to transport to the game. You can add any remaining sauce to the wings before bringing to the game.
No reason to waste the sauce anyway. To re-heat wings, just put the entire foil pan onto grill and heat them up. No reason to plate them because they`re usually gone in about 5 minutes. Great way to start off a cold morning.

Deep-Fried:
Basically the same process as above but just deep-fry them, coat with sauce and off to the game to reheat them.

Grilled wings:
Once wings are halfway cooked, you can start brushing them with sauce. Try to keep them off high heat (keep to the side of the grill), but you can scorch them if you`d like. Just keep them basted with sauce till well cooked.

I hope someone out there gives them a go. They`re quite tasty and not "hot" to where you can`t put them in your mouth. I hate wings like that. Some feedback would be greatly appreciated as well.

Be careful not to pour any remaining sauce into the coals. It will eat a hole through the grill which is what happened to us. It really teaches us tailgaters just how tough a stomach truly is.