Recipe: Chicken Wings with Lemon and Spices

Some of my prior recipes were at my bistro, . But this one wasn't. The back of the Old Bay Seasoning tin inspired it.

Ingredients:

• Chicken wings
• Old Bay Seasoning
• Half a lemon
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp. grapeseed or olive oil

I like Old Bay Seasoning. According to the side of the can, it has celery salt (salt, celery seed), spices (including mustard, red pepper, black pepper, bay (laurel) leaf, cloves, allspice (pimento) (hmmmm .... since when was allspice the same as pimento?), ginger, mace, cardamon, cinnamon, and paprika.

At least an hour before eating, cut the chicken wings into 3 sections - (a) the tip, (b) the midsection, and (c) the thicker end section.  I bend/snap each joint till it cracks at the joint, then cut each section apart. You want to separate them into 3 sections since they are all slightly different thickness and will take slightly different lengths of time to cook. Plus, it's easier to turn them over when they're separated.

Put all the chicken pieces on a big plate. Sprinkle Old Bay Seasoning generously  all over the up-facing side. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on. Squeeze half a lemon all over. Then drizzle a little grapeseed or olive oil over the up-facing side - about a tablespooon or two. 

Stir all the chicken wings thoroughly with your hands, tongs, or a fork  - till the oil, lemon, Old Bay Seasoning, salt and pepper thoroughly coat all sides. Set aside.

The recipe on the Old Bay can uses chicken breasts, way more oil and less lemon, and parsley flakes - and everything goes into a plastic bag to marinate.

Cook on at skillet at fairly low heat till browned and done.  Or, what I do is cook them on a griddle at the table.

I heat up the griddle on a pretty low heat. On the griddle, I'll cook the chicken wings, some asparagus, some whole mushrooms, sliced sweet onions, etc. then serve it with a fresh salad of watercress, sliced cucumbers, raw bean sprouts, or whatever else happens to be on hand.

Bon appetit!