Japanese skewered, butterflied chicken wings lightly misted with sake and charcoal-grilled with a crisp salt crust, served piping hot with fresh lemon.
Ingredients
- 1600 g whole chicken wings (tebasaki)
- 30 ml unsalted Japanese cooking sake (ryorishu)
- 8 g unrefined fine sea salt
- 1 g whole black peppercorns
- 2 tsp high-oleic sunflower oil
- 1 piece fresh unwaxed lemon
- 4 g Japanese seven-spice blend (shichimi togarashi)
Method
- Soak the bamboo skewers in cold water for at least thirty minutes so they do not catch fire over the hot coals.
- Thoroughly pat the whole chicken wings (tebasaki) dry with paper towels to remove all surface moisture.
- Place a wing meat-side up on your cutting board. Using the tip of a sharp knife, make a lengthwise slit in the flesh between the two parallel bones of the midsection without piercing through the skin underneath, then score the joint lightly to relax the wing.
- Thread two parallel bamboo skewers through each wing: push the first skewer through the meaty section and the second through the lower joint to keep the piece held flat and taut.
- Mist or brush both sides of the wings with the unsalted Japanese cooking sake (ryorishu) to lightly and evenly dampen the surface.
- Hold your hand about a foot above the skewers and shower the unrefined fine sea salt evenly over both sides, concentrating on the skin, then add a light grind of whole black peppercorns.
- Preheat your grill or light your charcoal to a brisk, high heat without active flames, then wipe the grate with a cloth dipped in high-oleic sunflower oil.
- Lay the skewers on the grill, skin-side down toward the heat. Grill for five to seven minutes, watching closely: the rendered fat should sizzle and drip as the skin puffs with tiny crisp blisters and turns a deep golden brown.
- If dripping fat triggers flare-ups, shift the skewers to a cooler zone to prevent bitter soot from settling on the meat.
- Turn the skewers bone-side down and cook for another four to six minutes, until the meat pulls back slightly from the bones and any juices running from the slits are completely clear.
- Flip the skewers skin-side down one last time for thirty seconds to recrisp the surface, then remove them from the grill and let them rest for two minutes on a warm rack.
- Cut the fresh unwaxed lemon into wedges. Plate the steaming skewers with the citrus wedges alongside, and serve with a small dish of Japanese seven-spice blend (shichimi togarashi).
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 286.6 kcal
- Protein
- 56.53 g
- Carbohydrate
- 3.73 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 1.15 g
- Calcium
- 4.5 mg
- Iron
- 0.09 mg
- Magnesium
- 2.85 mg
