This recipe was published as my monthly column for the January 7th edition of
The Hinton Voice, my local newspaper.
[Back in October I went
on the road trip of a lifetime, spending just under two weeks driving across
Canada. I had a conference in Montréal
for work and since most of my husband’s family lives in a small French
community nearby, we decided to extend the trip and visit everyone while we
were there. For a portion of the trip we
stayed with his Mémère (grandmother) in the 1800’s farmhouse that she and Pépère
had saved up all of their hard earned money to purchase in their early days of
marriage. Walking into the house is like
stepping back in time. Not only is the
antique wood stove in the kitchen used for cooking all of the meals, it also heats
the entire house, acts as an incinerator (nothing gets thrown out – everything
is either recycled or burned), and even has a spot to hang laundry to dry. To say that this visit was one of the most
enriching experiences of my entire life would truly not do it justice.
We spent a lot of
time exploring the old barn, which was filled to the brim with antique
treasures. One of the rooms even boasts
an original spinning jenny and some of the items date back as far as the 1600’s. Some of these treasures included cookbooks
with pages so brittle they crackled beneath my fingertips, and instructions
that required cooking over the cooled down coals from the morning fire. Needless to say, I spent a good portion of my
trip pouring over cookbooks with Mémère, bringing many, many recipes home with
me.
One morning after
exploring the barn and chatting over recipes, Mémère disappeared into the
kitchen and returned with a cast iron pan filled with these chicken wings. They were literally the best thing ever, and
I knew it was a recipe that I would have to re-create once I arrived home. When I asked how she had made the sauce, she
responded with “oh, a little of this and a little of that” and I thought that
was the end of it. Mémère had other
ideas though, because just before we left she came over and placed a
handwritten copy of this recipe in my hands.
I couldn’t help but smile at the title of her recipe, written
specifically for her visitors from “The Far West”.]
Ingredients
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 kg chicken wings (or any cut of chicken, skin on)
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375
degrees.
Combine sauce
ingredients.
Heat an oven safe
frying pan over medium heat. If you don’t have an oven safe frying pan (cast
iron works great for this recipe!), you can use your usual frying pan,
transferring the chicken to an oven safe dish for the next step.
Dip the wings in the
sauce, and then fry for 5-7 minutes, until wings are slightly crisp. Turn chicken wings over with tongs, then coat
with the remaining sauce.
Transfer chicken
wings to a well pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, turning them midway through and
covering them with the sauce.
The wings should be
crispy but well glazed with the sauce.
Enjoy!
