Slow-Cooker Sticky Wings

By á-58

Ingredients

• 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 pounds chicken wings, halved at joint and wingtips removed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup tomato paste

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from cookscountry.com

Preparation

Step 1

When we tried adding the sauce for our Slow-Cooker Sticky Wings to the slow cooker, the juices from the wings drowned it out. Instead, we cooked the wings bare. A sauce of soy sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and cayenne won out over more complex options. For through-and-through flavor, we borrowed an idea from barbecue pit masters and coated the wings with a spicy paste before cooking. Achieving an acceptable level of stickiness wasn’t possible with a slow cooker alone. To give the wings their requisite “stick," we painted the cooked wings with sauce and set them under the broiler.

1. MAKE RUB

Pulse ginger, garlic, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in food processor until finely ground. Add mixture to slow cooker insert. Add chicken and toss until combined.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Set wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet and spray rack with baking spray. Whisk water, tomato paste, remaining sugar, remaining soy sauce, and remaining cayenne in bowl. Add half of sauce to bowl with cooled wings and toss gently to coat. Arrange wings, skin side up, on prepared rack. Broil until wings are lightly charred and crisp around edges, 10 to 15 minutes. Flip wings, brush with remaining sauce, and continue to broil until well caramelized, about 3 minutes. Serve.

A quick dump-and-stir sauce coats the wings just before they go under the broiler. The sauce caramelizes in less than 20 minutes.