Ram Wings – Chicken Wings Glazed w/ Rosemary Ancho Molasses

Chef John from Food Wishes presents us with this easy to make and even easier to eat Ram Wings recipe, with a delicious glaze made from rosemary ancho and molasses. Hence where the RAM part of the dish comes from. It is an acronym for Rosemary Ancho Molasses.

So, lets get started. For this recipe we will need two and a half of pounds of chicken wings sections placed in a big bowl. Add to this two teaspoons of vegetable oil as well as three teaspoons of kosher salt. Follow this with one tablespoon of finely minced rosemary and then two or three tablespoons of ground ancho chili powder. (If you don’t have ancho chili powder you can replace it with four parts paprika and one part ground chipotle).

Make sure the chili powder is nice and fresh. You do not want to use a 7 year old chili powder for this Ram Wings recipe. The fresher the ingredients are, the better.

Now also toss in half a teaspoon of cayenne as well as three tablespoons of white distilled vinegar. You add the vinegar to get the acidity in the dish but not flavor. Finish up with the marinade by adding one or two tablespoons of molasses. If you do not have molasses you can use syrup, honey or brown sugar.

Take a spatula and mix everything together. Once everything is properly combined wrap it with plastic and pop it in the fridge to marinade for between four and twelve hours.

When ready to cook the wings, spread the chicken pieces in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Try to space them as evenly as possible. After spreading them out, if you have a little bit of sauce in the bottom of the bowl, feel free to transfer it on to the pieces.

Transfer the baking tray to the center of a 400 degree pre-heated oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until the ram wings are completely cooked through. While they are roasting we will start on the finishing glaze.

Get another mixing bowl out and start by adding two teaspoons of molasses to it. Next up add one tablespoon of honey to give you some non-molasses sweetness. We also add 1 teaspoon of the ancho chili powder as well as a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne. Last but not least is the freshly squeezed juice of one lime. Mix it all together.

You do not want to add this final glaze to the marinade as your ram wings just would not taste the same as tossing the cooked wings in it at the end. The lime and the honey will especially have a totally different flavor cooked. It really does make a big difference only tossing you wings into the uncooked glaze at the end.

As soon as the wings comes out of the oven, while they are still piping hot, transfer them carefully into the finishing glaze. Give them a good toss with a spoon or a spatula. Give them a toss, let them sit for five minutes, and then give them one more toss before serving. You should not see a lot of glaze at the bottom of the bowl after that second toss.

And that’s it! Transfer it on to the serving platter and garnish to taste.