You can make these tangy chicken wings from Lucy Waverman on either a gas grill or a charcoal barbecue, but the latter infuses them with delicious smoky flavour. These couldn’t be simpler to make; just combine hot sauce, cider vinegar and melted butter, toss the wings with oil salt and pepper, and grill them, basting every few minutes with some sauce. Cook’s note: keep the basting sauce separate from the serving sauce to avoid contamination from the raw chicken. You may also want to take it easy when salting the wings, as most hot sauces are very salty.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

There are lots of great hot sauces out there, and many don’t have artificial ingredients. Two classics – Frank’s Hot Sauce and Tabasco original hot sauce – are both additive-free. Look for butter that does not contain colour.

Grilling these wings over charcoal infuses them with smoky flavour

Ingredients:

Dunking sauce

½ cup (125 ml) hot sauce

¼ cup (60 ml) cider vinegar

¼ cup (60 ml) melted butter

Wings

2 lb (1 kg) chicken wings, separated, wing tip discarded

2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Preheat grill to medium high. If using a charcoal grill, sprinkle some soaked wood chips on the coals; I used pecan wood chips.

Combine hot sauce, vinegar and melted butter. Remove ¼ cup for basting and reserve the rest.

Toss wings with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place wings on grill, and grill for 3 minutes on each side. Baste with sauce and turn over again. Repeat turning and basting with sauce every 3 minutes or until chicken wings are cooked through, about 12 minutes to 15 minutes total, depending on the size of the wings. You can throw the wings into the remaining sauce or serve separately for dipping. Serves 4.

From Lucy Waverman