Hot Pig Wings with Blue Cheese Buttermilk Dip
Pig wings are technically from the fore shank of the pig, it’s basically a mini ham hock using the closet and smallest, cluster of muscles to the bone. Your butcher should be able to get you some of these but make sure you give them advance notice and you’ll probably have to talk them through it - prepare for ‘pigs don’t fly’ jokes.
Pig Wings not only taste great, they look impressive like Jurassic chicken wings! You can serve two or three as a main meal portion, or we like to make a big plate of them and serve them as appetisers before a barbecue dinner. In this recipe, we give the pig wings a little heat with both the rub and the glaze, and go the ‘whole hog’ by making a tasty blue cheese dip on the side.
SERVES
10-12 as an appetiser or 4-5 as a main course
SMOKING WOOD
Hickory
INGREDIENTS
10–12 bone-in pork shanks (around 300g each)
10-12 tbl of groundnut oil
For the 4-3-2-1 hot rub
4 tbl fine sea salt
3 tbl soft light brown sugar
2 tbl cayenne pepper
1 tbl paprika
150ml Your favourite Barbecue Sauce
METHOD
Mix together the ingredients of the rub together in a bowl. Make sure your pig wings have about 6cm of exposed bone at the top. Rub your pig wings in oil and coat lightly and evenly with the rub.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 2hrs before cooking. Allow the pig wings to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before smoking.Wrap the exposed hock bone in tin foil.
Set your grill up for indirect heat and regulate to 108°C/225°F, add in your wood and place the pig wings on the grates and close the lid.
They’ll take around 4-5 hours to smoke and you’re looking to hit a fairly high internal temperature of 91ºC/195ºF. When the Pig Wings have reached this temperature, remove the foil and glaze all over with warmed BBQ sauce, return to the smoker for a further 15 minutes then repeat once more.
Allow the Pig Wings to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
For the blue cheese buttermilk dip
100ml soured cream
100ml mayonnaise
50ml buttermilk
85g blue cheese, crumbled
2tbl finely chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
or grated
¼ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Fine Sea salt to taste
pinch of paprika, to sprinkle on top
Mix all the ingredients of the blue cheese dressing in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until serving.
Bon apetité!
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