Sticky PX-glazed chicken wings with pickled salad
Paul Ainsworth’s chicken wings feature regularly on the menu at his Padstow restaurant, Caffè Rojano. Try them yourself this weekend.
Ingredients
For the PX glaze
- 250ml/9fl oz Pedro Ximénez sherry
- 40g/1½ oz black treacle
- 150g/5½oz tomato ketchup
- 60ml/4 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp hot smoked paprika
- 30g/1oz honey
- 35g/1¼ oz sriracha
For the pickled salad
- 50²µ/1¾´Ç³ú caster sugar
- 50ml/2fl oz white wine vinegar
- 5g yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch Cornish sea salt
- 1 red onion, sliced
- ½ red cabbage, finely sliced
For the chicken wings
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 12 chicken wings
- ¼ cucumber, de-seeded and sliced
- 5g chopped fresh chives
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Pour the sherry into a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to the boil and reduce by half (to about 125ml/4fl oz). Add the rest of the PX glaze ingredients and reduce until nice and thick (a ketchup-like consistency).
For the pickled salad, put the sugar, white wine vinegar, mustard seeds, olive oil, sea salt and 150ml/5fl oz water into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiled set aside and leave to cool.
Add the red onion and red cabbage to the pickling liquid. Steep for at least 2 hours before eating. The longer they pickle for, the better the vegetables will taste.
For the chicken wings, add the olive oil to a large ovenproof frying pan. Place over a high heat and carefully add the wings to the hot oil, one by one. Fry for 3 minutes on each side, then transfer the frying pan to the preheated oven. If you don’t have an ovenproof frying pan, you can use a baking tray or ovenproof dish. Cook for around 10 minutes, turning the wings over after 5 minutes.
Take the chicken wings out of the oven, blot on kitchen paper, then transfer to a bowl and add some of the PX glaze until they are sticky and delicious. Serve on a large plate in the middle of the table and top with some of the pickled salad, fresh cucumber and chopped chives.
Recipe Tips
This PX glaze is also incredible with pork ribs.