This recipe is a hand-me-down from my mother. Back when the Earth was still cooling chicken wings were available at the butcher shop for a very modest price and as such we ate them frequently. My mother cooked them up in quantities that could and did feed an army, and many of my friends became as addicted to them as I was - leftover teriyaki chicken wings were a particular hit with the high school lunch crowd in fact, (they went really well with the frozen oatmeal cookies she hid in the deepest recesses of our freezer chest).
We enjoyed chicken wings for years due to their reasonable cost (which complimented our lack of money) and the wonderfulness of Mom's teriyaki recipe, then came the Buffalo Chicken Wing frenzy. It turned an inexpensive meal into an occasional expensive treat, and for the most part chicken wing prices are still high due to the high demand the wing frenzy created, and the fact no enterprising farmer has developed a 12 winged chicken. Come on farmers! There must be a 12 winged chicken lurking about in the lab at Monsanto's skunkworks that they'd be willing to cross breed with your Rhode Island Red!!! WE NEED CHEAPER WINGS!
As chicken wings climbed in price I was determined to find an alternative, a TASTY alternative, and chicken legs climbed to the top of the teriyaki list. As it turns out, legs are better for you on the fat to meat ratio and taste great too!
The size of chicken legs in the market have shrunk to the size of the wings of old (eaten at a KFC lately?) and they do nicely in a pool of teriyaki marinade as well as satisfying my wing craving - mostly. I have also used this for turkey wings, affectionately labelled Teriyaki Pterodactyl Wings and is that a mouthful, literally...
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| Teriyaki Pterodactyl Wings |
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| Teriyaki Pterodactyl Wings |
Teriyaki Chicken Legs Recipe
3 cups white wine
2 cups soy sauce
10 cloves crushed garlic
3 Tbsp grated ginger (fresh preferred or2 Tbsp ginger powder)
1/3 cup brown sugar (You can use Mirin in place of brown sugar for a real taste treat)
2 Tbsp Chili garlic paste
2 Tbsp sesame oil
In a plastic or stainless steel bowl mix all ingredients
together. Add meat and refrigerate for
at least 8 hours, however overnight (24 hours) is best.
Roast in 375° oven.
5 lbs chicken wings: cook 30 minutes, remove tray from oven,
drain off liquid and turn over the wings, return tray to oven for 10 minutes longer.
5 lbs (20) chicken legs: Cook as with chicken wings, turn over at 15
minutes and cook for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Beef: cook (roast or grill) as preferred