Grilled Shito Wings
Aperçu
Grilled shito wings are chicken wings grilled and then coated in shito, Ghana's dark chilli sauce, and returned briefly to the heat so the sauce sets onto the skin. It is a modern preparation built on a traditional condiment rather than an inherited dish, and it is none the worse for that. Shito is the whole point. The word is Ga, the language of Accra, and simply means pepper, though it has come to name the specific dark sauce made from dried fish, ground prawn, chilli, ginger, garlic and tomato cooked down in oil. Its smokiness and depth are what a plain grilled wing lacks, and glazing rather than marinating with it keeps that character intact. The order matters. The wings are seasoned and marinated plainly first, with salt, oil, pepper, lime and soy, then grilled through, and only then coated in shito and given a short final spell at reduced heat. Shito applied at the start would burn long before the chicken cooked, since it is already a cooked, oily, sugar-free but solids-heavy sauce. Doing it this way gives a wing that is properly cooked underneath and lacquered on the outside.
Note de Patrimoine AFN
Shito is a Ghanaian chilli sauce whose name derives from the Ga word for pepper, made from dried fish, ground prawn, chilli and aromatics cooked in oil. This is a contemporary preparation using it as a glaze.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Cut, trim and wash the chicken wings, then pat them dry with paper towel.
- 2
Place them in a plastic bag and add the salt, oil, pepper, a dash of fresh lime juice and the soy sauce.
- 3
Mix well until everything is coated and set aside to marinate for about an hour.
- 4
Prepare a grill at medium heat, or preheat an oven to 175°C.
- 5
Place the wings on a greased grill rack or baking tray.
- 6
Grill for about 30 minutes, turning halfway, until the skin is golden brown.
- 7
Take the wings out and transfer them to a tray.
- 8
Coat them properly and evenly with the shito sauce.
- 9
Return them to the grill or oven at a reduced heat for another 10 minutes.
- 10
Take them out, garnish with herbs or vegetables and serve.
Notes de l’Africook
Notes personnelles de Jennifer Ezeokoli- Apply the shito only after the wings are cooked. It is an oily, solids-heavy sauce that scorches long before chicken cooks through.
- Pat the wings completely dry before the marinade. Wet skin steams instead of crisping, and no amount of grilling recovers it.
- Drop the heat for the final ten minutes. That stage is setting the glaze, not cooking the meat.
- Two tablespoons of shito for a pound of wings is a light coat. Shito is intense, so taste yours before deciding to use more.
- Serve with a side salad or grilled vegetables, which is what the source suggests and what the heat of the shito calls for.
Questions fréquentes
What is shito?
Shito is a Ghanaian chilli sauce, dark almost to black, made from dried fish, ground prawn, chilli, ginger, garlic and tomato cooked down slowly in oil. The name is the Ga word for pepper. It is deeply savoury and smoky rather than simply hot, and it keeps for months under a layer of oil.
Why glaze the wings at the end rather than marinating in shito?
Because shito is already cooked and full of solids and oil, so applied at the start it burns long before the chicken is done. Marinating plainly first and glazing at the end gives properly cooked meat with an intact, lacquered coating. This ordering is the whole technique of the dish.
Can I bake them instead of grilling?
Yes, and the recipe gives the oven method as an equal option: 175°C for about 30 minutes, turning halfway, then a further 10 minutes at reduced heat after glazing. Set the wings on a rack over a tray so fat drains and air circulates, which gets you closer to grilled texture.
How hot is it?
That depends entirely on the shito, which ranges from medium to extremely hot depending on who made it. Two tablespoons over a pound of wings is a light coat, so the heat is present but not overwhelming. Taste your shito first, since a fierce batch will carry a long way.
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Had to trek to the Afro-Caribbean shop in Riverside to get a jar of hot shito sauce for this, but it was well worth it. I did mine in the oven at 175 C for 40 mins because of the Welsh rain. The combination of fresh lime juice and soy sauce in the marinade really cuts through the deep, smoky heat of the shito.
Finally found a jar of shito at an afro shop in Wedding and tried this recipe immediately. Patting the chicken wings completely dry with paper towel before adding the oil and lime is so important, otherwise the skin wont crisp up properly in the oven. turned out delicious sha.
picked up halal wings from the butcher on staple hill and made these yesterday. could not get ghanian shito nearby so used a hot smoked pepper paste, but kept the oil, lime and soy sauce marinade ratio exact. crisp skin and tender inside, served it with benachin for dinner.
Tossed about 500g of flats and drumettes onto the braai after an hour in the lime and soy mix. That shito coating gets so lekker and sticky over medium coals. Just keep an eye on them so the sauce doesnt burn.
2 tablespoons of shito was not enough for my family o! I had to double it and add extra pepper. I left the wings in the plastic bag to marinate for 3 hours instead of just 1 hour, e sweet well well.