As an avid cooker of what I like to call “man-food”, I have a strong passion for grilling.  The art of grilling chicken wings has a significant role in my “man-food” experience.  But, every batch of crispy skinned and tasty chicken wings needs a delicious sauce.  I have worked to the point of mastery at what I like to call “a world famous buffalo wing sauce” recipe for the last 10 years. (My dad passed down the buffalo wing sauce recipe to me and I currently hold the honor of preparing it for my family. This recipe and its back story will be released in due time for all to enjoy.) 

But, one man’s buffalo wing sauce is not enough.  So, I decided to expand my sauce-making repertoire to include exotic twists and specialty flavors.  A small chicken joint in New York called Smitty’s inspires this sauce.  My parents used to dine on Smitty’s chicken during their college and early marriage years.  Smitty’s is an exotically sweet and hot and sour style sauce that works perfectly on chicken wings, whole grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or just about anything you are willing to try it on! 

Here we go:

Ingredients:   
2 cups of sugar
1-½ cups of white vinegar
5 oz of mustard
2 oz of ketchup
6 oz of honey
2 oz of Frank’s Red Hot
½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
8 oz. of crushed pineapple
½ cup of water

Preparation:

1)     Mix the sugar together with the vinegar on a low heat and stir regularly until the sugar completely dissolves (about 5-10 minutes).

2)     Combine all the other ingredients except for the water with the sugar-vinegar mixture and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes.  Stir every 5 minutes or so to make sure ingredients are mixing well.

a.       *Alternate Step 2*: blend the ingredients in a blender and then add to the sugar-vinegar mixture.  This creates a more well mixed sauce with smaller bits of pineapple, but I usually stick to the normal step 2 because I like the appearance, texture, and taste of the larger pineapple pieces in the sauce.

3)     Add the water.

4)     Coat chicken or food with sauce or refrigerate and save for later!

Special Preparation Suggestion:
Smitty’s would grill a whole chicken and then serve the chicken over a bed of macaroni salad.  Then pour the sauce over the chicken and macaroni salad.  Makes a hearty dinner plate and is great for a cookout!  

Enjoy Smitty’s Sauce and there will be more signature sauce recipes on the way including the best traditional buffalo wing sauce.