Black Garlic Ketchup Brings An Umami Punch To Chicken Wings

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Chicken wings occupy a permanent position in the festive food category. The plucky game day, trivia night, and all-occasion party staple has transcended simple app or snack food favorite status to become a traditional signal of celebrations. But just because chicken wings are classic doesn't mean you can't make them even more fun with the occasional less expected ingredient switcharoo. And black garlic, which has tons of cooking applications, is just the thing to enliven those wings when it's turned into a condiment and given the ketchup treatment.

Black garlic ketchup is, on paper, exactly what it sounds like. But the marriage of tomatoes, spices, and garlic that has been aged, often for several days or even weeks in climate controlled conditions to achieve its rich, deep hue, yielding texture, and almost sugary yet savory umami kick, doesn't simply taste like the iconic french fry companion has been zhuzhed up with smashed alliums. It's neither as brightly sweet and perky as an everyday red ketchup, nor as pungent as a fresh clove can be. Rather, black garlic ketchup inhabits a kind of mellower middle ground, boasting a flavor profile all its own with evidence of its namesake ingredients, but only if you really think about it. The chicken's relative neutrality, combined with a decadent, crisply golden coat, makes it a particularly suitable canvas for black garlic ketchup's sweetly earthy tanginess.

The most challenging part of making black garlic ketchup chicken wings might be acquiring the condiment and its ingredients, unless your grocery store is especially well-stocked. Preparing the garlic component at home is time-consuming, not to mention enduringly fragrant, so this is an appropriate occasion for shortcuts. Your local specialty store might carry pre-made black garlic, and some food brands sell the ingredient online, like Bhumi Organic's Single Clove Peeled Black Garlic.

Many ketchup recipes call for tomato paste and things like brown sugar, salt, and pepper to start. If you're new to black garlic, consider replacing half the amount of tomato paste with mashed black garlic cloves or a product like MW Polar Black Garlic Puree, and adjust to taste. Despite Aldi releasing a version of the condiment via their Specially Selected line in 2024, black garlic ketchup isn't otherwise abundantly available off the shelf, but the United Kingdom-based Hawkshead Relish Company produces a readymade version, and it has a few distributors in the United States.

Once you've got the sauce, you can use it as a marinade for your poultry, or simply prepare plenty of easy classic Buffalo wing recipes to near completion. You'll dry your flats and drumettes, season, dredge, and bake or fry for a crispy finish. After they're cooked through, you can brush on the black garlic ketchup or even use it as a dip to keep the wings' nice, crunchy bite. Saucing too much or too soon during the frying process is among the biggest mistakes you can avoid when making chicken wings at home.