I’ve thought about Feges BBQ’s curry lime sauce every day since I first ate it on a smoked and fried chicken wing at the joint’s Houston location six days ago. And I’ve used the sauce in four meals since co-owner Erin Smith texted me the recipe. It’s great on smoked chicken, grilled chicken, noodles, and even cucumbers, so when the Feges crew said we could share it, I was elated.
Marco Coleman, the director of operations at the Spring Branch location, developed the recipe. In 2022, ten months after the location’s opening, the cost of chicken wings finally dipped low enough for the restaurant to be able to serve them regularly. It already had three sauces in the lineup—Alabama white, hot red, and PB&J—but it asked Coleman to come up with two more for the big wing debut. One was sweet chili, and the other curry lime. I tried the curry lime at the restaurant, just missing the happy hour (Tuesday–Saturday, 3–6 p.m.) special of ten wings for $10 (regularly $15). The price didn’t matter—I still savored every bit of the delicious sauce.
Coleman uses red curry paste as the base and adds honey—lots of honey. The restaurant gets its Thai Kitchen–brand curry paste by the tub and makes the sauce in big batches. I cut the proportions down to use a single small jar of the same brand that’s available at many grocery stores.
Smoked and Fried Chicken Wings with Curry Lime Sauce
Equipment
- 1 smoker
- 1 blender
- 1 instant-read or probe thermometer
Ingredients
Curry Lime Sauce
- ½ cup red curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand)
- 2½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 cup clover honey
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- ⅓ cup sriracha
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
Chicken Wings
- 20 chicken wings
- Feges BBQ Beef Rub, to taste (or any rub that’s primarily salt, black pepper, and garlic)
- canola oil, for deep-frying
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- zest from one lime
Directions
Curry Lime Sauce
- Blend all ingredients (except lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro) in a blender until combined.
- Add lime juice and olive oil, and blend until emulsified.
- Add cilantro, and blend until cilantro is finely chopped. Set sauce aside.
Chicken Wings
- Prepare a smoker for 235 degrees.
- Season wings with rub and smoke for 3 hours or until the internal temperature of the thickest wing reaches 165 degrees.
- Chill the wings for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. This ensures the surface of the wings will be drier for frying, and it will allow enough reheating time while frying to crisp the skin.
- Heat canola oil in a pot to 360 degrees, adding enough oil to completely cover the wings.
- Once the oil is heated, carefully place the wings in the hot oil. Fry in batches to keep from crowding. Fry the wings for 5 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
- Remove wings from pot and place into a large bowl. Ladle curry lime sauce over top and toss the wings until well coated.
- Plate the wings and garnish with chopped cilantro and lime zest.
