Don't be alarmed by the long timings of this recipe. There is very little work to do, and the flavours are amazing.
For the cure, cut the head of garlic several times across the width and discard as much of the papery skin as you can. Put the garlic in a large shallow dish and add all of the remaining cure ingredients. With a pestle, gently bruise the mixture to release the flavours. Add the chicken wings and massage the cure into them. Cover and refrigerate for at least six hours, overnight if possible.
When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Remove the chicken wings from the fridge, wipe off the cure with kitchen paper and pat as dry as possible. Place them in a deep ovenproof pot with a tightly fitting lid, add the cinnamon sticks and enough oil to cover the wings. Cover with the lid and cook in the preheated oven for three hours; there is no need to disturb the dish during this time.
Remove the pot from the oven and leave the chicken to cool slightly in the oil while you make the dusting. The chicken will need one final quick cook in the oven, so if you want to serve them immediately, increase the temperature to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
Blend together the ingredients for the dusting in a food-processor and set aside.
When the chicken wings have cooled, line a dish with a double layer of kitchen paper. With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken wings from the oil (carefully as they will be very tender) and place on the kitchen paper for a few minutes. Carefully transfer the wings to a roasting tin, and roast for 12 minutes or so or until crisp.
Remove the wings from the oven and pat with kitchen paper again. Shake over the dusting mixture and serve, allowing three chicken wings per person. Serve any extra dusting alongside in case you want to add even more!
The spice mix in this recipe is great on chips, amazing on baked potatoes, and if you’re grilling on the barbecue just sprinkle some of this over your meat.
