History

Mumbo sauce (also written mambo) is a sweet, tangy, faintly hot red-orange sauce that took hold in Washington DC's Black carryout counters from the 1960s onward. It probably evolved from a Chicago-style barbecue sauce, brought south by Argia B Collins, but the DC version drifted sweeter and tangier, more ketchup-and-pineapple than smoke-and-vinegar. By the 1980s it had become the city's defining condiment for wings, fried chicken, fried rice and french fries from Wings-N-Things on Capitol Hill, Yum's, Danny's Sub and dozens of carryouts. Capital City Mumbo Sauce, founded 2011 in Anacostia, bottles the DC house version for grocery sale.

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 55 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg chicken wings, split into drumettes and flats
  • 2 teaspoons fine salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 180ml ketchup
  • 120ml apple cider vinegar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons crushed pineapple
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (Tabasco or similar)
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • Neutral oil for frying

Method

  1. Toss the wings with salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Rest 20 minutes uncovered in the fridge to dry the skin.
  2. Combine ketchup, vinegar, sugar, pineapple, Worcestershire, hot sauce and cayenne in a small pot. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring, until glossy. Taste; it should ride right between sweet and tangy.
  3. Heat 5cm of neutral oil in a deep pot to 175C (350F). Fry the wings in two batches, 8 to 10 minutes per batch, until deep golden and cooked through.
  4. Drain the wings briefly, then toss them in a large bowl with the warm mumbo sauce until every piece is coated. Serve immediately with extra sauce for dipping.

Tip from the editors. Mumbo sauce is meant to be sweet first, tangy second; if your batch reads too vinegary, stir in another 2 tablespoons of sugar and another tablespoon of pineapple.

Where to eat mumbo sauce wings

Mumbo sauce wings in Washington DC

Henry's Soul Cafe ★ 4.2

Street food$Mon-Sat 11:00-21:00, Sun 12:00-19:00

Henry's Soul Cafe in Washington DC is the U Street soul-food counter from Henry Smith since 1968, with sweet potato pie sold by the slice and the carryout.

Try: Sweet potato pie, fried chicken, mumbo wings

Tip: The sweet potato pie ships nationally; buy the whole pie at the U Street counter to take home.

1704 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009

Florida Avenue Grill ★ 4.2

Soul food$Mon Closed, Tue-Sun 08:00-16:00

Florida Avenue Grill in Washington DC is the LeDroit Park 1944 diner with breakfast all day, the city's cheapest soul food sit-down with eggs-grits-biscuit.

Try: Breakfast plate with eggs, grits, biscuit ($13)

Tip: Breakfast runs all day; the half-smoke breakfast plate at $13 is the editorial value meal of the menu.

1100 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009

Oohh's & Aahh's ★ 4.4

Street food$Mon-Sat 11:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-21:00

Oohh's & Aahh's in Washington DC is the U Street soul-food counter from Oji Abbott since 2005, with mumbo sauce wings, fried catfish and the carryout.

Try: Soul food with mumbo sauce wings

Tip: The fried catfish and shrimp with mumbo sauce is the menu standout; takeaway runs faster than the dining-room queue.

1005 U St NW, Washington, DC 20001

More cities are in research. Want mumbo sauce wings covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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