Jerk Chicken Wings [Attempt #1]

Recipe source: The Real Jerk: New Caribbean Cuisine

Recipe result: Good flavor, skin could've been crispier, needed mo' fire (habaneros). But it got a good response from my friends.

Whenever I go home to Long Island, I have a list of foods that I need to have: pizza, bagels, mom's papaya smoothies, etc. But if I ever find myself in Uniondale near the Haitian barbershop I used to go to, I need to pick up some extra hot jerk chicken from Tropical Jerk, the Jamaican place across the street. It's masterfully seasoned and char-grilled to crispy perfection. For real, I'm tempted to even eat the bones... not just the marrow, the bones.

For Christmas in 2008, my good friend Dominic bought me a Jamaican cookbook, written by the owners of a well-known Toronto Jamaican restaurant. Naturally, the first thing I had to try out of this book was the jerk chicken.

So what goes into jerk seasoning? Loads of allspice, ginger, nutmeg, black pepper, and hot-as-hell chili peppers. Traditionally, the recipe calls for Scotch Bonnet peppers, but down in Austin it's way easier to find habaneros, and they're just about the same in appearance and heat. Jerk sauce serves as a marinade for the chicken, before it's grilled to a good crisp. I don't have a grill, so I usually broil it, or sometimes braise it the same way I do in my Haitian chicken recipe. Typically I use thighs and breast, but this time around I made wings for my friend's Superbowl party.

You can find my recipe after the jump. Try it out and let me know how you like it.

Sauce/Marinade Ingredients:

- 5 or 6 habanero peppers, diced (ribs and seeds removed)

- 1 small yellow onion (3" or 3.5" diameter) chopped

- 3 stalks of scallion, chopped

- 1 Tbsp of fresh thyme leaves, or 1 or 2 tsp of dried thyme

- 1 Tbsp of salt

- 2 tbsp black pepper

- 2 tbsp whole allspice berries (crushed in a grinder or mortar & pestle), or 2 tsp of ground allspice

- 1 tbsp ground ginger powder

- 1 tsp nutmeg

- 1/2 cup white vineegar

- 1/4 cup soy sauce

Other Ingredients:

2 limes, cut into wedges

40 wing pieces

3 Tbsp olive oil

Procedure:

1) Make the sauce: Simply put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree it all until it's coarse but pourable. This makes a lot of sauce, but it refrigerates well for at least a few days.

2) Use the lime wedges to clean the chicken wings. Lay all the wings down in a flat container that can fit in your refrigerator. Pour in about 4 Tbsp of the jerk sauce/marinade (or 1 Tbsp for every 8-10 wings), and toss until all the wings are coated. Let it marinate in the fridge overnight.

3) When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a couple of large baking sheets with aluminum foil, and grease each sheet with a Tbsp of olive oil. Lay the wings on the baking sheets and drizzle on another teaspoon or 2 of olive oil, I put about 20 wings on each of my 18"x13" sheets.

4) Bake the wings at 425°F until they get golden brown. Once they're golden and look almost crispy (maybe 20 min, I lost track of time), turn all the wings over and bake until the other side gets crispy.