Cook With Us Week #12- Smoked BBQ Chicken Wings

Firing up the grill is something I definitely do not do very often. Maybe it's the process of starting the fire and getting the the charcoals going that I find daunting so I usually do not barbecue. But for this week's theme @cookwithus, I decided to face the challenge and I thought why not smoke some chicken wings. Luckily my husband had a bag of cherry wood chips and a big bag of charcoal so I was all set to start the grill.

I wanted to make the wings Caribbean style so I thought of jerk chicken and used those flavors as my inspiration. I seasoned the wings with a dry rub adding a combination of spices and I added some Meyer's rum for extra flavor.

Dry Rub

• salt
• pepper
• allspice
• paprika
• curry powder
• brown sugar

I massaged the spices and rum into the chicken wings and let it sit for an hour in the refrigerator while I went to start the grill. I had presoaked some cherry wood chips to add to the charcoal to help flavor the food. I really had no clue what I was doing, but I remembered from watching my husband start a grill, I crumpled a brown paper bag and placed that on the bottom and piled the charcoal on top. I ignited the paper and watched the fire build and somehow it worked; the charcoals were hot! I let the heat cool down a bit and I placed the wings on the grill with the cover on and smoked them for 1 hr. Then I flipped them over and smoked them for another hour.

While the wings were smoking, I made the sauce. I didn't want a tomato base sauce so thinking back to Caribbean flavors I went with fruit.

Mango Pineapple BBQ Sauce

• 1/2 small mango, diced
• 1/4 cup diced pineapple
• 1/2 serrano chili or to taste
• 1 shallot
• handful cilantro
• 2 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• salt to taste
  

Place all the ingredients into a pot except for the sugar and vinegar and add a couple tablespoons of water and cook until the mango and pineapple are tender. Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add in the sugar and vinegar. You might have to adjust the amount of sugar and vinegar depending on the ripeness of your mango and pineapple. Season with salt to taste. The smoked chicken wings were a success! The allspice complemented the smokey flavor and there was just a hint of curry at the end. The sauce was sweet and sour with a touch of heat. Nothing better than a cold beer to have along with the wings. Now that I have conquered the grill maybe I just might start grilling more for the summer. Thank you @cookwithus.