In our house, chicken wings appear on our table or cocktail table on a regular basis -- like pizza, my kids crave them often, Joe and I do our best to eat them in moderation, and, while each one of us has his or her personal favorite, there is unanimous agreement that once I've agreed to make pizza or wings for supper or snacks, compromise on the type can quickly be achieved -- and many times, the decision simply comes down to how much time I've got to quell their cravings.
How we cook 'em & country of origin is always up for debate:
Joe's Deep-Fried to Perfection Wings or Summertime Grilled Chicken Wings w/Peachy Keen Barbecue Sauce and my Seriously E-Z Oven-Fried Chicken Wings are examples of how we cook 'em. Classic Buffalo-Style Wing Sauce is the overwhelming favorite, but, in terms of culinary trips around the world, favorites include winging it with my Chinese Open-Sesame Ginger & Garlic Sauced Chicken Wings, Japanese Teriyaki-Style Chicken Wings, Thai-Inspired Hot & Sticky Honey Wings, or, today's Island-Style Jamaican-Jerk Wings.
My Jamaican-style wings are modeled after my recipe for jerk-style chicken. They get marinated, then, like many marinated wing recipes, they get baked/roasted in a hot 425º oven. At the end of the process, which can be done several hours in advance of serving, under the broiler they go, for 1-1 1/2 minutes per side, to crisp the skin. I serve 'em up with a cool and creamy dip that's flavored with store-bought Jamaican-jerk barbecue-sauce.
Jamaican-Jerk 101: Jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica.
In a (coco)nutshell, jerk is a style of cooking native to Jamaica. It was developed by African slaves who escaped into the mountains of Jamaica after the British captured this island paradise from Spain in 1655. Forced to adapt to their new surroundings, the Maroons (the name given to the escaped slaves) made use of the foods nature provided, by pulverizing the edibles they gathered into a fiery pasty rub. By adding fruit and/or citrus juice, the fiery pasty rub became a spicy basting and dipping sauce. When thinned down with a bit of drinking water or the milk from a coconut, the spicy sauce became a highly-flavored wet marinade -- over time, items from trades, like vinegar and/or rum were transitioned into the mixture. Once rubbed and/or marinated, the meat or game they hunted was then slowly cooked over a smoking pimento-wood fire.
The "jerk" in jerk comes from the Spanish word via the Peruvian word "charqui", the noun for dried strips of meat now called "jerky". Jerk seasoning was/is the dry spice blend used to season jerky, and Jamaican jerk seasoning, known for the flavors of allspice, thyme and pepper, is perhaps the most famous. Throughout the Caribbean, islanders preserved/cured their spice-rubbed meats by drying them in the intense sun or over a slow fire -- this allowed the meat to be taken on long journeys and eaten as is or reconstituted in boiling water. The word most likely transitioned to the verb, "jerking", in reference to the way the meat gets "jerked" around over the hot coals as it cooks. Originally used for pork, it's now common to "jerk" chicken, beef, fish and seafood too. Jerk chicken is obviously the inspiration for my wings.
Wings 101: Sectioning 5 1/2-6 pounds fresh chicken wings.
~ Step 1. Using a pair of poultry shears, cut 5 1/2-6 pounds of wings, at their two joints, into 3 sections: the drumette, the wing, and the "skinny" wing tip.
Some folks like to fry and eat the wing tips, I do not, but that is your choice. Without frying the wing tips, this recipe will yield about 4 dozen chicken wings.
The wing tips can be frozen and used to make stock, as while they are "skinny", they are flavorful.
Jamaican-Jerk Chicken meets American Chicken Wings
~ Step 2. Place the sectioned chicken wings in each of two 1-gallon food storage bags, the drumettes in one bag, the wings in the other -- I do this separately because they each have slightly-different cooking times. Add 1 cup Homemade Jamaican-Style Jerk Marinade (or your favorite high-quality store-bought brand) to each bag. Seal the bags and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight (over night is best). Remove from refrigerator 1-2 hours prior to roasting and grilling as follows:
~Step 3. Insert a 17 1/2" x 12 1/2" rack in a large, 20" x 12" x 6" disposable aluminum roasting pan, then place a piece of parchment paper on the rack. Open the bag of the marinated chicken wing sections. Remove the wings from the bag and arrange them, side-by-side on the parchment. Bake on center rack of preheated 425º oven 20 minutes. Remove from oven. With the aid of a fork, flip wings over and return to oven to continue to bake 20 more minutes. Transfer wings to a paper towel lined plate to drain and set aside.
~Step 4. Replace the parchment paper and repeat the above process with the drumettes, baking the drumettes for 23 minutes per side (2 minutes longer per side than the wing sections). To this point, all of the wings can be baked and set aside, uncovered for a few hours (2-4) ahead of broiling (as directed below) and serving hot.
~Step 5. Reset the oven to broil, allowing the oven rack to remain in the center. Remove the parchment paper from the roasting pan, exposing the wire rack. Arrange all of the wing sections and drumettes atop the rack. Return to preheated broiler to crisp the skin, about 1-1 1/2 per side, turning only once.
Four-Ingredient Cool & Creamy Jamaican-Jerk Chicken Wing Dip:
~ Step 4. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup each: mayonnaise, sour cream, Jamaican-jerk barbecue sauce (your favorite high-quality store-bought brand) and thinly-sliced scallions (white and light green parts only, reserving scallion tops for garnish). Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Don't worry, be happy -- it's wing night -- Jamaican-style...
... w/crispy-spicy skin, tender-pink meat & cool-creamy dip.
Wing-Night with Oven-Baked Jamaican-Jerk Wings: Recipe yields about 3 1/2-4 dozen chicken wings or 4 dozen appetizers/snacks.
Special Equipment List: poultry shears; 2, 1-gallon food storage bags; 20" x 12" x 6" disposable aluminum roasting pan; 17 1/2" x 12 1/2" wire cooling rack; parchment paper; fork; paper towels
Cook's Note: As an accomplished cook, I've posted all sorts of scratch-made 'za: Thin-crust St. Louis-style, Deep-Dish Chicago-style, Detroit-Style Brick Cheese & Pepperoni Pizza, Philly-Style Cheesesteak Pizza, Pizza alla Puttanesca, French Caramelized-Onion & Gruyère Cheese Pizza, Thai-Style Grilled Chicken Pizza, a Blast from My Husband's Past Pioneer-Club Pizza, a Nobody's Pizza for the Somebody in All of Us, a holiday Pizza Wreath, plus, the family recipes for Preschutti Pizza Crust, My Guy's Italian-American Sicilian-Style Pie, and, My All-Purpose Time-Saving Bread Machine Pizza Dough, a host of recipes for making snack pizza using flatbreads (pita, naan, tortillas and boboli) as foils, as well as my Stranger Things: 1980's-Style Retro French Bread Pizza, which is a late-night favorite.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2018)
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