End of the summer special, barbecued Chipotle Maple Lime Chicken Wings

Juicy, spicy, sweet, smoky and tangy. Chipotle maple lime chicken wings are the perfect relaxing food

There is a little story behind my creation of these chipotle maple lime chicken wings. It actually goes back to before I moved to the UK, and was still living in Halifax. One of the first things I bought in my first apartment in Halifax was a barbecue. I must’ve picked it up for about 75 bucks from Walmart. It didn’t do anything fancy like a rotisserie or side grill, and looking back on it I’m pretty sure having it on my balcony violated the health and safety rules of my building. It was great when you can come back from rowing practice, just turn on the propane chuck on a few burgers or sausages and relax while drinking a cold beer.

Before I moved back to Halifax I have lived in the States for school, where my roommate was Tex (take a guess where he was from), was also a keen cook. His family was from San Antonio, and were passionate about barbecuing and deep-frying. With all that knowledge in the apartment, I’m still not sure how I managed to lose weight that year. Tex’s knowledge on how to go and marinate chicken before frying it was revolutionary to me. And when I got my barbecue in Halifax I wondered if I could take that same principle to chicken wings.

‘Juicy, spicy, sweet, smoky and tangy. Chipotle maple lime chicken wings are the perfect relaxing food.’

Just before the summer ended I was decided the test my theory. Admittedly I also knew that that time I was going to be given my barbecue to my cousin before moving to the UK. And I figured if worse came to happen, I wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning it up. As it turns out the method of marinating the wings in milk before barbecuing them makes them really really nice. They were the last thing I ever cooked on my first barbecue. To top it off, I needed to use up ingredients I had kicking around in my fridge, hence the chipotle maple lime chicken wings were born. Juicy, spicy, sweet, smoky and tangy. Chipotle maple lime chicken wings are the perfect relaxing food. It was well bittersweet eating those wings while sitting on a cardboard box filled my crap, but they along with the sauce were brilliant.

Pairings

Drinks

Sure, I had this originally with beer. However, its better with some fresh lemonade like this from Raepublic.

Music

Well, I’m going to have to go local with this, and suggest listening to The Trews. Specifically their song Hollis and Morris. Mostly, because this is the corner I lived on in Hali.

Chipotle Maple Lime Chicken Wings

Matt

Juicy, spicy, sweet, smoky and tangy . Chipotle maple lime chicken wings are the perfect relaxing food.

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Ingredients

  

Marinade

• 1 cup milk semi-skinned or whole
• ½ red onion into slices
• 1 TB your favorite hot sauce
• Two garlic cloves crushed
• 1 lb of fresh chicken wings preferable with the skin still on

Sauce

• 1 TB chipotle pepper puree
• 1 TB maple syrup
• 1 TB tomato paste
• ½ Red onion finely diced
• 1 garlic clove finely diced
• ½ cup water
• ½ tsp veg oil
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp herbs de provence
• ½ tsp salt
• Juice of half a lime

Instructions

 

• Mix all the ingredients for the marinade, and place in the chicken wings. Put this in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight. When ready to use, take the wings out and pat them dry.
• For the sauce, heat the oil in a pot, and add the onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes. Then add the chipotle puree. Finally add the other spices, maple syrup, tomato paste and half the water. Simmer for 10 minutes, it should be smooth and glossy but also coat the back of a spoon. Add a bit more water as needed. When you think you have the right consistency, take it off the heat. Before using, add the lime juice.
• Pre-heat the barbecue, and place the wings on. Slowly grill them, until they are cooked to your liking. Just before taking them off, dunk them in the sauce and place them on a cooler part of your grill before serving.
• Top with any leftover chopped red onion and some chopped cilantro. For good measure, grill half a lime and squeeze the juice over the fresh wings before serving.

For added fun, I added this to Angie’s Fiesta Friday!