SuperBowl Party Recipe - Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken Wings

A recipe from Jess Pryles’s website for your SuperBowl Party is sure to be different from anything anyone’s ever had before: Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken Wings because as it says on her website: “Sometimes you get an idea that's crazy, but just crazy enough to work...these peanut butter and jelly wings are exactly that…. …. although they sound like a gimmick, they make a lot of food sense. We already know peanut butter can actually work with chicken, because of dishes like Indonesian satay. Personally, I’ve long been using some kind of jam or jelly in my marinade too because the sugar helps the wings caramelize…. When you combine them together, something awesome happens. First, the peanut butter thickens the marinade to a viscosity that allows more mixture to cling to the actual wings. More marinade on the wings = more flavor. It also takes the edge off the extreme sweetness of the jelly, so you get a more complex and balanced profile... they are a real complement to one another, and create a delicious and unique finished product. Plus, the jelly means you’ll get awesome color on the finished product. Because nothing says ‘sad’ like a grilled protein without char marks! I like to garnish them with some extra crushed peanuts for texture, and because more salty goodness is always welcome on my plate.”

Ingredients

o         2 pound chicken wings, separated into wingettes and drumettes

o         4 tablespoons Graves Mountain Strawberry Preserves

o         2 tablespoons The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg All Natural Peanut Butter

o        1 teaspoon sambal (Asian chili and garlic paste that is available from most grocery stores.)

o        2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

o        2 tablespoons brown sugar

o        2 teaspoons paprika

o        1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts

o        2-3 shallots, chopped

o        Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Place the chicken into a large zip-top bag, and season well with salt.

2. In a bowl, add the jelly/jam and peanut butter. Add in the sambal, Worcestershire, brown sugar and paprika. Mix thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the bag, making sure that the chicken is well coated. Place the bag in the fridge, allowing the chicken to marinade for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.

3. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Ambient temperature of the grill should be at between 350 to 400 F.

4. Place the chicken on the grill, turning every 2 to 3 minutes. This should allow color to develop without burning before the chicken is cooked all the way through. Continue to turn until the pieces are nicely brown with charred areas. Remove from the grill and place on a tray to cool slightly.

5. Place the peanuts in a zip-top bag, and gently crush them using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer (or similar). It helps to put a towel under the bag so it's a little less noisy, and it doesn't slide.

6. Arrange the wings on a serving platter. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts and chopped shallots over the wings, and serve immediately. You may want to keep a few wet naps on hand!