Grilled Peanut Butter & Jelly Wings

Peanut butter & jelly wings. Sometimes you get an idea that’s crazy… but just crazy enough to work!

Do you trust me?

Well, you should. You should trust that I’ll only post recipes once I’ve tested them enough to be sure that they work. You should trust that I’ll never post stuff that I don’t actually like or use, just because someone is paying me. But most of all, you should trust that at the end of the day, we’re both here for the same reason – a mutual love of eating well. And for that reason, you should trust that I only share recipes that actually taste great.

So trust me, please, when I tell you that grilled peanut butter and jelly wings are really, really great. And 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 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 of the extreme sweetness of the jelly, so you get a more complex and balanced profile.

Pompous foodie descriptions aside, 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.

Grilled Peanut Butter & Jelly Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 2lb chicken wings - separated into wingettes and drumettes.
• 4 tbsp strawberry jelly
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp Sambal
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup salted, roasted peanuts
• 2-3 shallots, chopped
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Place the chicken into a large zip-top bag, and season well with salt.
2. In a bowl, mix together the jelly and peanut butter. Add in the sambal, Worcestershire, brown sugar and paprika, and mix thoroughly, then pour contents into bag, making sure the chicken is well coated.
3. Place the bag in the fridge, allowing the chicken to marinade for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
4. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Ambient temperature of the grill should be at between 350-400 degrees.
5. Place the chicken on the grill, turning every 2-3 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 grill and place on a tray to cool slightly.
6. Place peanuts in a zip top bag, and gently crush them using a rolling pin or meat tenderiser (or similar). It helps to put a towel under the bag so it's a little less noisy, and it doesn't slide.
7. Arrange wings on serving plate. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts and chopped shallots over the wings, and serve immediately. You may want to keep a few wet naps on hand!