Lise's Marinated Grilled Wings

This recipe is another one my my experiments.  I am happy with the results, but made a few changes along the way, so please note the adjustments:)

Lise's Marinated Grilled Wings

Ingredients:
2 cups Olive Oil (3 total, you will see my notes below)
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp chopped garlic
palm of fennel seed
palm of cumin seed
palm of thyme (fresh is preferred, but I only had dried)
palm of smoked paprika
4 whole cloves (forgot to show those in this photo)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt & pepper to taste

this is an afterthought...a spoonful of brown sugar mixed into the marinade 

Combine the dry herbs into a pestle and mortar grind them to both combine and break up the seeds.  Then add the chopped rosemary and continue to combine.  You see the rosemary sticks to the left?  I am keeping those to put into the jar of marinade.  

Now mix your olive oil, lemon and vinegar into a jar that has a lid.  Shake it to combine, then add the garlic and the herb mixture.

Now you have your marinade.  

Pour about half the jar into a baggie with your wings, making sure they are all covered.  I decided to add another 1/2 cup of oil into the bag because it seemed too liquid-y (you want your marinade to have a little "stick" to it; I also added another 1/2 cup of oil to the jar of marinade).  I also realized that my wings were still a little frozen when I added the marinade, so that added to the water content of the marinade...I suggest you make sure they are thawed before marinating!

Let the wings marinate for about 2 hours or more, shaking the bag periodically. 

I did determine the marinade needed a bit of sweetener so I decided to add a heaping tablespoon of brown sugar.  This was after I poured the marinade over the raw chicken, so I sprinkled a little brown sugar over the chicken itself, and then added the spoonful to the remaining marinade.  I'm glad I did, as it added just the right sweetness and browning agent as I grilled.  It doesn't look much different, but I am sure it made all the difference!

Now you are ready to grill!  Turn the grill on high and get it very hot.  Clean your grill grates and brush some oil on them.  Place the wings onto the grill while still extremely hot to sear the outside, immediately flip them to the other side to sear (1 minute or so each side), then lower the temperature to low (300 degrees) and let them slow cook with the lid down for about 1 hour, marinating every 20 minutes. In order to maintain the temp I want, I open/close the burners and/or lid to increase/decrease the heat/temp...it really takes knowing your grill to determine your best strategy.  BTW, flame is good sometimes, but only in short spurts.  Having a water spritzer available can be helpful; I just put the lid and/or heat down...I am not a fan of the water, it creates too much steam and blowing the flame can turn into a disaster.

When you see there is no more pink juice coming from the wings, marinate them again and then turn the heat on high and keep the lid open to crisp up the skin.  This will take only a minute or two on each side, so don't walk away; you need to know how hot your own grill gets to know how long it will take them to crisp up.  And watch the flame, because now that the lid is open, it will flare up big time.  Keep basting them, and when they are crisped up nicely, close the lid and turn the heat off.  This will keep them warm while you gather your platter to put your extremely succulent wings into in order to carry them into the house.

The end result?  Delicious!  Try it, you might like it!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise