Pineapple Cajun/Jerk Chicken Wings 3rd try and I GOT IT !!!

This is my third attempt since arriving on the island, and I think I have it...


This is easily duplicated.  Works great in an oven or (I imagine) on a grill.  But I did find a trick that makes them crispy and (almost) grill quality.


But, the star of the show is the taste... Hot and spicy (as a wing should be), but sweet and exotic flavored (a blend of the two tastes)!


SO, let's deal with the taste first...

To make the spices stick to the wings, and add a bit of a crunchy exterior, take a couple of eggs, add a couple tsp of Pineapple Rum and whisk.


Here's an important tip... Dry each wing part between paper towels before dipping and seasoning.


Now, it took a bit of trial and error to try to duplicate the best wing served on the island (Wikked's).  Wikked serves a Pineapple Jerk wing that I really wanted to get back to Kansas and serve.  But I found out that the spice is more than just jerk spice.  I combined my Jerk mixture with my Cajun mixture.  Among the many advantages of mixing your own spices is being able to duplicate a winning recipe.  I am as big a fan of "little of this, smidgen of that" cooking, but with something I really want to make again, I make notes so I can alter or duplicate next time to get what I want...

1/4 cups Sweet Paprika              
1 TBS Garlic Flakes
1 TBS Onion Flakes
1 TBS Dried Thyme Leaves
1 TBS Dired Oregano
1 TBS Black Pepper
2 TBS White Pepper
2 tsp (TEAspoons) Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Ground Bay Leaves

 This is my Cajun spice mix.  For the wings, I added Jerk spices...

1 TBS Allspice

1/2 tsp (TEAspoon) ground Scotch Bonnet Pepper
(these are very hot, so a little does a big job... These are the only two ingredients that are not a part of my Cajun mix)

Here's my steps...

• Dry the wings between paper towels
• Dip each wing into the egg/rum mixture
• Dredge the wet wing through the Cajun/jerk spice mixture
• Line em up on a sheet of parchment paper (easy clean up) on a baking sheet
• Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes

But wait, there's more.  These are plenty spicy, but I wanted to add the sweet of a pineapple to the taste.  When I tried this in the past, I brushed pineapple juice on same time I started the cooking process.  BUT, by waiting till the second cooking stage, it increased the taste of the sweet.

So, after 50 minutes, I brushed on pineapple.  I took some pineapple slices and ran them through my mini chopper till liquid...

And just because, I added 1/4 cup Pineapple Rum.

Alright... We have them seasoned and mostly cooked, and now we have added the pineapple sweetness... Time to crisp em up.


I returned them to the oven for 20 minutes more, but set the temp to 425.  Drys the liquid in the pineapple, leaving the taste without the wet.  But it also crisps the chicken wings.  Not soggy from adding the liquid, still moist inside, but an extra texture level of the crispy.

Baked in an oven instead of grilled, but I am now willing to take on the neighborhood back in Kansas with these... Crispy Hot-Sweet filled with flavors and textures wings!


My latest signature dish... 



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