I’ve never been one for chicken wings, bone-in or boneless. They have just always felt like so much work and so much mess for so little meat. But these chicken wings are worth the mess, for sure. I mean, they are glazed with strawberry jam. Or peach jam. Or whatever other jam you have on hand. But still, jam on chicken wings! The jam provides just the right amount of sticky sweetness, which is tempered by the tart lemon juice and smoky paprika.
Now, I know that chicken wings are usually fried. But a) I was looking to make these a little bit healthier and b) frying is a bit too much work for a weeknight dinner. So instead, I marinated the wings in the jam-based sauce, tossed them on a hot grill pan, and brushed them with some more jam. Easy and done.
Let’s do this!
Though these wings were made with strawberry jam, they are also delicious with other jams. Try it with peach and a bit of cilantro, or even a blueberry jam with a bit of balsamic vinegar in place of part of the lemon juice.
Inspired by Put 'Em Up Fruit by Sherri Brooks Vinton.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken wings
- 1/2 cup strawberry jam (see note), plus more for brushing on the cooked wings
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the chicken wings in a large zip-top plastic bag. Whisk the jam, lemon juice, paprika and salt together, and pour the sauce into the bag.
- Seal the bag shut, squeezing to remove as much air from the bag as possible as you do so. Massage the bag so that the marinade covers all of the chicken wings.
- Refrigerate and marinate the wings for at least two hours or up to ten hours.
- Move the marinating wings to the counter for 20-30 minutes, to allow the chicken to come to room temperature. While you wait, preheat the grill or a grill pan to medium-low heat.
- Grill the chicken wings for 7-10 minutes per side, or until the wings are cooked through and the internal temperature is 165F.
- Remove the wings from the heat, and brush them on both sides with jam. Serve immediately.
Love the idea of using any jam on chicken… I just got the ‘why didn’t I think of that?!’ moment!
I’ve been getting that moment a lot when reading blogs lately!
Brilliant Julie! The wings look delicious and the recipe seems so approachable. It would be easy to switch up the jam too. I love this!
Thanks so much, Toni!
Ooo I wanna try it with blueberry!! What a great idea!!
So creative!!! I love everything about these and I want about a dozen right now! I’m not usually a wing person either (especially on the bone), but these might be a game changer!
I hate to be one of THOSE irritating commenters but could you give me any advice on cooking this in the oven instead of the grill? Thanks