you big jerk!

When we lived in the Detroit Metro area, my husband and I frequented a Caribbean style restaurant. One of our favorite menu items was the jerked chicken wings. I never really had a lot of experience with Caribbean food when I was a chef, so it took me some time to get this recipe down just so. I use a homemade dry jerk rub versus a wet jerk sauce for the wings. I also use fresh chicken wings instead of the IQF ones that are really good for hot wings and not much else. Maybe for homemade chicken stock.

Jerked Chicken Wings

2 lbs. of fresh chicken wings
1 tablespoon of dried thyme
1 tablespoon of Splenda - you can use sugar but I found that Splenda really works better. Not sure why but I think it is the bulking agent in the Splenda from the big bag that gives it better texture than sugar.
1 teaspoon of each of the following ground spices -
all spice
nutmeg
paprika
cumin
1/2 teaspoon of each cayenne pepper and cracked black pepper

Mix all the dried spices and herbs together well. Wash and dry the chicken wings. Dry them really well. Rub the chicken wings liberally with the spice mix and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment or foil. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook wings for 35-45 minutes. They should be very tender, golden brown, and the skin should be nice and crisp. I serve them with collard greens and a very basic saffron rice so as not to compete with the flavor of the jerk seasoning.