Ingredients
Scale
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- ½ cup olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 tsp achiote paste
- 2 chipotles in adobo, finely minced
- 2 tsp adobo sauce from chipotles
- 2 tsp cumin, ground
- 2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 2 tsp black pepper, ground
- 1 ¼ cups bitter orange juice
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over med-low heat. (I do not use a skillet, as the achiote paste tends to cook fast and can get bitter if not careful.) Add the cumin, pepper, oregano, achiote paste, chipotles and adobo sauce into the oil and cook for a few minutes, stirring to incorporate everything together. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- Put the cooled achiote mix into a blender with the bitter orange juice, sugar, and salt. Blend until fairly smooth and set aside. Adjust to taste – more chipotle for heat, more OJ for acid, etc.
- Reserve 1 cup of marinade, this will be used to baste the wings.
- Place the wings in a large zipper plastic bag. Pour in the rest of marinade, and refrigerate between 2-4 hours. The high level of acid will tenderize the chicken too much if you wait longer.
- Preheat your smoker to 250°F. Remove the chicken wings from the marinade and rub off excess sauce so it doesn’t clump on the grill. Place the wings on the grill and smoke them for 45 minutes undisturbed.
- Remove the wings from the grill and let them rest. Crank up the grill to 400°F. Place the wings back on, and baste with the reserved marinade. Let the wings grill at the high heat for about 6-8 minutes on each side, basting as you flip. They will need to read at least 165°F with an instant-read thermometer when inserted into the thickest portion of each piece.
Notes
Bitter orange juice can be substituted for half OJ and half lime juice. It will not be the same flavor, but it’s fairly close.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 90 minutes
- Category: Chicken wings
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: BBQ
