Achiote Chicken Wings

Achiote chicken wings

Posted on June 29, 2014 by A Boy A Girl and a Kitchen in Appetizer, Chicken, Easy, Freezer Friendly, Recipes, Snack, Uncategorized

Achiote chicken wings

For the past several years our family has vacationed in Cancun, while there we always try to take a day trip to Isla Mujeres. There are several restaurants on the island that specialize in a dish called Tikin-Xic, basically it is a whole butterflyed fish slathered in ground annato seed and lime juice, sandwiched between two grill racks with some sliced tomato and onion and then grilled over an open wood fire. I don’t know if it is having super fresh fish, eating under a palapa on the beach next to the ocean, the actual preparation of the fish or maybe it is a combination of the three, but it is definitely one of the most sublime dishes I have eaten.

Well fast forward a few months and I decide to try the preparation on some chicken wings. They turned out great, a beautiful red color from the achiote paste, a little bit of smokey heat from the chipotle adobo and the bright and tangy citrus notes of the lime and tangerine seem to add a level of juiciness.

I suggest marinating these for at least 2 hours, and overnight if possible. I double skewer them so they don’t fall through the grill or spin on a single skewer. I cooked these over a nice bed of charcoal that had burned down a bit, so they wouldn’t burn.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb chicken wings
4 oz achiote paste
3 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup tangerine or blood orange juice
4 Tbl adobo paste from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a non metallic bowl or a ziplock bag.
Add the chicken wings and marinate at least 2 hours and overnight if possible.
I double skewered and cooked over charcoal trying to mimic the taste and preparation of the isla mujeres Tikin-Xic.
If you don’t want to grill them you could roast them in the oven, I would suggest a hot 400 degree oven to try and crisp the skin.
They are done when the internal temperature is 165.

[wzslider autoplay=”true” lightbox=”true”]