Homemade Mango Habanero Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 1 pound of raw chicken wings
• 1 ripe mango
• 2-3 habanero peppers (use as many or as little as you would like!) 
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBSP smoked paprika (can be regular)
• 1 lime
• Cooking oil
• S&P

Directions

Marinade

1. wash chicken wings under tap water to get rid of any contaminants 
2. put wings into a ziplock bag big enough to hold them
3. ***This step requires a blender or mixer of some sort to make the marinade***
   1. Mince or chop up the garlic, mango, and habanero peppers(does not have to be a fine chop)
   2. remove the seeds from the peppers for less heat 
   3. Zest the lime
   4. In a blender put in the following
      • garlic
      • habanero peppers
      • mango chunks
      • 2 TBSP of olive oil
      • 1/4 cup of water
      • 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
      • Smoked paprika
      • lime zest & juice
      • S&P
   5. Blend the ingredients into a nice smooth paste/sauce
4. Pour the entire marinade into to ziplock bag with the wings in it
5. mix the bag so the wings are covered and marinate for at least 1 hour

Cooking

I use my smoker for these wings which most people do not own, but this can work in the oven too!

1. preheat the smoker to 250 degrees or oven to 400 degrees
2. after the wings have marinated, take them out shaking off any excess marinade 
3. place the wings evenly spaced out on a baking sheet with a rack on it.
   • This rack allows heat to get around the wings so it cooks evenly and gets crispy all the way around
   • If you do not own a baking rack, you can simply put these wings straight on the oven grate as long as they don’t fall through, just prepare to clean up the oven after!
   • Always place a baking sheet under the wings while in the oven so no marinade or fat drips off and burns on the bottom of the oven floor.
4. In the oven, roast the wings for 40-45 minutes until nice and caramelized and golden brown, In the smoker, it will take about 90-100 minutes at 250 degrees (use any smoking wood you like!)
5. While the wings are cooking, take the rest of the contaminated marinade from the ziplock and pour it into a small saucepan and slowly start to heat it up on the stovetop
6. Bring the marinade to a boil and simmer over medium heat for at least 10 minutes. This is to get rid of any bacteria. After 10 minutes, this marinade is safe to consume!
7. 5 minutes before the wings are done cooking, take them out and toss them in a bowl along with the simmering marinade from the stove until evenly covered
8. return the wings back to the oven/smoker and caramelize the mango habanero sauce for the last 5 minutes
9. take out and DIG IN!