Just in Time for March Madness! Addictive Smoked Chicken Wings

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In one of my last blogs “Grilled Sweet and Spicy Shrimp With a Texas Twist” I introduced Planet Barbecue to the company, Texas Pepper Jelly. If you have not tried any of their seasonings, pepper jellies, glazes, hot sauces, or barbecue sauce yet, then it is time to turn up the heat.

March Madness is right around the corner and that means watching your favorite team with family and friends. It is more fun that way, but the group will want to eat! Here are two simple appetizers to keep your crew fed while watching the game.

One of my go-to appetizers for a crowd is chicken wings. They are easy to make and the flavor profiles for wings are endless. My second appetizer is not as common as wings but is simple and always a hit. It is smoked camembert cheese with grilled bread.

Today I will share how I spiced up my wings and smoked cheese with the help of the Texas Pepper Jelly company. (Recipe Below)

Texas Pepper Jelly is known for pepper jelly, Rib Candy™, seasonings, and barbecue sauce. They offer a wide selection of each of these products, as well as a few other items. Their pepper jellies combine the heat of habanero and the sweetness of fruit. Their Pineapple Habanero flavor is the original and is still one of the most popular. Other flavors include Mango Habanero, Peach Habanero, Peach Cranberry Habanero, and Strawberry Habanero. Pepper jellies can be used as a dipping sauce, as a topping for cream cheese, as a glaze for meats (especially pork, cured ham, poultry, and game meats) and seafood, and even added to casseroles.

Their famous Rib Candy™ can be directly applied to your ribs to create a candy-like glaze that has the perfect blend of sweet and heat. They also offer all-sweet Rib Candy flavors for those of you who cannot handle the heat. Their Rib Candy is not just for ribs either. It can be used on pork, shrimp, grilled fruit, and chicken. But if you prefer chicken, Texas Pepper Jelly also makes the cleverly named “Bird Bath” to glaze your grilled chicken, turkey, Cornish hens, or duck.

Texas Pepper Jelly offers an excellent selection of seasonings. As everyone across Planet Barbecue knows, building flavor starts at the beginning of the cooking process, so try adding one of their seasonings to your next recipe.

Spicy Mango-Habanero Smoked Chicken Wings

I seasoned the wings with Texas Pepper Jelly’s Chipotle Seasoning and blended with their Blended Honey Seasoning and then let them marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

To cook the wings I set up my Big Green Egg XL (BGE) for indirect grilling. Indirect grilling allows me to cook other food without worrying about the wings burning. Once the BGE reached 375 degrees I placed the wings in the BGE XL. The wings started to crisp after 25 minutes and then I basted the wings with their Mango Habanero Bird Bath. Total cooking time on the wings was about 40 minutes.

To finish the wings I sprinkled more of the Chipotle Seasoning over the wings and served them with a side of blue cheese sauce.

While the chicken wings were cooking, I charred a cedar plank on my gas grill. I know some people soak cedar planks before cooking, but I find charring the plank first enhances the smoke flavor in the food.

I placed the cheese on the charred plank and topped it with Texas Pepper Jelly’s Cranberry-Habanero Pepper Jelly and walnuts. I then placed the cedar plank in the BGE XL once the wings were finished. The cheese smoke-roasted 15 minutes. I served the smoked cheese with pieces of grilled bread. (Don’t overcook or the cheese will collapse.)

The seasonings and the high heat of the grill created crispy wings. The Bird Bath created a stunning glazed appearance to the wings. The heat of the Chipotle was flavorful, but not overpowering. The Mango Habanero Bird Bath added sweetness and another level of spice to the wings. Since the wings were crispy before I basted them they, maintained their crispy texture. Each bite of wing was smoky, sweet, and spicy.

The camembert cheese was warm and creamy. The cranberry-habanero Pepper Jelly blends with the cheese and adds a tart flavor from the cranberry and heat from the habanero. The walnuts and the grilled bread provide a contrast of textures to the cheese and pepper jelly. Getting bread, cheese, walnuts, and the pepper jelly all in one bite was delicious.

Spice up your March Madness parties with some help from the Texas Pepper Jelly brand!

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