Recently, I visited New York for a mini culinary exploration, and if you have been following me on Instagram (you should if you aren’t) you would have seen that one of the culinary highlights of my mini vacation was in Crown Heights. Crown Heights (specifically Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn) is home to what in my opinion is the best Caribbean food in New York, and I might even say in the U.S. I am not 100 percent certain of course, but I challenge you to tell me of a neighborhood with better Caribbean food… mind you this won’t be easy as I have sampled a large variety of Caribbean foods from a ton of other neighborhoods! The diversity of Caribbean culture there is also quite refreshing, there is a Bajan restaurant next to a Jamaican restaurant, a few steps away from a Trini bakery; I could go on and on. This trip inspired one of the dishes I will be serving for Thanksgiving this year: Jerk turkey wings, in a delicious alternative take on thanksgiving turkey that will have you and your friends craving for more!
Something interesting about me and my family is that we are not the biggest fans of turkey. In fact, the only part of the bird any of us seem to enjoy are the wings, so this year, just like last year, we will be serving just the turkey wings. No point cooking a whole bird if no one is really going to enjoy it. Of course after eating some amazing jerk in Brooklyn, I decided I wanted to make Jerk turkey wings to add a little fun to my Thanksgiving table. My initial set of wings were consumed so quickly I was begged/cajoled/threatened (yeah, the life of a food enthusiast) to make another batch. Of course I promised to make the jerk turkey wings again this thanksgiving and I already have a crowd of consumers waiting with baited breath.
Enough of my history and inspiration story, here is my Jerk turkey wings recipe:
Jerk Turkey Wings Recipe
Ingredients
Jerk Sauce
- 1 small sweet onion or 3 stalks of green onions
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 thumb size ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil not extra virgin
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp whole allspice berries (or 1.5 tsp ground allspice)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Jerk Turkey Wings
- 3 lbs turkey wings
- ½ jerk sauce
Instructions
- To make the jerk marinade, blend all the marinade ingredients until smooth.
- Make sure the wings are cut into flats/ wingettes and drumettes. Cut off the tips and discard or save for making turkey stock.
- Marinade the prepared wings in the jerk seasoning and allow to sit in the marinade for 1- 2 hours.
- Place the marinated turkey wings onto a baking tray, and broil on low in an oven for 15 minutes on each side (a total of 30 minutes on low).
- After the turkey has boiled on low, turn the broiler up to high, and broil again for 3- 5 minutes on each side of the turkey to make sure it is browned on each side. Keep an eye on the turkey while it is broiling on high to make sure it does not burn.Serve warm and Enjoy!
This jerk turkey wings recipe makes so much sense and tastes so good, I’m surprised it’s not a national staple!I’m so sure you’ll love this jerk recipe so let me know how it turns out. If you’re looking for more jerk recipes, you can also check out my jerk mushroom medley pizza and why not try out my chick-un vegan hand pies or my pumpkin drop donuts for some more thanksgiving goodness? Your family will thank you for it!!
32 Comments
Kwilli
July 21, 2020 at 10:35 amI’m curious to know from anyone who actually followed this recipe, do the wings actually fully cook in 35 minutes. Are they tough from cooking under the broiler? My experience with wings are they require long and slow cooking.
Melanie Harris
August 2, 2020 at 1:19 pmI was thinking the same thing.
Pamela
September 11, 2021 at 12:20 pmMy thoughts.
Sidney
December 27, 2023 at 11:23 amHas anyone tried this recipe and slow smoked them with pimento wood? So they are not tough and and have that Jamaican flavor from the pimento wood.