It's rare I find myself cooking a "typical" American dish like wings. For some reason all of those typical dishes fall outside of my arsenal of recipe skills. Take mac and cheese--I have never, not even when I was at my height of pasta eating- made mac and cheese from scratch. (Saying that out load makes me want to make some, just for the hell of it). I do cook burgers occasionally, but there is always some twist, like Bacon Chipotle Burgers with Honeyed Jalapeños.

Making a stir fry, taco bowl, or curry feels more intuitive to me, but when the Super Bowl rolls around I feel this need to make something more classic. It is, after all, pretty much the only day of the year that I tune in to one of pop culture's most iconic events. Still... I can't help but flex some creative muscle and make an avocado cream sauce on the side, but since these wings themselves are sauced in a sticky and sweet chipotle barbeque sauce, it feels miles away from anything ethnic.

Even though this recipe sits outside of my typical comfort zone, I'm crazy for it. And who wouldn't be? These wings are the type of wings that require plenty of napkins because their sticky sauce is destined to cover your fingers. I learned quickly that quadrupling the recipe would be wise: a dozen wings is never enough (for two, or for a group).

Chipotle BBQ Wings with Avocado Cream

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free | Caitlin Sherwood | Print This Recipe

Chipotle gives the BBQ for these wings a bit of a kick, while avocado cream cools it down.

Yields: 12 | Total Active Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup barbeque sauce (I used Stubb's Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q Sauce)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup chipotles in adobo (canned)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
A dozen chicken wings
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Avocado Cream Sauce:

1 avocado
1/4 cup milk of choice
1/2 cup cilantro leaves (loose, not packed)
Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

Prep the wings: use a paper towel to remove any excess moisture from wings, and place in a bowl.
Make the sauce: combine barbeque sauce, coconut oil, chipotles in adobo, cayenne (if you like things really spicy, you can add more cayenne), and salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour half of the sauce over the wings, and allow to marinate for 8-24 hours, in the fridge, covered.
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450°F. Remove wings from bowl and discard extra sauce. Place a wire cooling wrack on top of a baking sheet, and place wings on wire wrack, with about 1 inch between each wing. Place in oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, until internal wing temperature reaches 165°F and skin is crispy on the outside.
Using tongs, place wings in a mixing bowl. Pour about 1/4 cup of sauce over top, and toss to coat. Add more sauce as desired.
To make avocado cream sauce: Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
Serve wings on a platter along side bowl of cream sauce. Optional: garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.