I’m now at day 14 of Whole 30 and it’s not all that bad. I do miss my occasional Friday night glass of wine or cocktail, but other than that it’s been somewhat of a smooth past two weeks.

Tomorrow I’m starting to test recipes for Valentine’s Day so obviously those aren’t Whole 30 compliant AT ALL. It’ll be super interesting to test my willpower. Luckily my boyfriend will never ever do something like Whole 30 so he’ll be my taste-tester. I think he’s excited about that job.

These wings are so delicious. I love the trick of sprinkling wings with baking soda and drying them out in the fridge. This results in ultimate crispiness when they’re baked. The sauce is SO delicious. I could literally put it on anything (fish, vegetables, a bed or rice).

If you’re adverse to spice, then I would definitely scale down the scotch bonnets to 1 or 2. I used 3 because I like to live on the edge. :) Of course this recipe isn’t 100% authentic because true jerk chicken is cooked over pimento or avocado wood (not the easiest to find). That smoke and char that it adds is amazing! So if you ever have a chance to eat true jerk chicken at a Jamaican restaurant, definitely do! In the meantime, here are some jerk-style chicken wings!

Crispy Jerk-Style Chicken Wings

While these jerk-style chicken wings aren't 100% authentic, they make for a close imitation. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds party chicken wings and drummettes
• Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup frozen (and thawed) mango chunks
• Juice and zest from 1 lime
• 1/4 of a yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• Cilantro leaves, chopped, as garnish
• 2 green onions, sliced, as garnish
• 2 to 3 scotch bonnets (3 if you love heat!), stems removed
• 1 green onion, sliced, as garnish
• Handful of cilantro leaves, as garnish

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. (I prefer foil so there’s easier clean-up.) Arrange the wings and drummers side by side. (You can also use a baking rack, if you have one.) Sprinkle both sides with salt and baking soda and allow to air-dry in the fridge (for ultimate crispiness) for at least 1 hour, ideally 4 to 6 hours.
2. Remove from the fridge and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven to bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the wings are lightly browned and crispy.
3. Meanwhile, let’s make the sauce: In a food processor or blender, add the soy sauce, mango chunks, lime zest and juice, yellow onion, garlic cloves, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and scotch bonnets. Blend until very smooth. Pour the sauce into a bowl.
4. Add the cooked chicken wings to the sauce and toss the wings. Garnish the wings with cilantro leaves and sliced green onions.

Yield: Serves 4

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.