Back at our place in Germany, rhubarb is abundant in the garden. Here in NYC this spring, it’s been more like a treasure hunt to find it. I found this bunch, of all places, through a friend’s facebook post. I’ve been waiting patiently, perusing my local farmers market to score some of these ruby red lovelies when I saw her post from another farmers market uptown. I happened to be in the neighborhood at the time so I stopped by to score some. Call it rhubarb kismet.
My love affair with rhubarb started as a child when my mom introduced me to the wonder that is strawberry rhubarb pie. That pie is still one of my favorites but now I look forward to fresh rhubarb every summer as an opportunity to experiment with rhubarb recipes that go beyond dessert.
It’s weekend barbecue season here in the northeast, which means a lot of crowded grills. That’s the beauty of this recipe. The wings are baked in the oven, leaving plenty of room on the grill for steaks, burgers, bratwurst, hot dogs, corn whatever.
The sauce is sexy simple to throw together. Boil the rhubarb with brown sugar and a few other ingredients. Stir in fresh thyme leaves. Then coat the cooked wings, bake for another 15 minutes and done. No need to schedule or sacrifice room on the grill.
Baked Chicken Wings in Rhubarb Thyme Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 pounds chicken wings
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 lb fresh rhubarb washed, trimmed and chopped into pieces
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons thyme leaves plus some sprigs for garnish
Instructions
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Line two large baking sheets with aluminum foil. Spread chicken wings out in a single layer.
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Season with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside.
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Bake wings for 45 minutes
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Place rhubarb, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
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Cook, stirring until liquified.
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Add the ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.
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Turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
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Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
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Stir in the thyme leaves and remove from heat.
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Remove wings from the oven and use a brush to coat the wings in the sauce. You can also place the sauce in a large bowl. Add the wings, toss to coat and replace the wings on the baking sheet.
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Return the coated wings to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
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Remove from oven. Plate, garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and serve.
More delicious rhubarb recipes:
2 comments
Excellent sauce – sweet and savory. The whole family enjoyed it. I used chicken breasts to make it healthier cutting into 1-inch thickness. I did not see the oven cooking temp in your recipe so I cooked it at 400 for 20 minutes since it was boneless. After putting on the sauce, I put it under the broiler for 2 minutes to get the char instead of baking it longer as the chicken was fully cooked.
I am so glad you all enjoyed it! Great idea to use chicken breasts.