Grilled Basil Chimichurri Chicken Wings

Zoe has this thing for sauces.  Whenever we figure out what we are having for dinner, I know the one outstanding question: what's the sauce?  Steak, chicken, fish, you name it.  They all need a "sauce".  Now, some may attribute this to her love of French cooking.  I, on the other hand, attribute it to her being English.  What better way to hide the taste of English cuisine then a splash of brown sauce.  I'm just kidding of course, her mum is an excellent cook and I happen to love food in the UK.  This sauce obsession must be…wait, my cooking.  Damn.

Thankfully, when it comes to sauces, we both like chimichurri.  I opted to forgo the required mint and instead went with basil, basically because I had a boatload on hand.  Oh, and better yet?  This was the second meal the chimichurri graced.  Originally made for steaks, I had leftover chimichurri in the fridge and chicken wings in the freezer.  Yup, circle gets the square.

Grilled Basil Chimichurri Chicken Wings

Adapted from Bobby Flay's Boy Gets Grill

2 cups Basil

1 cup flat-leat parsley leaves

1 cup cilantro leaves

8 cloves garlic, chopped

3 serrano chilies

3 tbls honey

3 tbls Dijon mustard

1 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Add the basil, parsley, cilantro, garlic, chilies, honey and mustard to a food processor and mix.  With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until emulsified.

Prep the grill.  You can either go direct or indirect.  Since I am adding a sauce, I choose to go indirect.

With the grill about 350 F, I added the wings, covered with the the chimichurri, and grilled them for about 20 minutes, flipping once.  I snuck in some BBQ wings too, but don't tell anyone.

For a quick side, I roasted some peppers. After steaming, peeling and chopping them, I topped them with a balsamic vinaigrette.  It is a great, fast side.

In the end, the sauce was "approved" as a great accompaniment.  Mission accomplished.