April 2025 - Cooking with Rum

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                           Spicy Rum Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

  • 1 C. Dark Rum
  • 4 Tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice, plus wedges for serving
  • 4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. Teriyaki Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 4 Tbsp. Brown Sugar, packed
  • 6 Large Garlic Cloves, minced
  • 3 + 1 Scallions, finely chopped, 4th to be used as garnish
  • 2 Habanero Chile Peppers, seeded and minced
  • 2 Tbsp. Fresh Ginger, minced
  • 1 tsp. Ground Allspice
  • ½ tsp. Ground Nutmeg
  • 2 tsp. Salt
  • ½ tsp. Ground Pepper
  • 12 jumbo chicken wings, split at the joints, tips removed

Directions:

  1. Marinade: Combine the rum, lime juice, soy sauce, teriyaki, Worcestershire, brown sugar, garlic, scallions, habaneros, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
  2. Place the wings in a resealable plastic bag and add the marinade. Press the air out of the bag and seal tightly, turn the bag over several times to completely coat the wings. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight). Turning the bag at least once or twice.
  3. Remove the wings from the marinade and put marinade into a small saucepan.  Bring the marinade to a boil over medium heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 8 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare a charcoal grill by placing coals on half of the grill. Light the charcoal and wait until the embers turn white. At this point, you can add wood/wood chips of your choice.  Place the grate over the charcoal and put the wings on the cooler side of the grill.  Cover the grill with lid and cook the wings until the juices run clear, approximately 30 to 45 minutes.
  5. Remove the wings from the grill and toss with the reduced marinade. Place the wings on the grill over direct heat and cook, turning frequently, until the sauce has caramelized, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve on a platter and top with chopped scallions and serve with lime wedges.

                    Apricot-Almond-Rum Pound Cake

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. Butter, for greasing bundt pan 
  • ¼ C. Ground Almonds
  • 1 C. Dried Apricot, chopped 
  • ¼ C. Dark Rum
  • ¾ C. Butter, at room temperature
  • ½ C. Almond Paste, broken up
  • 1 C. Sugar, divided6 Eggs, separated
  • ½ tsp. Rum Extract¼ tsp. Vanilla
  • 1 ½ C. All-Purpose Flour

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter a 9 inch bundt pan generously then dust with the ground almonds.
  3. In a small bowl, combine dried apricots with rum and set aside.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with almond paste and ½ cup sugar.  
  5. Add egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy.  Mix in apricot/rum, rum extract and vanilla until well blended.  Mix in flour until well blended, but don’t over mix.
  6. In another bowl beat egg whites until fluffy.  Into the egg whites, gradually beat in remaining ½ cup of sugar until stiff and shiny.
  7. Mix 1/3 of the egg whites into the creamed mixture in large bowl.  Carefully fold in the remaining egg whites until well blended, but don’t over mix.
  8. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  9. Bake for about 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and cake has slightly pulled away from side of pan. Remove from oven.  Allow to cool, then transfer to a plate.

Note:  If you are a rum lover, you may want to drizzle a little extra rum over the top of the cake prior to serving.