Apricot nomato BBQ chicken wings

Bringing your own tray to a gathering takes real effort: roasting beets and carrots, blending them into a sauce that never touches a tomato, timing the slow cooker so everything is ready when people arrive. That effort buys you something specific. You get to set your tray down next to everyone else's and reach for wings like anyone at that table, instead of picking quietly around a spread that was not built with you in mind.

That deep barbecue color is doing double duty. It comes from beta-carotene in the roasted beet and carrot, which your body converts into vitamin A, a nutrient involved in immune and mucosal health, and it gives you real barbecue depth without a single nightshade in the mix. The apricot folds in a little natural sweetness and its own beta-carotene, and the chicken underneath it all is a lean, dependable protein worth building a plate around.

A whole chicken went into this plate of wings, the kind of thing easy to forget when they are this glossy and this good. Finish them under the broiler until the skin crisps and the glaze sets, then eat these the way everyone else at the table gets to: without a second thought.

Nomato BBQ sauce ingredients

• 1 small beet, peeled and roasted until soft
• 1 medium carrot, roasted until soft
• 1/2 cup bone broth or water
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves (AIP-compliant, refined-sugar-free) or unsweetened apricot puree
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Wing ingredients

• 2 lb chicken wings

Method

First make the nomato BBQ sauce. Blend the roasted beet and carrot with the broth, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, apricot preserves, garlic powder, ginger, and salt until smooth. It should be glossy and spreadable, the color of a deep barbecue glaze. Taste and adjust the salt and sweetness.

Reserve about 1/4 cup of the sauce for finishing. Toss the wings in the rest, coating them well, and arrange them in the slow cooker. Cook on high for about 3 hours, until the chicken is tender and reaches at least 165 F.

Move the wings to a lined sheet pan in a single layer. Broil 2 minutes, flip them, brush with the reserved sauce, and broil 4 more minutes, until the skin is crisp and glazed.

Instant Pot variation

The Instant Pot gives you both paths. For the same hands-off result, use its slow-cook setting on high for about 3 hours. When you are short on time, use high pressure: toss the wings in sauce, add them to the pot, and cook on high pressure for about 10 minutes with a quick release, checking that they reach 165 F. You can also brown or saute right in the same pot first if you like. Either way, finish under the broiler for the crisp skin. Flag pressure timing for kitchen testing.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*