I usually cook up chicken wings on my Char-Broil Big Easy or I deep-fry them. This time I decided to smoke my wings first, then deep fry them just long enough to get a nice crisp on the skin. Then I sauced them up with one of my favorites, Buffalo Wild Wings Honey BBQ wing sauce.
Lightly Sweet with a Little Heat
The Honey BBQ sauce has just a little kick to it. A nice kick. And a little sweetness. The smokey wings really worked well with the sauce. Almost like grilled BBQ chicken, but in a convenient hand-held size with an awesome dipping sauce.
I stopped by our local Buffalo Wild Wings and picked up a few sauces so I’d always have my favorites on hand. They’re not only great on wings, but chicken nuggets. Yep, just heat them little chicken bites up and toss them with your favorite sauce and life is good. Real good. You can also buy this sauce online.
If you are in the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, area make it a point to swing by a Pepper Palace store. They have several stores in the area, including a new one in Sevierville in an area called The Island. The store is packed with hot sauces and salsas, from the hot to the mild. Me, I always head straight to the wing sauces and in particular, Pepper Palace’s own line of Wing Master wing sauces, including this Mega Garlic wing sauce.
Tons Of Garlic. Like You’d Expect.
As soon as we returned from our recent trip I threw a few seasoned wings onto my Weber Performer grill outfitted with the Vortex insert. When the wings were done I tossed them with the Mega Garlic sauce and dug in. The Mega Garlic wing sauce has, as you might guess, a tremendous garlic flavor. And not just a bit of garlic either. Hence the word ‘mega’ in the name. It’s loaded with garlic. Tons of it. Lovely, great yummy garlic. With a bit of a wing sauce kick, too. It’s a very enjoyable sauce. I definitely wish that I’d picked up a few more bottles!
Pepper Palace Is Flavor Heaven
Pepper Palace makes a ton of great sauces and seasonings, not just for wings. Find a store near you and spend an hour or two wandering the shelves. They always have an area where you can sample sauces and spices, too. It’s like flavor heaven. Instead, if there’s not one near you, take a road trip (it’ll be worth it) or order online.
Somebody at Kroger wasn’t lying when they named this sauce. Kroger spicy garlic wing sauce is definitely spicy. More so than garlicky. This is a wing sauce that packs a great punch with good flavor, for a really great price. And it’s also the right consistency, important for proper sticking to wings. That’s why you want a wing sauce, right? It’s not gravy, it doesn’t belong in the bottom of your plate. It belongs on your wings.
Spicy. Garlicky. Like The Bottle Says.
If you’re using a wing sauce (be it homemade or store-bought like Kroger’s spicy garlic wing sauce) that has been refrigerated always warm it up just a bit before using it. Nothing makes a hot wing cold faster than tossing it in a sauce right out of the fridge.
Is it possible for a bottled store-brand wing sauce to be too good? No, but Meijer Bourbon Honey Mustard wing sauce is about as good as you can get. All of the flavors are balanced and at just the right levels for me. Not too much bourbon flavor. Just the right honey sweetness. And the right mustardy vinegar kick. It’s different and delicious.
A Wonderful Combination Of Flavors
I contacted Meijer’s corporate office about the fact that I couldn’t find their Honey Bourbon wing sauce online. As of the time of this post they haven’t added it yet. So just head to your local Meijer and grab a bottle from the condiment section. While you’re there grab a few bottles of the other great Meijer wing sauces, like Caribbean Jerk.
Remember that if you have to refrigerate your open bottle of wing sauce to let it sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes before using. You don’t want to ‘shock’ hot, just-cooked wings with a cold sauce.
I love cooking wings on my charcoal grill using the Vortex. I always get crispy, moist, tender wings. The meat has a slight smokiness to it. They have a great grilled flavor that I don’t want to hide with a bunch of sauce or seasoning. But a little added flavor is a good thing. That’s why I love my dry Buffalo wings using the Vortex. I have total control on how much seasoning I add.
Crispy Skin. Still.
One of the great things about dry Buffalo wings using the Vortex is that the skin stays crispy. You don’t always get that with sauced wings. I think dry wings are a great thing. They’re always a welcome change from sauced wings.
No Sugar Zone
I recommend not using any kind of seasoning containing sugar. The high heat of the Vortex may cause it to burn. If you really want that sweetness, add the seasoning only after the wings have cooked. You can just use salt and pepper for seasoning during cooking.
Want More Smoke?
If you want your wings to have a bit more smokiness to them, and not just what you get from the charcoal, add a chunk of wood over the center of the Vortex. Do it early on, not long after you’ve lit the charcoal, to give the wood time to catch on and start generating smoke. If you think you’re getting more smoke than you want, just remove the wood chunk. Make sure you put it somewhere non-combustible as it will smolder for a long time!
I’ve always been a fan of Buffalo wings so I’m always up for trying an already-made Buffalo wing sauce, especially since there are so many different ones. I picked up a bottle of TGI Fridays Buffalo wing sauce and quickly got to making a batch of wings. This is not a thick Buffalo wing sauce, but instead it’s quite thin. A bottle goes a long, long way. It’s a mild sauce so you get great Buffalo-style flavors but without a lot of spiciness. I would say it’s a good standard Buffalo wing sauce, perfect for a crowd since you don’t have to worry about it being too hot.
A Real Crowd Pleaser
TGI Friday’s Buffalo wing sauce isn’t just great on wings, either. It makes for a perfect dipping sauce for chicken fingers or nuggets. If the sauce is too thin just warm it in a sauce pan. Then whisk in just a bit of flour. Not much, but just enough to thicken it up.
I am not one to click on ads on social media. Like most people, I scroll on, never even noticing. Except this time. I saw an ad for new (to me) wing sauces from a place called the Wing Palace out of Jacksonville, FL. The sauces looked absolutely yummy in the pics. I had to. So I did. I ordered two bottles of each of their flavors. Once they arrived I quickly made a batch of wings and tossed them with the lemon pepper wing sauce. My oh my oh my goodness me! What a great wing sauce! Not too lemony, not too peppery, but spot-on great! Think Buffalo wing sauce consistency, with that underlying butter flavor.
A Fantastic Lemon Pepper Wing Sauce
Man, look at those wings and lemon pepper wing sauce. Yeah, they were good. Really good. I should hang a picture of those wings in my living room. Above the fireplace. They deserve to be seen as much as devoured!
Whoa back up the truck to teriyaki yumminess! We both loved the heck out Moore’s Asian Teriyaki wing sauce. Though the bottle says you can use the sauce on anything from vegetables to stir-fry to whatever, the sauce was amazing on wings. Not overly sweet as teriyaki sauce can sometimes be. Not overloaded with soy sauce or ginger. Just flat-out perfect teriyaki flavors.
Don’t Drown Your Wings
I made sure to not overly sauce my wings. Some places you buy wings at like to bury their wings in sauce, usually to hide skimpy thin wings. Not me. I use the big wings and I want to taste the wings too, not just the sauce. Even if that sauce is delicious like Moore’s Asian Teriyaki wing sauce!
Remember that if you have to refrigerate your open bottle of wing sauce to let it sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes before using. You don’t want to ‘shock’ hot, just-cooked wings with a cold sauce.
I’ve said it before. If you’re standing in the wing sauce section of the grocery store, trying to decide on the next sauce you’re going to grab for a great batch of wings, do not hesitate to try the store brand. I was at Kroger, and I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed one each of every one of their sauces, including the Kroger Mild Buffalo wing sauce. The sauce turned out to be perfect! Just a hint of heat (perfect for a party) and the perfect consistency. This is a mighty fine wing sauce, and boy, the price was right!
The Perfect Sauce For Party Wings
If you by chance end up with any leftover Kroger mild Buffalo wing sauce, toss it in the fridge. Make sure you warm it a bit (at least to room temperature) before using it on your next batch of wings. Nothing makes hot wings sad faster than tossing them in cold wing sauce!
Alliger’s House of Wings sauces are incredible. They set the bar high. So high that I’m spoiled by every sauce I’ve had. Like this House of Wings Southern wing sauce. It’s a different flavor than your traditional ‘normal’ wing sauces. It’s got a bit of spiciness to it, but not too much. The spices are unique and quite honestly I had a hard time figuring out what they were. But I do know it’s a fantastic sauce and it would also make a fantastic marinade for chicken.
Differently Delicious
The cool thing about House of Wings sauces (besides the fact that they are delicious) is that you can combine them and make new flavors. For delicious Mexican-inspired wings, combine one part southern sauce and one part nuclear sauce. Or you can just enjoy them straight-up right out of the bottle, like this House of Wings Southern wing sauce!
