Hot Ones hot sauces makes a number of tremendously tasty hot sauces. They aren’t all over-the-top spicy, either. More, they concentrate on flavor over heat. I am addicted to their chili maple hot sauce. It has a low eat level. It’s a little sweet thanks to maple syrup, which also adds an amazing flavor. The spiciness comes from Fresno chilis. With just the right amount of vinegar, this sauce makes for tremendous chili maple wings!
Easiest Sauce Ever
While my wings are cooking up, I like to just mix a little hot sauce with butter. That’s it. It’s the world easiest wing sauce. With such a wide selection of hot sauces available, it’s the best way to make totally different-tasting wings every day of the week! These chili maple wings are a great example! I made mine the ‘mild way’ but all variations are great!
In general, the ratio of butter to hot sauce is as below. For example, if the ratio is 3:1 that means you use 3 parts of butter for every 1 part hot sauce. For a mild sauce: 3:1For a medium sauce: 2:1For a hot sauce: 1:1
I’ve been wanting to make these charcoal grilled crispy Cajun wings for a while. It’s not that I don’t make wings over charcoal often. I do. But I use a thing called a Vortex BBQ. It helps me get amazingly crispy skin using very high temperatures. That’s not what I’m doing here, though. I wanted to prove that I can make fantastically crunchy skin wings without my Vortex. And boy did I. These great wings take just a little effort, just a little time, and come out fantastic. And the sauce is nothing to sneeze at either! These are great tasting wings too!
It’s Super Easy
There are just two simple steps to making charcoal grilled crispy Cajun wings. First, you need to air dry the wings coated in seasoned baking powder (not baking soda) overnight in a fridge on a wire rack. This helps dry out the skin, making it easier to get it crispy later. And second, when it comes time to cook the wings, make sure you have a pile of super-hot coals on just one side of your grill. That leaves you a less hot zone, called indirect grilling, to cook your wings without worrying about burning them. The high heat circulates around the wings helps crisp up the skin. And of course charcoal adds such a great flavor that you just can’t get in an air fryer, deep fryer or oven!
Don’t Forget The Sauce
Sure, you can use any sauce you want on these wings. But you’ll want to keep that Cajun theme going and make a batch of the sauce below. It has a nice spicy kick to it with a great flavor that compliments the seasoned wings perfectly.
I do still highly recommend a Vortex BBQ. It’s not only great for wings but also ‘fried’ chicken, ribs and oh so much more!
Place the wings in a large bowl or resealable container.
Combine the baking powder and Cajun seasoning.
Sprinkle half of the seasoning mix over the wings. Using your hands, toss the wings to coat.
Add the remaining seasoning and repeat.
Transfer the wings to a wire rack over a baking sheet. Place in the fridge 12 hours or overnight to dry out the skin.
Load up the charcoal chimney about 3/4ths of the way with charcoal and light. Once the charcoal is all lit and lightly covered in ash, dump the coals into the grill along one side. This will create two zones: a hot direct heat zone over the coals and a cooler indirect heat zone for the wings.
Add the charcoal grate and close the grill. Open the top and bottoms vents all the way. Let the grill preheat for 5.
Place the wings on the indirect heat side of the grill. Close the lid and turn so that the vent is above the wings.
Cook until the wings are lightly browned and crispy, usually 45 minutes. While the wings are cooking make the wing sauce.
Yee-yowsa! You’re talking about some great wings here. I devoured my plate of Lillie’s Q BBQ aioli sauce wings. Boy I really wish I’d made more. This BBQ and mustard sauce hit the spot for me. It’s a creamy sauce. Not one of them traditional vinegary ones. It’s a wonderful mayonnaise concoction. A combination of a lightly smoky BBQ sauce and mustard. But not too much of either. You know how mustard can get .. … too mustardy? Well not here. It’s perfect. I could just pour this sauce in a bowl and grab a spoon it’s just that good.
Tender Sauce
I know the bottle says ‘tender sauce’. But when I hear chicken tenders, I think chicken wings instead. Good call on my part because tossing some hot wings in this sauce was brilliant. If you’re looking for something different, something creamy, make some Lillie’s Q BBQ aioli sauce wings. But make sure you make plenty of them, because they’ll disappear like that!
The simplest of wings can often be the best. Like these Buffalo teriyaki wings. Just a few ingredients and a little cooking time and I’m enjoying great wings. No fancy batters or marinades or anything. Just cooked plain wings tossed in a great sauce. I cooked my wings in the air fryer but any technique will do. I make the sauce while the wings are cooking since it doesn’t take long to prepare. The end result is lightly sweet and lightly spicy. It’s a great combination of Asian-inspired and traditional wing flavors. These are finger-licking good wings!
Step Up Your Teriyaki Game
You can use whatever teriyaki sauce you like to make these Buffalo teriyaki wings. But for me, my go-to teriyaki sauce is from the fine folks over at Bourbon Barrel Food. They have two versions actually. The Kentuckyaki sauce is a wonderfully bourbon-infused sauce that has such a great, deep flavor. It’s great anywhere I need a teriyaki sauce. And of course their spicy version is … spicier! It also makes for a great sauce for these wings!
While the wings are cooking, combine the remaining ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once the sauce begins to simmer, reduce heat to low to keep the sauce warm.
Go to the grocery store. Buy a family pack of wings. Buy a bottle of Kinder’s Thai BBQ sauce. Prepare the wings. Cook the wings. Doesn’t really matter how you cook them. Sauce them. Get that sauce all over them. Devour. Lick your fingers. Lick the plate. Make moaning sounds. That’s what you do with Kinder’s Thai BBQ sauce wings. Because the sauce is incredible.
Asian-Inspired Wing Greatness
Every bite of Kinder’s Thai BBQ sauce wings is fantastic. The sauce is rich. It’s thick. Stick-to-your wings thick. There’s soy sauce. A bit of lemongrass. Hints of ginger. Chili sauce. It’s kinda sweet but it’s balanced perfectly. Got extra sauce? Put it on some grilled shrimp. Squirt it into a stir-fry. This is one great sauce that has a lot of uses. But for me, it’s flat out great on wings!
It’s not uncommon for me to have wings two days in a row. It is uncommon for me to have the same wings two days in a row. These baked hoisin wings hit the spot for me. Lightly sweet, the lightly sweet and smoky sauce is finger-licking good. I could not get enough of it. These savory wings are baked until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is nicely brown. You won’t find crunchy skin here, but it does have a clean bite-through and great flavor.
Twice-Sauced… Or Thrice-Sauced?
I admit that I do ‘triple sauce’ my baked hoisin wings. The recipe (from the fine folks over at Kikkoman) calls for saucing them up front using half of the sauce. Then halfway through the baking, brush the wings with the remaining sauce. I always found that there was a bit too much sauce to use it all at once for that second saucing. Instead, I like to use half of the remaining sauce for the first brush, then I sauce them for the third time about 10 minutes before they are done. You don’t have to do that, the recipe is great as it is written. With my approach I always use up every ounce of the sauce.
I’d been on a sweet wing sauce kick. I needed something to bring me out of that. Something to wake me up. Something to wake up my taste buds. Kinder’s Black Cherry Chipotle BBQ sauce wings did just that. Right up front, I got the tartness of black cherries. No mistaking that taste, that’s for sure. There are hints of smoke and heat, coming from wonderful chipotles. I’m a big fan of chipotles, they add so much to any sauce they are used in. This is a great sauce. It’s different and it’s fantastic on wings.
A Quality Tasty Sauce
Kinder’s sauces and seasonings are the real deal. These Kinder’s Black Cherry Chipotle BBQ sauce wings are proof of that. Not only is the flavor spot-on, the consistency is perfect for wings, and anything else for that matter. This would make the perfect sauce on grilled ribs for sure. Black cherry and pork go together well. And now, black cherry goes well with wings too!
My goodness gracious me are these sticky crispy garlic wings ever good. The chicken cooks up crazy crunchy. It’s good enough to serve by itself. The batter is well-seasoned and is definitely not boring. Then there’s the sauce. Slightly sweet with a slight Asian-inspired flavor, it brings the garlic big time. And oh yes, it’s sticky. Get out the paper towels, because wimpy napkins aren’t going to cut it here. The thick paper towels. Not the ones you can hold up to the light and see through. The 10-ply stuff.
If you’ve been having troubles with vampires, these wings’ll take are of that for you. They did for me.
Watch your sauce
The one thing you need to know before you dive in and make these sticky crispy garlic wings is that the sauce needs to be watched the entire time it simmers. Trust me on this. It’ll want to boil over. You might be thinking it won’t….. and then it will. Just keep an eye on it. If it starts to rise, just grab the pot handle and take it off the heat for a minute or two. Once it subsides, put it back. And keep keeping an eye on it.
No Tossing Zone
If I’m saucing deep-fried wings, specially ones with a thicker coating like these, I don’t like to toss the wings in the sauce. That’ll tend to knock off the crispy coating. Instead, I’ll put the wings in a bowl and drizzle them in the sauce then stir them gently with a rubber spatula. Or I’ll just serve the sauce on the side and dip my chicken wings in it instead.
Read about how to sauce your wings without hurting them in my full guide. It covers everything you’ll ever need (or want) to know about it!
For the sauce (Warning: Do not leave the sauce un-attended while simmering)
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the honey, soy sauce and pepper. Stir. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir often and keep a close eye on the sauce as it simmers. It will want to expand and boil over the side of the pan. If this starts to happen, remove the pan from the heat until it subsides. Return to the stove and continue simmering.
Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to use.
For the wings
Heat 3-4" of oil to 350 F in a Dutch oven or deep fryer.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs and cold water.
Working in batches as needed, dip wings into the egg wash and coat well.
Shake off any excess and transfer to the flour mixture. Turn to coat well.
Transfer the wings to the oil and fry 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack over a baking sheet to drain.
I usually make a sad face when someone says ‘baked wings’. The flavor is usually there. But oh, that skin! Too many times it’s rubbery. I can’t think of another word for it. You can’t get a nice clean ‘bite’. Well, these Creole-Cajun wings up the baked wing game big time. They’re fried and baked. Yep. You read that correctly. And they are delicious. All the way through, too. The flavor’s not just resting on the skin. And second, the skin produces a perfect bite. It’s not rubbery and it doesn’t all come off in one bite.
Worth The Effort
Making these Creole-Cajun wings isn’t as easy as just throwing some wings in a pan and into the oven they go. They take a little extra work, including some quality time spent in a deep fryer. But it’s worth it. You could easily make a double batch or more and feed a small crowd. The hard work is done the day ahead. On the day you want to serve them just pop them into the oven for 30 minutes or until nice and hot.
I’m going to be straight up honest. Baked buttermilk wings are not something I had a lot of optimism in when I first started. I prefer my wings fried or grilled, nine times out of ten. Not to say I don’t like baked wings. But marinated and baked… I just wasn’t sure. I knew the skin wouldn’t come out super crispy. And I was hoping for a clean bite and a lot of flavor. Well, happy me. I got that and more. They turned out deliciously moist and tender. Packed with flavor. And after a little time under the broiler, a little bit of a crispy skin.
No Coating Required
When I first thought about making these baked buttermilk wings I thought about fried chicken. I marinate my chicken for fried chicken the same way. But I then toss it in a bit of seasoned flour and deep fry it. These wings are not quite that same experience. You get that moist deliciousness just like fried chicken. Without the deep frying you don’t get that crunchy exterior but you do get a bit of crunchy skin. My brain had a hard time with that at first but I ended up devouring a plate of these wings so obviously I wasn’t complaining!
Parchment Paper or Foil?
I baked these wings on parchment paper. The paper makes for easy cleanup and is fairly non-stick. You can use foil. If you want to crisp up the wings under the broiler after they are cooked you’ll want to use foil instead. Parchment paper is not intended for use under a broiler for any period of time. It’s paper. It’s hot. And paper and hot do not mix. Aluminum foil can handle that heat.
You can also bake the wings in a baking dish. I recommend glass for easier cleanup.
Seal the container and give it a few shakes to combine the ingredients.
Place in fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours. Shake the container every few hours to keep the ingredients well-combined.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Remove wings from marinade, shaking off any excess, and transfer to the parchment paper.
Bake for 30 minutes. Flip.
Bake another 20-25 minutes or until starting to brown.
If desired, you can place the wings under the broiler to help crisp up the skin. I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS ON PARCHMENT PAPER. First remove the wings to a piece of foil or place directly on the baking sheet. Then place under the broiler for 5 minutes, checking on them every minute.
