I admit, I might have been a little worried when I first opened a bottle of Meijer’s Mango Habanero wing sauce to take a taste. You don’t mess around with habaneros. As much as I’m a fan of spicy food, habaneros can actually just hurt.
Well, my fears were unfounded because the heat is tamed perfectly by sweet mangoes. Yeah, oh yeah, there’s still a spicy kick, but it’s spot-on perfect. Like the other Meijer wing sauces I’ve tried, I found it to be perfect!
The Right Consistency For Wings
Besides great flavors (like this Mango Habanero wing sauce) and perfect consistency (you don’t want your wing sauce ending up in a puddle at the bottom of your plate), Meijer’s wing sauces are all-natural. No weird stuff makes for better wings!
Sometimes I make my own wing sauces, and sometimes I buy wing sauces from the local grocery store (or online). I love the variety. I recently picked up a bottle of Heritage Fare’s garlic wing sauce. Think Buffalo wing sauce, but with a really great garlic hit. Seriously, this sauce is drink-it-out-of-the-bottle good.
A Great Classic Kicked Up With Garlic
On the off chance that you have leftover wing sauce (be it Heritage Fare’s garlic wing sauce or any other brand), in most cases you’ll have to refrigerate it until you make your next batch of wings. When you do, make sure you warm it a bit before tossing it with your hot wings. You definitely don’t want to put a cold sauce over hot wings.
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.
Hurray! Another great wing sauce from Meijer! Boy oh boy have I been happy with all of their sauces, and this Caribbean Jerk wing sauce is definitely no exception. It packs the allspice, the cinnamon, and oh yes, plenty of heat, into every single bite. For me, sometimes jerk seasoning or sauces can be a bit too heavy on the allspice. Not the case here. It’s the perfect blend of flavors.
The Right Spice Balance
I don’t like to overly season my wings before cooking them, especially if I’m using a fantastic sauce like Meijer’s Caribbean Jerk wing sauce. I don’t want the spices to fight with the sauce, so I go simple: salt and pepper.
We live in Meijer country. Which is a good thing because I love the bottled wing sauces from Meijer . I first bought them when they were on sale, as sort of a trial run. Now I’ll pick some up any time I’m at the store. Like all of their sauces, Meijer Korean BBQ style wing sauce is mighty darned tasty. American BBQ sauces are vinegar- or tomato-based. Korean BBQ sauces are soy sauce-based. The sauce has the perfect consistency, sticking to the wings but not glopping up. Too thick is not a good thing when it comes to wing sauces. Neither is too thin.
Sweet, Savory and a little Spicy
Korean BBQ actually means a way of preparing meats. Here in the US we’ve associated the terms with flavors. That flavor is a little sweet, a little savory and just a bit spicy. Meijer Korean BBQ style wing sauce is not only great on wings, either. It’s fantastic on smoked ribs, grilled burgers, or my other favorite, grilled chicken breast sandwiches.
Whenever my wife and I are in the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, area we always 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, as always, was busy, with people everywhere enjoying samples of the hot sauces and salsas, from the hot to the mild. Me, I headed straight to the wing sauces and in particular, Pepper Palace’s own line of Wing Master sauces, including this Smokehouse wing sauce.
The Right Amount Of Smoke And Heat
As soon as we returned from our 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 Smokehouse wing sauce and dug in. The smokehouse sauce has, as you might guess, a great smoky flavor. Not overwhelmingly smoky, but really good. It really amplifies the grilled flavor of the wings. The sauce has a bit of a chipotle and wing sauce kick, but again, not overwhelming. It’s a very enjoyable sauce. I definitely wish that I’d picked up a few more bottles!
Pepper Palace Sauces Make For Happy Wings
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.
This copycat recipe of the Asian wings from Hooters is beyond incredible. These are easily my favorite Asian-flavored wings. I could not possibly eat too many of them. And believe me, I’ve tried. I quickly regretted not making a bigger batch as they disappeared in minutes. The sauce is the boss here. It’s a bit sweet with a bit of soy flavor. Reduced to a thick glaze, the sauce is almost candy-like in texture. And like candy, it’s impossible to resist.
If ever I wanted to lick my plate after polishing off a batch of wings, this was the time. Ok, I did it. I admit it. I was going to lie about it. But I had these at home, so who’s gonna see me do it? My wife? She’s seen worse!
Great Asian-Inspired Flavors
These copycat recipe of Hooters Asian wings are not spicy in any way, shape, or form. I’m usually a ‘hot’ hot wings guy, but these opened my eyes to wings with a sweeter flavor profile. If you want your wings to have some kick, add dried red pepper flake or cayenne to the sauce as you reduce it down. I would not add hot sauce as it would change the color of the sauce.
I kind of have a fear of fresh ginger. There’s a such thing as ‘too much’ for me. It’s gets too strong. Too lemony. Too peppery. If you’re like me, start with half the amount in the recipe and give the sauce a taste. You can always add more.
I store my leftover homemade sauces in squeeze bottles. If refrigerated, I set them out an hour before using so they come to room temperature. You don’t want to put cold sauce on hot wings!
Apparently I have been living in a dark, deep cave for years and never heard of peri peri (or piri piri) sauce. Until recently, that is, when I saw an old episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations where he devoured some peri peri chicken in Mozambique. He said it was great, but oh did it burn. Sounded good to me so I found a jar of peri peri sauce at Jungle Jim’s grocery store, and proceeded to make Peri-Peri wings that I then lightly covered in the sour, vinegary, slightly sweet and definitely spicy sauce.
Great Flavor And Heat
I found the peri peri sauce to be quite addicting. Yeah, it’s a bit spicy but it’s really not over-the-top hot in my opinion. It brings a nice earthy pepper to these Peri-Peri wings. I can definitely see myself roasting an entire chicken and covering it in peri peri. That’d make for some mighty good eats. With a kick.
Me oh my! Talk about a pantry staple, Moore’s Honey BBQ wing sauce is it! Sure, it made for one heck of a great batch of wings. Packed with a little sweetness, and a little spiciness, it’s finger licking good stuff. But it’s more than a wing sauce. I use it wherever I need BBQ sauce, be it in a recipe or slathered on smoked ribs or grilled chicken. It’s one great all-around sauce.
A Perfectly Balanced Sauce
I can’t say enough about Moore’s Honey BBQ wing sauce. It’s got that right consistency. It’s not thick and gloppy. Nor is it thin and runny. Not overly spicy, but it has a nice little kick. I like that. And just the right amount of sweetness. It sure did make my wings out-of-this-world great!
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.
We love chicken wings with Asian-inspired flavors. We tend to favor the sweeter sauces versus the super hot and spicy. These orange sesame wings were absolutely incredible. As simple as they are, using easily-found ingredients, we could not stop commenting about how great they were while we devoured them. There’s a slight sweet orange citrus flavor and a good amount of sesame.
A Wonderful Citrus Flavor
I sometimes find sesame-infused flavors to be easily overpowering, but not in this case. The orange marmalade cools it perfectly. And if you do want a bit of heat to offset the sweetness, add a few pinches of red pepper flake to the sauce.
I store my leftover homemade sauces in squeeze bottles. If refrigerated, I set them out an hour before using so they come to room temperature. You don’t want to put cold sauce on hot wings!
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.