There for a minute I thought I was eating smoked chicken wings. I double checked, and nope, my air fryer wasn’t belching smoke… Ah ha! The great smoky flavor was coming from these Kinder’s Fire Roasted Jalapeno wings! Man, what a great sauce this is! I love roasted peppers, especially jalapeno. A little spicy heat and a little smoke is great on wings. There’s a slight hint of garlic and lime. These made me think ‘southwestern’ when I devoured them. And it made me think ‘buy more of this sauce’.
Crazy Good Bite After Bite
Kinder’s Fire Roasted Jalapeno wings are definitely finger-licking good. You don’t have to go crazy with the sauce, either. It packs great flavor in just a little. Which means you’ll have plenty of sauce for other dishes, like squeezing over burritos, tacos… or dipping nuggets. It’s also great on a grilled chicken sandwich. Anything that needs a little heat (not too much) and southwestern-inspired flavors, grab this sauce and get to it!
I was cruisin’ down I-70 near Springfield, Ohio, when the lunch time hungers started to hit. I took a quick glance at the map (which is always set to show nearby wing restaurants) and saw a Fricker’s. Since I’ve never been to one, I figured well heck, now’s the time! So I went on in, grabbed a seat, and ordered some wings. Long story short, I left the place full and with a sack full of Fricker’s wing sauces. That way I could enjoy the same flavors at home, starting with Fricker’s BBQ wings.
Not Just A BBQ Wing Sauce
Fricker’s BBQ wings have a slight smoky flavor with just a hint of heat. It’s a thinner tomato-based sauce with a slight sweetness to it. At first I thought it was pretty much your standard BBQ-like sauce. But it really grew on me. A lot. And now I wish I’d bought more.
The sauce comes in glass bottles (yes!) and they have 4 of their signature flavors available online and in the stores. You can get any of their sauces in the restaurant to go, too. They’ll make them up for you fresh and package them in Mason jars. They’re very reasonably priced. And hey, you get a Mason jar to boot!
The first bite of my Wing Master Mango chile-lime seasoning dry wings made me think I was enjoying a big bucket of wings on the beach. Fantastic tropically-inspired flavors made bite-after-bite deliciousness. A hint of fruitiness. A little citrusy lime. And just the right amount of heat. These are great wings with great seasoning.
Tropical Wings Are A Win
I wasn’t shy with the seasoning when I made some Wing Master Mango Chile-Lime dry wings. As soon as the wings were cooked (in an air fryer in this case), I transferred them to a bowl and give them a few good shakes of seasoning while tossing gently. I found the flavors to be wonderfully different. I’m inspired now to find more tropical-like wing flavors!
If I am serving my wings with Ranch or blue cheese or some other sauce, I use these little sauce dipping cups. They’re the perfect size for dipping wings, nuggets, tenders and even vegetables. And they’re easy to clean, too!
I prefer to season my wings immediately after cooking them. The seasoning will stick to the surface of the hot wings better than if you wait until they cool off.
This copycat recipe of KFC honey BBQ wings was some of the best deep-fried wings I’ve ever had. The coating is crazy crunchy and flavorful. It ‘bites’ thru perfectly. No fear of taking a bite and having the entire batter come off at once. And the sauce? My goodness me. The sauce starts with a store-bought sauce, adds a few ingredients, and ends up being just out-of-this-world great. I’d use the sauce on anything that requires a good, thick, smoky BBQ sauce. On these wings it’s perfect. These are finger-licking good wings if ever there were any!
These Wings Are Crazy Good
If you don’t follow Todd Wilbur, you should. He is the master of everything copycat. From restaurant dishes, like this copycat recipe of KFC honey BBQ wings, to copycat grocery store items, and a whole lot more, Todd has it going on. Like with everything else of his I’ve made, he nailed this recipe and technique perfectly. I loved these wings. They’re a real winner.
What Big Wings You Have
The batter on these wings make them get nice and big when they fry up. Even if you start with scrawny wings (which you should not, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do), you’re going to end up with large wings. This isn’t a bad thing. But maybe something to keep in mind when you go to serve them. When you might normally give someone 5 wings (just sayin’) you might go with 4. And if you’re serving them with a dipping sauce, like blue cheese or ranch, you’ll likely need extra!
If I’m cooking for a crowd, I’ll break out my big deep fryer. But, if it’s just me, I’ll fire up my Fry Daddy fryer. It’s the perfect size. It fries everything perfectly. And as an added bonus, it doesn’t use a lot of oil, which saves me money. And that means I can buy more wing!
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and continue simmering for 20 minutes, stirring often.
Keep sauce warm until ready to use.
For the wings
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Pre-heat oil in a deep fryer or Dutch oven to 350 F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper.
Place the buttermilk in a separate bowl.
Coat the wings in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess and transfer to the buttermilk.
Coat the wings in the buttermilk. Shake off any excess then return to the flour mixture.
Shake off any excess flour. Working in batches if needed, fry the wings 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Brush the wings with the BBQ sauce. You can also gently toss the wings in the sauce, but I prefer to brush the sauce onto the wings.
Place wings on the baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes to 'set' the sauce.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
Serve your wings with extra sauce on the side for dipping!
This is why you always have to hit up the sampling bar when you go to a Pepper Palace store. I’ve been to tons of their stores, and I always spend a good bit of time sampling. That’s where I ran across this barbecue sauce. Yes, barbecue. Of course I thought ‘wings’. Because I knew that Pepper Palace watermelon barbecue sauce wings would be different and fantastic. Fantastically different.
Watermelon And Wings. It Works.
Pepper Palace watermelon barbecue sauce wings have just the right amount of watermelon flavor. Oh sure, you get a traditional BBQ sauce flavor too, and it’s balanced perfectly with the watermelon. These wings are a totally different change from your usual Buffalo-inspired wings.
Of course, this sauce is also fantastic on anything grilled, from ribs to pulled pork to whole roasted chicken.
Remember that if you have to refrigerate your open bottle of sauce, 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.
Oh, glorious wing sauce, you! Croix Valley Garlic Ginger Teriyaki wings are the sauced-up wings of my dreams. Ya know, I love the heck out of the Croix Valley dry seasoning with the same name and flavors. Then they went and put those wonderful Asian-inspired flavors into a bottle of sauce. Oh me oh my, what good stuff this is!
A Real Winner of a Wing Sauce
Croix Valley Garlic Ginger Teriyaki wing sauce brings a nice soy sauce flavor. They’re on the sweeter side, but not overly sweet. The garlic and ginger flavors are there, but kinda in the background, adding to the party but not being obnoxious. This is an all-around fantastic sauce, a real winner.
More is Better
When you pick up some of this sauce, get extra. A whole lot extra. You’re going to want it for brushing on grilled chicken quarters. Or whole chicken. Slather it on grilled shrimp, or use it as a dipping sauce instead. Ever had grilled or smoked Asian-flavored ribs? Well, now’s your chance to have the best ones around.
These Shore Lunch Spicy Buffalo fried wings are dangerously close to being ‘just’ fried chicken. But, oh my goodness me, let me tell you just how great these wings are. The breading is out-of-this-world fantastic. Such a wonderful crunch and seasoned to absolute perfection. With a nice essence of Buffalo Wing flavor and spiciness. Not overpowering, but there. These wings are truly epic. I could eat these little beauties all day long and that’s no lie! For more Buffalo wing-inspired goodness, drizzle the wings with Buffalo sauce right before serving, or serve some on the side for dipping!
You can also serve your favorite sauce on the side and dip the wings. That’ll help keep that crunchy delicious batter in place.
Or Eat Them Naked.
Or dip them in some sauce on the side. For me, I didn’t need anything extra. I found these wings to be superb just as they were, hot out of the fryer. Man, what great wings!
Just think. One day, perhaps not too long ago, someone at Wing It woke to what was probably a day like every other. Except it wasn’t. That day, one of the best BBQ-inspired wing sauces would be created. It was to be a special day. And in my opinion, a day worthy of being considered a national holiday. Wing It Honey BBQ wing sauce is everything you could hope for, dream for, yearn for, in a lightly smoky, sweet, tomato-based sauce. It’s not shy about being thick. It’s not shy about being sweet, either. This sauce means business. This is easily one of my favorite sauces of all time.
Could This Be The Perfect Sweet Sauce?
I absolutely cannot get enough Wing It Honey BBQ wings. Yeah, I could put this sauce on just about anything hot off the grill. Like burgers, or split chicken breasts, ribs, brisket and even pulled pork. But boy oh boy do I ever enjoy the heck out of it on my wings.
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but when I see a celebrity’s face on a bottle of wing sauce, or on a package of frozen food, on a restaurant, or on a seasoning shaker, I think I’m in for disappointment. Usually the flavor doesn’t match the hype. Well, color me wrong on this one because Guy Fieri’s Buffalo NY wing sauces more than hit the spot for me. I could not get enough of wings tossed in this sauce. I thought that it’s more than a great version of traditional Buffalo wing sauce, it raises the bar!
A Better Buffalo-Style Sauce
Guy Fieri’s Buffalo NY wing sauce is going to pass the scrutiny of any hard-core wing aficionado in my opinion. It has the right consistency, the right heat level (medium at most) and definitely the right flavor. The ingredients list reads like many Buffalo wing sauce bottles do. But the combination of them is perfect. I’m impressed.
It’s hard to beat Hooter’s for good ole hot wings. Buffalo wings. The real deal. If you don’t have a restaurant nearby you have three options. One, move. Two, order some of their breading and sauces online and make the original yourself. Or three, make this copycat recipe of Hooter’s hot buffalo Wings from scratch. Any option will do, but I have to admit that these wings came out spot-on like what I’ve had at the restaurant. They’re hot but not crazy hot. They’re breaded perfectly. They have a great crunch to them. They taste wonderful and they disappear in no time. For me, that’s the sign of darned good wings.
Great Heat and Great Flavor
I wouldn’t do anything different about these copycat recipe Hooter’s hot Buffalo wings. Except maybe more of them, more often. You can tone down the heat but leaving out the cayenne and make a medium version of these wings, but then they wouldn’t be hot wings! Doh!
Hooter’s is where my love of wings began. My first Hooters was the original outside of Tampa, Florida, in Clearwater. I was working in Tampa but had a hotel in Clearwater. I drove by (and stopped at) the Hooters every day when I got off work. My only regret is that I didn’t work there longer!
If it’s just me or the two of us, I’ll use my lil ole trusty Fry Daddy fryer to make these wings. I can fit a good 8 pieces in without any fear of over-crowding. As an added bonus, it doesn’t use much oil and it is super easy to clean up. It sure makes deep frying a breeze.
Make the sauce by placing all of the ingredients into a small saucepan over medium low heat.
Once the butter is melted stir well. Turn off the heat.
Stir again before tossing with the wings.
For the Wings
Combine the flour, salt, cayenne and paprika in a large bowl.
Rinse the wings. Drain well but do not dry the wings.
Add the wings to the flour mixture and turn to coat well. Transfer to a plate and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat 3" of oil in a Dutch oven or deep fryer to 350 F.
Working in batches if necessary, fry the wings 8-10 minutes or until they reach 165 F. Transfer to a rack over a baking sheet or a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
