These are hands down, the best wings I’ve ever made. Never mind that the recipe was hastily hacked together from multiple online recipe sources and only used as a rough guideline once in the kitchen. And don’t even think of bringing up the fact that I’m basing this on a sample size of one and have never actually made hot wings before. Caveats in mind, here it is.
Sauce
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup crumbled Bleu cheese
- 2 tbsp finely grated red onion
Wings
- 1 lb chicken wings
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Glaze
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp chipotle chili in adobo, pureed or finely chopped
- 2 tsp chili paste
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
First, prepare the dipping sauce by combining the bleu cheese, yogurt and onion. The onion will probably resemble closer to a puree when grated. Refrigerate the dip so the flavors can combine while the wings are prepared.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare the wings first by trimming the tips at the last joint with a knife or kitchen shears. These tips are mostly skin and bone without any real meat good for eating directly. They can still be stored in the freezer for making broth to use in other dishes. The second preparation step is to separate the wing at the first joint into two pieces. This will create an individual drumette from each wing, making each an ideal hand-sized snack.
Combine the flour, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge each piece of chicken in this mixture and place on a baking tray. Bake for 35 minutes, turning the chicken once partway through.
Prepare the glaze by combining the red wine vinegar, hot sauce, and chipotle chili with adobo sauce in a small sauce pan and bringing to a simmer. Whisk in the honey, sugar, butter, mustard, chili paste, salt, and pepper.
Toss the wings in the glaze and then bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, applying additional glaze part way through.
Serve wings with dipping sauce and mixed vegetables (celery, carrot sticks, jicama).
There are a number of variations that can be done. Bottled bleu cheese dressing or even ranch dressing can be substituted as a dipping sauce in a pinch (Although the yogurt sauce is highly recommended). The glaze is also very flexible in its composition and can be based on ingredients on hand. The mustard can be plain yellow, dijon or honey variety. Sriracha could be substituted for the chili paste. Molasses could be used instead of brown sugar or honey. Different kinds of hot sauce and chili powders could also be used to alter the flavor and spiciness of the glaze also.
The final product can be tailored to individual tastes and based on how hot you like your wings. The core recipe is meant to be a guide to creating something moderately spicy with tangy and sweet notes. Customize and alter to suit your tastes and spice comfort zone and call them your own.