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Ever since I was a very young kid I enjoyed spicy food. I remember sitting at the table with my dad and brother over a Styrofoam container of wicked hot wings from the local pub. With our faces bright red, our noses running and sweat accumulating on our foreheads, we chowed until our lips burned like a wildfire.
Many years later, my love for all things spicy has not been tamed one bit. In fact, my condiment of choice is Sriracha, I’ll pretty much squirt it on anything that doesn’t contain sugar.
Since it’s Super Bowl week, I thought this would be the perfect time to share my favorite recipe for sweet and spicy chicken wings. You can definitely control the level of heat by simply backing off a bit of the cayenne and Sriracha. The honey adds amazing glaze factor that sends these wings over the edge! Serve these Sweet and Spice Chicken Wings with some homemade blue cheese or ranch dressing and a side of celery sticks and you’ll be all set for game night!
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds chicken wings and drums
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup honey, divided
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large jellyroll or broiler pan with foil and place a metal rack on top of the foil. Spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
- Rinse the wings in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
- Arrange wings on metal rack and season with pepper.
- Place wings in oven and set timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove the wings from the oven and brush the wings with ½ cup honey. Be sure to glaze both side of the wings, using metal tongs to turn.
- Place wings back into the oven, set the timer for 30 minutes, and prepare the sauce.
- In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, remaining 1/2 cup of honey, Frank’s Red Hot, Sriracha, cayenne, and garlic powder; whisk to combine.
- While the wings are baking, periodically baste both sides of the wings with the sauce (about every ten minutes). Once the timer goes off, crank the heat up to 400 degrees F and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Notes:
- Lining your pan with foil will save you a lot of work, trust me, you don’t want to skip this step. Baked honey and a pan equals a hot mess!
- Control the level of heat by increasing or decreasing the amount of amount of cayenne and Sriracha.
- Things may get a little smoky during the last 15 minutes of cooking, so be sure to turn your ventilation system on.
- Sriracha is typically found in the ethnic aisle of the grocery store.
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I am so glad I found your blog! This is the very recipe I have been trying to find. I am hosting a 70th surprise birthday get-together tomorrow for my mother, who is a lover of all things sweet & spicy. She is going to love these!! Thank you for posting this recipe. I tried a mini-batch last night and, wow… so yummmmm! My hubby & boys gobbled them up, even after a day full of Thanksgiving feast.
You have saved me many a trial and error by going it alone. I will definitely be a regular follower.
I just made these toady and they were very good. JUST the right amount of sweetness and spice! The only thing I would change is the amount of butter I use next time. Next time might be by the end of the week! I am so glad I found this! Thanks so much!
Made these tonight for dinner and they were amazing! Perfect amount of spicy and sweet! Will definitely make again!
Hi Jamie,
Wandered over here from…hmmm. Maybe Pioneer Woman?
My husband and oldest son LOVE wings. My hubby isn’t a big fan of sweet on them, though…he wants ’em straight spicy. If I decided to leave out the honey, would I need to change any of the other ingredients or reduce the cooking time?
Thanks!
Lori
Lori-
Thanks so much for stopping by from PW! Ya know, that is a very good question. I have made these wings many times, but never left out the honey. It imparts that sticky slightly sweet texture and taste that I wouldn’t want to be without! Sorry I can’t be of more help here, but if you do give it a shot, please let me know how it works out!
-Jamie
I have made these twice so far and they are AWESOME! The best part is that my kiddos love them, and they are the pickiest of eaters. I did tone down the spice a bit for them and they are still wonderful!!
This wing recipe was easy to follow and they were awsome! My kids really enjoyed them.
Dennis-
Woo-Hoo! I am so glad you enjoyed these! They are a family favorite around here!
-Jamie
I found your chococolate chip recipe on foodgawker and made them tonight. Amazing. I am putting an adapted recipe on my blog and linking yours!!! I also am a new follower!!!
I Love wings!!!
this recipe sounds really delicious! i cant wait to try this out. thank you for sharing this post.
Yum! These wings look fabulous… I always love the sweet and spicy combo!
I just realized I had better get my rear end to the store and pick up some wings! My boys will love these. I love glazing chicken with honey!