Wings in a spiced honey bourbon marinade and oven baked to perfection!
My husband is a HUGE football fan. Unfortunately he’s been on a little bit of a diet lately and so he didn’t want me to go all out with my other Super Bowl recipes that I’ve made in the past years. …so I came up with these baked bad boys for the big Game Day instead. And he loved them.
It’s a simple spice rub with cornstarch that comes together as a sauce with honey and bourbon. The result of which is a crispy outer skin and juicy chicken inside. It really was delicious!
Don’t let the fact that football season is over stop you from trying these out on just a regular day or as a party appetizer.
- 18-20 (about 4lbs) chicken wings
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tbsp lemon pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/8 cup bourbon (I used Honey Bourbon)
- Juice of 1/2 a lime or lemon
- - Start by rinsing and cutting the chicken wings however you choose. (I like to keep just the drumlet and wing...throwing away the winglet as it has very little meat on it and tends to burn easily)
- - In a large mixing bowl measure out all the dry spices and ingredients (i.e- brown sugar, paprika, lemon pepper, onion powder, thyme, salt, black pepper, cayenne and corn starch and mix them all together.
- - Next mix in all the wet ingredients (honey, bourbon and lime/lemon juice) and stir well.
- - Add the chicken wings to the marinade and mix them around till they are all coated. (You can do this in a ziplock bag too). Allow the chicken to marinade in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes but preferably a few hours.
- - Pre-heat your oven to 400F and arrange the chicken on a raised rack (if you have one) over a foil lined baking sheet and pour the remaining marinade over the chicken. (If you don't have a raised rack...simply double line a baking sheet and place the chicken directly on it)
- - Bake the chicken wings for about 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven) turning them over half way through the cooking process, until they are golden brown with crispy burnt bits on it.
- - Serve the Honey Bourbon Chicken Wings hot with lime wedges and plenty of napkins! 🙂
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Gosh, it looks delicious! It’s a must try for me! Yum!
I’m cooking on youtube and I’ve just uploaded a recipe for homemade lasagna, hope you will check it out! Thank you! 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb7BAtQ_WqA
Thank you for an awesome recipe!
your photography is great, and so looks the chicken!
I loved bourbon whisky, because of the influence of different whisky bar here in hong kong, but I never try using it in chicken recipe. This is one of a kind, I wonder how this compliments with lemon. (I am clueless) So just to feed the curiosty I have, I’ll be trying this on weekends. This is a great read, indeed!
I had to leave a comment after trying this… It was absolutely fabulous! Finger-licking good, for sure! I slightly adapted it based on what I had available, as well as our personal taste. Even my picky husband loved it, so it’s definitely a keeper. I have tried other recipes from your website and they are all amazing (my favorite is the caramelized pork). Thanks!
I was really looking forward to trying this recipe. I followed it exactly with the exception that I used about half the amount of chicken. I was therefore surprised when I barely had enough marinade to cover the wings, with none left over. After 30 minutes in my new oven, the chicken was cooked but not browned or slightly crispy, and looked nothing like the pictures. The marinade was barely detectable and actually quite bland. I was very disappointed.
Hey Noreen, I’m a wing nut! These look amazing. Couple things I’d like to mention…first, I love your detail, and the pics really make it easy to understand. Thank you for that.
So, are the wings crispy? Also, would these be considered roasters, or fryers? Just wondering. We used to own a bar/restaurant, and we used to do a double cook to enhance crispiness. First in the oven…then cool down…then into the deep fryer. OMG…so crispy and tasty…
Cheers, Noreen
Tony.
Hi Tony, Firstly thanks for the compliments. 🙂 I would say the wings are more roasters and do not get as crispy as if you would deep fry them. I bet they would taste better fried!
I just want to say : THANK YOU THANK YOU…!!!
Pictures speak thousand words… thank you for providing detailed info and pictures of the recipes.
So confused I followed this almost to the tee and my wings look nothing like your’s. Probably don’t taste the same either as it seems there wasn’t enough sauce.
can I use lemon instead of lime..