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Home » All Recipes » Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

May 15, 2019 by Dedra | QueensleeAppetit 19 Comments

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These Honey BBQ Chicken Wings are juicy, tender and flavourful. They’re covered in a blend of spices, baked to a crisp and then tossed in the best Honey BBQ Sauce!

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details. 

Even though this blog mainly focuses on sweet dessert recipes, I still like to post a good ole Savoury recipe from time to time. I’ve noticed that although I have a perfect Fried Chicken Recipe, I don’t have any recipes for chicken wings! And with Memorial Day coming up, I figured you’d all appreciate the perfect chicken wing recipe to make and serve at your gatherings. 

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

I first made this recipe back in January for a catering order. I didn’t even think about sharing it on the blog because I didn’t really get to taste test it. It wasn’t until I received an email from my client raving about how amazing the wings were and asking if I could make more. 

After making her another order of wings, I made a few batches for myself and my family and holy freaking moly these are without a doubt the best wings I’ve ever had! Since then, I think I’ve made these wings about 10 more times because everyone who tried them (including myself) couldn’t get enough and insisted I made more! 

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

I’ll be honest, if I were to go to a restaurant and order chicken wings, BBQ wouldn’t even be in my top 5 flavour options. I’ve never really been a fan of BBQ, but I can say with full confidence that that is no longer the case. 

Everything about these wings are AMAZING!! From the crispy perfectly seasoned chicken to the heavenly sweet and tangy Honey BBQ Sauce! They’re ridiculously easy to make, which is both a good thing and a bad thing because I can easily eat an entire tray of these babies without even noticing. 

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

How to Make the BEST Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

I have quite a few tips for making the most perfect chicken wings. 

First things first: wash your wings! I always wash my wings with equal parts of cold water and vinegar, then I add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and allow the wings to soak for about 20-30 minutes. 

This method removes the fatty residue from the chicken’s skin. My grandmother taught me this method and we all know grandmother’s are never wrong when it comes to cooking, especially chicken, so I highly recommend you wash your wings this way. 

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

How to Dry Your Chicken Wings

The most common way to dry chicken wings is to pat them with a clean paper towel. If you don’t have a lot of time, you can definitely use this method. 

However, I recently learned a different way to dry wings, which is to place them on a rack lined baking sheet. Then I placed them in the refrigerator uncovered for 3 hours (you could leave them for 1 hour), turning them halfway through so they can dry evenly on both sides. I cleared the entire top half of my fridge just to avoid cross contamination. 

This method is supposed to create a super crispy skin on the chicken once it’s baked, and it did! I tried one of the wings without the BBQ sauce coating and they were some of the crispiest wings I’ve ever tasted!

Chicken Wings drying on a rack

Five Spice Seasoning Blend

One thing I don’t play with when it comes to cooking chicken, is the seasoning. These wings are seasoned to perfection with 5 simple seasonings: salt (I prefer kosher), black pepper, hot chilli powder, smoked paprika and garlic powder. 

Add an equal amount of each seasoning to a small bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle seasoning blend onto the chicken about 1/4 to 1/3 at a time, tossing with a wooden spoon after each addition. I like doing this because it ensures that every inch of the wings are coated in the seasoning. 

Now, if you have time to spare, you could cover the wings and place them in the refrigerator overnight to allow the seasonings to meld with the chicken and enhance the flavour. You don’t HAVE to do this, though because the few times I’ve made these wings, I just baked them immediately after adding the seasoning and they were still incredibly tasty. 

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Hot Chilli Powder and Smoked Paprika seasoning blend

Baking the Wings

We’re gonna bake the wings at a high temperature of 425°F, for 20 minutes on one side and 25 minutes on the other side so it bakes evenly. I baked the wings on a parchment lined baking sheet, because unfortunately the oven rack I bought to bake the chicken on couldn’t fit in my tiny little oven. So if you do have a baking rack, I highly recommend using it. But if you don’t, no worries, the chicken will still be nice and crispy. 

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

The Best Honey BBQ Sauce

Guys this sauce, THIS SAUCE!!! This is a big reason as to why these are mine and a lot of my family’s new favourite wings. This sauce is the literal definition of “finger-licking-good”. It’s so good that I always end up wiping the excess sauce off the plate and licking it clean. It’s my absolute FAVOURITE wing sauce!

The type of BBQ sauce you use plays a huge part in how the sauce turns out flavour wise. I’ve tried a lot of different BBQ sauces, but there’s one sauce in particular that I have fallen in love with: Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce! 

A little Disclaimer: I am NOT sponsored by Sweet Baby Ray’s, and all opinions are my own. However if you click on the affiliate link above to purchase this amazing BBQ sauce from amazon, I will make a small commission. 

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I just want to say that, in my opinion, Sweet Baby Ray’s is the best brand of BBQ sauce. I have yet to try any better and it’s the main thing that makes the wing sauce so darn amazing. If you can’t find this brand, you can substitute it for any other brand. As long as you use a BBQ sauce that you really enjoy, then the sauce will still be amazing for you. 

Chicken Wings with Honey BBQ Sauce

How to Make Honey BBQ Sauce

Sweet Baby Ray’s and other BBQ sauce brands sell their own Honey BBQ Sauce, but I prefer to make my own from scratch and recommend you do to. It’s completely fool proof, trust me. 

Start by melting some butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the BBQ sauce, honey and a bit of ketchup. Mix the sauce ingredients together and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. That’s all! Fool-proof. 

Once the chicken has finished baking, place it in a large bowl, then pour the sauce over and toss with a wooden spoon to coat all the wings. You could brush the sauce onto both sides of the wings, but I find this method to be much easier. Place wings back onto baking sheet, then return to oven to bake for a few more minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the wings look beautifully caramelized. 

This is pretty much the main reason I wish I had a rack to bake the wings on. On the parchment paper, the sauce pools and slightly burns on the bottom. This isn’t a huge problem at all, but a rack would prevent this from happening. 

Pouring Honey BBQ Sauce on top of Baked Chicken Wings

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

There you have it! The most perfect Honey BBQ Chicken Wings you’ll ever make. These are perfect for Game Day, parties, Summer Barbecues or just for lunch, dinner or a midnight snack (I couldn’t help myself). So ditch the take-out wings and give these a try. They’re much cheaper and taste just as good, if not better than the wings you get from a restaurant! 

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings dipped in Ranch dressing

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings dipped in Ranch dressing

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Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

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Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

Yield: 30 chicken wings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 4 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 9 minutes

These Honey BBQ Chicken Wings are juicy, tender and flavourful. They’re covered in a blend of spices, baked to a crisp and then tossed in the best Honey BBQ Sauce!

Ingredients

To Wash Wings:

  • 3 and 1/2 - 4 lbs. chicken wings, tips removed, drums and flats separated
  • Cold Water
  • Vinegar
  • 1 lemon

Seasoning Blend:

  • 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Honey BBQ Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray’s)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 Tbsp ketchup

Instructions

Washing and Drying the Wings:

  1. Place a wire rack on top of a parchment lined baking sheet. The rack and sheet should be close to the same size. Set aside. 
  2. Wash the chicken wings with equal parts of cold water and vinegar. Cut lemon in half and squeeze one half of the juice into the water/vinegar. Allow wings to soak for about 20-30 minutes, then drain the water (Note 1).
  3. Line the wet wings on the wire rack and place in the refrigerator uncovered to dry for about 1 hour or overnight. Flip the wings halfway through so both sides can dry evenly. If you don’t have much time, you can go ahead and pat the wings dry with a clean paper towel. (Note 2). 

For the Chicken Wings:

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. If you have an oven proof rack that fits on top of your baking sheet, you can place that on top. 
  2. In a small bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, hot chilli powder, smoked paprika and garlic powder. 
  3. Place all the chicken in a medium bowl, then sprinkle on 1/3 of the seasoning blend. 
  4. Use a wooden spoon to toss the wings and coat the wings. Continue to sprinkle on more and more of the seasoning blend while tossing the wings until all the seasoning has been added (Note 3). 
  5. Line all the wings onto the lined baking sheet, don’t worry about them touching. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the wings and flip them to the other side. Return to oven and bake for another 25 minutes. While wings are baking, prepare the Honey BBQ Sauce. 

For the Honey BBQ Sauce:

  1. Add the unsalted butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until melted. 
  2. Once butter has melted, add the BBQ sauce, honey and ketchup. Stir to combine, then allow to come to a simmer. 
  3. As soon as the sauce begins to simmer, decrease the heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes. 
  4. When the wings have finished baking, place them all into a large clean bowl. Pour the Honey BBQ Sauce over chicken, then use a clean wooden spoon to toss the wings until they’re completely coated in the sauce. 
  5. If you used parchment paper, it may be pretty dirty by now so feel free to replace it with a fresh sheet of parchment. 
  6. Place coated wings back onto lined baking sheet then return to the oven and bake for another 7-8 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and has caramelized. 
  7. Remove from oven and allow wings to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a serving platter. Enjoy! 

Notes

  1. If you want, you can pluck out the very fine “hairs” otherwise known as filaments which are natural parts of the chicken that get left behind when the feathers are removed. If you’ve ever eaten wings before, you’ve most likely eaten them so they’re not really a big deal. I spent a long time trying to pluck them out the first time I made these wings and didn’t bother after that and didn’t notice any difference. 
  2. I prefer drying my wings on a rack in the refrigerator rather than patting them dry with a paper towel, because not only can the paper towel leave behind bits of paper on the chicken, but leaving the wings uncovered in the refrigerator is supposed to help create a crispy skin on the chicken once they’re baked. 
  3. The reason you wanna add the seasoning blend in portions is so that every inch of the wings are covered. So add some of the mix, toss, then add more seasoning blend where you see uncovered spots. 
  4. If there’s any sauce remaining, store in a freezer safe ziplock bag and store in the freezer. I’ve noticed that this sauce does not freeze solid at all, so you won’t have to thaw it out. Just pour back into a saucepan and reheat before using again. 

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce, 18 Ounce (Pack of 2)
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    Utopia Kitchen 2 Quart Nonstick Saucepan with Glass Lid - Induction Bottom - Multipurpose Use for Home Kitchen or Restaurant
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    OXO Good Grips 12-Inch Stainless-Steel Locking Tongs
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    3 Piece Baking Gift Set - Aluminum Sheet Pan, SILMAT Silicone Baking Mat & Stainless Steel Cooling Rack
© Dedra | QueensleeAppetit
Cuisine: American / Category: All Recipes

BON APPÉTIT!

Love, Dedra

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Honey BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Dipping Sauce

 

©QUEENSLEE APPÉTIT. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.

Filed Under: All Recipes, Appetizers & Snacks, Dinner & Sides Recipes, Favourite Recipes, Game Day, Holidays, Savoury Tagged With: BBQ Chicken, chicken wings, Game Day, Honey BBQ

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Comments

  1. AvatarKim

    February 5, 2021 at 4:18 PM

    Want to make these for Super Bowl! Any special type of vinegar in particular?

    Reply
  2. AvatarKhaled Habiby

    December 21, 2020 at 7:12 AM

    As much as I love the idea and the recipe, as a german speaking I don’t know what tsp is. Is it teaspoon or tablespoon?

    Reply
    • Dedra | QueensleeAppetitDedra | QueensleeAppetit

      December 21, 2020 at 8:28 AM

      tsp = teaspoon and Tbsp = Tablespoon

      Reply
  3. AvatarLisa Villarreal

    September 1, 2020 at 9:26 PM

    Wow! These are amazing. I made some sweet potato fries on the side….sooo good!

    Reply
  4. Avatardanariffo

    August 13, 2020 at 6:44 PM

    These are fantastic!! Just the right spices and love that sauce!! My family thanks you!! Great job!!

    Reply
  5. AvatarJay Martin

    May 26, 2020 at 4:41 PM

    yup…I tried it and it was so bomb. They were better than the honey bbq at BWW…now that I can make it…they will not see me again since their prices have skyrocketed. Thank you so much…I was nervous about the portion sizes but they were spot on and I had so much extra sauce and I made 30 wings! I cant wait to see what else you’ve posted!

    Reply
    • Dedra | QueensleeAppetitDedra | QueensleeAppetit

      May 26, 2020 at 4:58 PM

      That’s so awesome to hear! I’ll be posting a sandwich version, whole chicken version and a recipe on how to make the sauce from scratch soon so stay tuned!

      Reply
  6. AvatarAmanda E.

    April 18, 2020 at 11:04 PM

    These are delicious!! Such an excellent recipe. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. AvatarDeirdre Logan

    April 15, 2020 at 6:25 PM

    When I first made these wings my husband said, “Well, we never have to go out for wings again.” Ha! They are so, so good. Although that vinegar and water thing gets me a little, it definitely makes a difference. I’m making them again tonight, and just wanted to say thanks for sharing your recipe.

    Reply
  8. AvatarJJ

    March 25, 2020 at 3:22 PM

    Dear Queen. JJ again. My family has requested this again right away😂. Want you to know I have taken an empty spice bottle and filled it your seasoning recipe, so I’ll have it for the future. Thanks again

    Reply
    • Dedra | QueensleeAppetitDedra | QueensleeAppetit

      March 25, 2020 at 9:41 PM

      I did the same thing myself! Made a big batch to have on hand to season different things. It’s so good!

      Reply
  9. AvatarTina

    March 24, 2020 at 8:10 PM

    I tried this recipe tonight……my family said they were the BEST wings they have ever had!!!! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe:-)

    Reply
  10. AvatarJJ

    March 23, 2020 at 6:09 PM

    Omg. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. Your seasoning ratio is perfect. Will be my go to for chicken going forward. Didn’t have sweet baby rays, so use Martha Stewart’s quick and easy barbecue sauce. Totally off the chain! Thanks again

    Reply
    • Dedra | QueensleeAppetitDedra | QueensleeAppetit

      March 23, 2020 at 6:26 PM

      Thanks for making it, I’m happy you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  11. AvatarLydia

    November 26, 2019 at 7:56 PM

    Just used this recipe! Me and my husband love it, so yummy

    Reply
  12. AvatarJon

    November 24, 2019 at 4:44 PM

    These wings are great! I used the rub and honey BBQ recipe but rather than putting them in the oven I threw them on my smoker for 2 hours at 250 degrees until they reached 165 then I put the BBQ on them and lowered the smoker temp to 200 to allow the BBQ to and let it set for another 10 minutes to allow the BBQ to carmelize a little bit. They turned out amazing!

    Reply
  13. AvatarZolile

    October 15, 2019 at 1:28 PM

    These look like they taste really good! What’s the white sauce on the side? How do you make it?

    Reply
    • Dedra | QueensleeAppetitDedra | QueensleeAppetit

      October 15, 2019 at 4:32 PM

      It’s just ranch dressing, I bought it from the grocery store.

      Reply
  14. Avatarsheenammuskaan

    May 22, 2019 at 2:50 AM

    These Chicken Wings look so delicious! Definitely trying the recipe super soon. 🙂

    Reply

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About Dedra

Some may say I’m addicted to desserts, and they are absolutely right! Baking is my passion and has been ever since I was 6 years old, it just took about a decade for me to realize it. Now I am devoted to creating the BEST sweet and savoury recipes from my tiny little kitchen and sharing them with the world!

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