Fried chicken wings get tossed in a sweet and spicy glaze. The sauce is so good it’ll make you want to eat the whole batch of wings by yourself.
What’s up, September! We’re past Labor Day, the unofficial start of fall, and I’m sitting here on a rainy, slightly chilly Monday, thinking about the week ahead. I ate a bowl of soup for dinner that was leftover from some recipe development I did last week, but staring at the pictures of these whiskey maple chicken wings is making my stomach growl.
I was inspired for this recipe by an Instagram post from my friend Briana Riddock of The Seasoning Bottle for her lemon pepper wings. I had a package of chicken wing sections in my freezer that were just begging to be turned into something delicious. I’ve experimented with baked flavored wings in the past, but watching Briana make her recipe encouraged me to not be lazy and fry them, which yields better results when you are tossing the chicken in a sauce. I fried them naked (i.e. without any sort of breading) partly to cut a few calories, but mostly because I’m lazy and wanted to save a step.
The sauce is a combo of maple syrup, whiskey (whatever you have on hand will do, including Bourbon, Scotch, or rye), vinegar, gochujang, and brown sugar. The gochujang adds a nice earthy spiciness to play off the flavors in the whiskey. The maple syrup and brown sugar impart sweetness with depth (as opposed to white sugar), while the vinegar balances it all out with a bit of brightness.
These are great for fall sports games (are people still watching the NFL?) or really anytime you’re looking for some finger-licking good chicken wings. Yes, you can share them, but I ended up eating almost the entire batch when I made this recipe. So pour a glass of whiskey, grab some napkins, and consider yourself warned.
Whiskey Maple Chicken Wings Recipe
Fried chicken wings get tossed in a sweet and spicy glaze. The sauce is so good it'll make you want to eat the whole batch of wings by yourself.
Ingredients
- Oil, for frying*
- 3 pounds wing sections, patted dry with paper towels
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup whiskey**
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons gochujang
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Fill a cast iron skillet with 1/2 inch frying oil and heat to about 350˚F.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. In batches, fry the chicken wings, turning as needed, until golden brown all over and fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to drain.
- Add the remaining ingredients to a skillet or sauce pan and simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the fried wings and sauce to a large bowl and toss to coat. Serve with plenty of napkins.
Notes
*I used a mixture of grapeseed oil and leftover bacon grease for my frying oil. You could also use corn, vegetable, or peanut oil.
**Any type of whiskey will do, including Bourbon, Scotch, or rye.
I was just looking for another reason to hit my local Chinese grocery store 🙂 These look graet– can’t want to try them!