Hot Honey Wings
Wings in a light seasoned-flour coat, fried crisp and tossed in melted butter, chili-infused honey, cider vinegar and red pepper flakes: sweet first, heat second.
Honey and chilies have been mixed in many cultures (Wikipedia:), but the American craze has a clear starting point. Mike's Hot Honey says its founder, Mike Kurtz, found jars of honey with chilies on the tables of a pizzeria in Brazil while studying abroad in November 2003, settled on his own chili-infused honey in December 2004, brought a bottle to Paulie Gee's pizzeria in Brooklyn in August 2010 while apprenticing there, and started bottling it at the bar that November after the Hellboy pizza, drizzled with it, became a hit. Kurtz told The Takeout the Brazilian pizzeria's owner was Swiss and that hot honey is not a Brazilian tradition (Lauren Harkawik, January 10, 2023:). Wikipedia dates the trend to the early 2020s and lists fried chicken among its most common uses. Wings were the next obvious stop.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Wings in a light seasoned-flour coat, fried crisp and tossed in melted butter, chili-infused honey, cider vinegar and red pepper flakes: sweet first, heat second.
🇺🇸 The original
The Buffalo original is plain: wings fried without any breading, tossed in a hot sauce and melted butter, served with celery and blue cheese dressing. See the Buffalo Wings (Anchor Bar Style) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
A whisper of flour
A thin seasoned dusting fries crisp and gives the sticky glaze something rough to hold on to.
Vinegar in the glaze
A splash of cider vinegar cuts the honey's sweetness and keeps the glaze from tasting like candy.
Step by step
- Step 1
Mix the flour, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne in a large bowl. Pat the wings dry, add them and toss until evenly coated.
- Step 2
Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°F.
- Step 3
Fry the wings in batches, without crowding, 8 to 12 minutes per batch, until browned and crisp and the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- Step 4
Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a rack set over a baking sheet. Let the oil come back to 350°F between batches.
- Step 5
Whisk the melted butter, hot honey, vinegar and red pepper flakes in a large bowl.
- Step 6
Add the hot wings and toss until fully coated. Serve right away.
Hot Honey Wings
Serves 3 (as a main; 6 to 8 as a snack) · about 16 wing pieces and about 1/2 cup glaze · 40 min total
Wings
- 2 lb chicken wings, split into drumettes and flats, tips removed
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- Vegetable oil, about 2 inches deep, for frying
Hot honey glaze
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup hot honey (store-bought or see Tips)
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Method
- Mix the flour, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne in a large bowl. Pat the wings dry, add them and toss until evenly coated.
- Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°F.
- Fry the wings in batches, without crowding, 8 to 12 minutes per batch, until browned and crisp and the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto a rack set over a baking sheet. Let the oil come back to 350°F between batches.
- Whisk the melted butter, hot honey, vinegar and red pepper flakes in a large bowl.
- Add the hot wings and toss until fully coated. Serve right away.
Adapted from Food Network Kitchen, "Hot Honey-Glazed Wings", as written. Food Network calls 2 lb of wings 6 to 8 servings; we call it 3 main-course servings. The ingredient list omits the salt amount; the directions say 2 teaspoons. The 165°F check is from USDA FSIS. Food Network. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- No hot honey? Our quick version: warm 1/2 cup honey with 1 to 2 tsp red pepper flakes over low heat for 5 minutes (do not boil), let it steep 15 minutes and strain if you like.
- Toss the wings while they are hot; the glaze thickens as it cools.
- Serve with blue cheese or ranch and celery, Buffalo style.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Mike's Hot Honey invented hot honey. Disputed: it is often treated that way, but the company's own story starts with chili honey already on a pizzeria's tables in Brazil, and Wikipedia says chilies and honey have been combined in many cultures.
- Hot honey is a Brazilian tradition. Disputed: often repeated; Kurtz told The Takeout it isn't.
- Hot honey reached America through pizza. Documented for the brand: its first sales were off the bar at Paulie Gee's in 2010 (company page).
- It is a 2020s trend. Documented (Wikipedia: emerged as a trend in the early 2020s).
Every other wing
Buffalo Wings (Anchor Bar Style)
Unbreaded wings fried crisp and tossed in a buttery cayenne pepper sauce, served with celery, carrots and a chunky blue cheese dressing, the way Buffalo's Anchor Bar made them famous.
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Crisp fried wings tossed in melted butter with a little hot sauce, lemon and honey, then showered with a homemade lemon pepper seasoning: Atlanta's favorite way to order wings.
DC Carryout Wings with Mambo Sauce
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Garlic Parmesan Wings
Oven-baked wings with crackly skin, tossed in melted butter with fresh garlic, Parmesan and parsley and run under the broiler: the no-heat wing found on many American wing menus.
Nagoya Tebasaki (Sweet Soy Chicken Wings)
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Inspired by, not official: plain fried wings tossed in a creamy sauce of roasted garlic, mayonnaise, Parmesan, lemon and dried herbs, in the style of the sports-bar chain's Parmesan Garlic flavor.
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