I absolutely adore a good chicken wing tossed in something sweet and sticky, That crispy skin and juicy interior all coated in a great sauce is something is will always want, but chicken wings can be kind of pricey to order out and it can be tough to get the texture just right without an industrial sized deep fryer…. until now.
If you follow my blog, it won’t be much of a surprise to hear me say that I am obsessed with cast iron. It’s just so wonderful to cook with. Now, I usually bake chicken wings on a rack (like in my butter curry chicken wing recipe) and I did not feel like deep frying anything today (its 112 degrees here in the desert!), so I pulled my favorite cast iron skillet out and long story short, I have a new favorite method for making the best chicken wings.
Let’s get started…
Prepping the wings is the hardest part of the whole process and once you start making wings at home, you will get good at it. Use a sharp knife or poultry sheers to cut the wings into sections. Working at the joints, separate them into drumettes, flats and tips. Discard the tips and rinse the drumettes and flats under cool water.
Thoroughly dry the wings with paper towels and place them into a large bowl. Season generously with your favorite spice blend, steak seasoning or dry rub.
Today, I am using a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Lawry’s seasoned salt and black pepper, but most of our flavor is coming from the sauce today, so feel free to use what you have on hand.
Set the wings off to the side to come to room temperature while you prepare your skillet…
Place a large cast iron skillet onto the middle rack of your oven and preheat the oven with the skillet inside to 400 degrees.
Once the oven has preheated, carefully transfer the hot skillet out onto a heat proof surface and quickly close the oven door to trap as much heat as possible inside.
Carefully add 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil into the skillet and swirl it around a bit to coat the bottom and sides. Add the seasoned wings in a single layer and transfer the skillet back into the 400 degree oven.
Bake the wings for 40-45 minutes or until they are cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Would you take a look at those crispy wings? All of that seasoning has developed into a beautiful crust that released easily from the skillet. This is by far my favorite way to make wings now. No babysitting, no deep frying… I didn’t even flip them! Just season, bake and they are ready to either enjoy as is or be tossed in something delicious…
Speaking of a delicious sauce, we are going to get started on that honey hoisin sauce and the good news is that it takes about 20 seconds to prepare… no kidding.
Transfer the skillet onto your stovetop and turn the heat to medium. Push all of the wings to one side of the pan and add a tablespoon of butter, 3 tablespoons of honey and 1/2 cup of hoisin directly into the skillet.
As soon as the butter, honey and hoisin begins to bubble up, turn off the heat, but leave the skillet on the burner.
Toss the wings in the sauce and let them sit over the residual heat for a few minutes until the sauce gets all thick and sticky.
If you’d like to garnish your wings, I love adding white sesame seeds and thinly sliced chives, but this is purely cosmetic.
These wings are truly fantastic. There is something extra good about wings that are so easy to make. Yes, they are absolutely delicious and I would work considerably harder to make them happen, but not having to do so makes them even better.
This sauce is sweet, smokey and beautifully sticky. The butter adds a silkiness and the honey caramelizes into something wonderful. If you aren’t familiar with hoisin, it is a Chinese sauce that has salty, tangy and subtly sweet flavors similar to a great barbecue sauce. You can find it at most grocery stores and once you use it to make these wings, you will most definitely fall in love with it.
If you are looking for a great wing recipe for game day, game night or just an emergency wing craving then you should definitely give these honey hoisin wings a try!
You are going to love them!
Honey Hoisin Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of chicken wings, trimmed and cleaned
- 2 tablespoons of your favorite spice blend, steak seasoning or dry rub
- 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil
Honey Hoisin Sauce
- 1/2 cup of hoisin sauce
- 3 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of butter
Garnishes
- white sesame seeds
- chives, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place a large dry cast iron skillet onto the center rack of your oven and preheat to 400 degrees
- While the oven and skillet are preheating, trim and clean the wings
- Dry them thoroughly with paper towels and season the wings generously with your favorite spice blend, steak seasoning or dry rub
- When the oven has preheated, carefully remove the cast iron skillet (it will be very hot) and place onto a heat proof surface*Be sure to close the oven door quickly to trap as much heat in the oven as possible
- Carefully pour 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil into the hot skillet and place the seasoned wings in a single layer into the skillet
- Bake the wings at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until they are cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees and the juices are clear
- When the wings are cooked through, transfer the skillet onto your stove top over medium heat
- Push the wings to one side of the skillet and add a tablespoon of butter, 3 tablespoons of honey and 1/2 cup of hoisin into the skillet
- Mix the butter, honey and hoisin together and then toss the wings in the sauce
- Turn the stove top off and let the saucy wings sit over the residual heat until the sauce becomes thick, glossy and sticky
- Garnish the wings with white sesame seeds and chives and enjoy immediately
