Jason has a major thing for spicy wings so I’m always trying out different wing recipes. The last one I made was just too spicy without much flavor so I decided to try this particular recipe, which turned out to be exactly what I wanted – spiciness with an enjoyable flavor to it.

Now I’m not going to lie – it was definitely one of those tedious recipes that took about an hour but the 3 bastings done every 10 minutes was well worth it. It had a well-balanced sweetness to it yet the spiciness from the Frank’s Red Hot, Sriarcha, and cayenne pepper had such a nice balance with one another. Jason enjoyed it very much and said this was his favorite wing dish yet. Yes!

Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken Wings (adapted from My Baking Addiction):

Yields 6 servings

  • 3 pounds chicken wings and drums
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup honey, divided
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
  • 2 teaspoons Sriracha
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack inside; coat rack with cooking spray. (Lining your pan with foil is crucial – it will save you a lot of work. You’ll see how much of a mess it becomes in the last picture.)

Rinse the wings in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Season the wings liberally with pepper, to taste.

Place the wings on top of the prepared rack.

Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Once the wings have baked for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and glaze both sides with 1/2 cup honey, using metal tongs to turn.

Place the wings back into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

To prepare the sauce, combine the melted butter, remaining 1/2 cup honey, Frank’s Red Hot, Sriracha, cayenne and garlic powder in a small bowl. (You can control the level of heat by increasing or decreasing the amount of cayenne and Sriracha.)

While the wings are baking, baste both sides with the sauce every ten minutes.

Once the wings have baked for 30 minutes, increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake for an additional 15 minutes. (It gets a bit smoky during these last 15 minutes so be sure to turn your ventilation system on!)

Serve immediately.