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A plate of apple butter BBQ wings with carrot and celery sticks and a cup of creamy white dipping sauce, apples alongside.
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Apple Butter BBQ Chicken Wings

You are done bringing the same wings as everybody else to the tailgate. Set these down, step back, and see how long you get before the platter is empty.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
CHILL1 hour
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings (about 1/2 lb of wings each)
Calories: 189kcal
Author: Dee Broughton

Equipment

  • Rimmed baking sheet with wire rack
  • Aluminum foil
  • Small saucepan
  • Large mixing bowl
  • tongs
  • Thermapen

Ingredients

Wings

  • 2 pounds chicken wings, drumettes and flats
  • 2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Apple Butter BBQ Sauce

  • ⅔ cup apple butter
  • ⅓ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Dry the wings.

  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack on top. Pat the wings dry with paper towels until the skin feels tacky rather than slick.

Season.

  • Stir the baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and black pepper together, then toss the wings until every piece looks evenly dusted with no damp patches.
    Raw chicken wings in a glass bowl with the baking powder seasoning blend dumped over the top, before tossing.

Air chill

  • Arrange on the rack in a single layer with space between each one. Refrigerate uncovered at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours, until the skin looks dry and matte.
    Seasoned raw chicken wings spaced out on a wire rack set over a foil-lined sheet pan, ready for the uncovered chill in the fridge.

Bake

  • Heat the oven to 400°F.
  • Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are pale gold and fat has rendered onto the foil.
  • Flip each wing and bake another 20 to 25 minutes, until the skin is deep goldenand crisp at the edges. Pull at 185F to 190F in the thickest part of a drum, not 165F.
    Chicken wings baked until the skin is deep golden and crisp, still unsauced on the wire rack, with apples in the background.

Make the sauce

  • While the wings bake, make the sauce. Add the apple butter, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper to a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
  • Simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until it bubbles gently at the edges and coats the back of a spoon.
  • Finish off the heat. Stir in the butter until it disappears and the sauce turns glossy.
  • Reserve about ⅓ cup of sauce for serving.
    Apple butter BBQ sauce simmered smooth and glossy in the saucepan, thick enough to coat a wing, with apples in the background.

Toss, glaze, and serve

  • Transfer the hot wings to a large bowl, add just enough warm sauce to coat, and toss with tongs until every piece is lacquered and nothing pools in the bottom.
    Warm apple butter BBQ sauce poured over a bowl of crisp baked chicken wings, before they get tossed to coat.
  • Back on the rack in a single layer, 1 to 3 minutes without walking away, until the glaze bubbles, tightens, and darkens in spots.
  • Rest the wings for 2 to 3 minutes, until the glaze stops running and sets (becoing tacky to the touch). Then pile up the wings onto a platter and serve with the reserved sauce.
    Close up of apple butter BBQ wings on a green platter beside celery, carrots and a ramekin of reserved apple butter BBQ sauce.

Notes

  • The temperature is the recipe. 165F is the USDA safe floor, not the goal. Wings are full of collagen that needs the 180F to 190F range to melt into gelatin. At 165F the meat is safe but stringy; at 190F it releases from the bone clean. Wings carry enough fat that the extra 25 degrees will not dry them out.
  • The uncovered chill is the whole crispy-skin plan. Covering the tray traps the moisture you are driving off. If the wings look wet in the package, give them the full 8 hours.
  • Do not crowd the rack. Wings touching each other steam at the contact points and come out pale there no matter how long you bake. Two baking sheets will beat one crowded one every time.
  • Watch the broiler the entire time. The window between a bubbling glaze and a bitter one is about 45 seconds.
  • Make ahead: the sauce keeps 1 week refrigerated. The wings can be dry-brined and chilled up to 8 hours before baking.
  • Scaling: the seasoning and sauce both double cleanly. Wings do not — use two sheet pans rather than crowding one, and rotate them halfway.
  • Air fryer: same season and chill, single layer, go by temperature to 185F to 190F, then a short blast at the highest setting after saucing to set the glaze.
  • Storage: fridge 4 days airtight. Freeze UNSAUCED up to 2 months. Reheat on a wire rack at 400F for 8 to 10 minutes. Skip the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servings | Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 1597mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 838IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 1mg