Honey Bourbon Balsamic Chicken Wings with Granny Smith Apple Slaw
Around here, the roasting of a whole chicken is a pretty regular occurrence. Nothing beats a bird hot out of the oven, and once you’ve got the hang of it, there’s no going back to store bought rotisserie. I like to cook a whole chicken at the beginning of the week, have leftovers accessible for extra busy nights, and a bunch of bones to make an amazing broth. Luckily, my house only has two eaters in it, so there’s no fighting over the chicken wings.
The wings are my favorite, and my husband loves me so much, he sometimes lets me have both. Such a gentleman he is.
So while I love a whole chicken, sometimes an oven full of juicy wings is what you really want. Especially when they are smothered in a sticky, bourbon infused sauce.
Then they are definitely what you want.
Americans seem to have an infatuation with sauces, and also sweet things. It was something that astounded K when he and I first relocated here from Greece. “Why is everything so sweet?” And this was coming from a man who has never declined an offer to dessert.
The reason everything is so sweet is because we load it all with sugar, or more accurately, corn syrup. The sweet stuff hides everywhere, and in places that seem to have no need for it, resulting in the average American eating 130 pounds of it each year. Bottled sauces are one of the worst offenders, and dousing your food in them isn’t something that I would recommend, especially when you’ve taken the effort to source responsibly raised meat (you are doing that, right?)
That being said, there is nothing wrong with a little sweet here and there- just as long as it’s coming from naturally sweet sources that don’t require a lot of refining to get them that way.
This sauce is super easy and doesn’t take a degree in chemistry to decipher the ingredient list. Honey, bourbon, balsamic vinegar. Some black pepper and red chili flakes if you are like me and crave a little heat. Got to have something to balance out the sweet.
So chicken wings covered in sticky sauce can in fact be a part of a real food diet, as long as you’re careful about sourcing your ingredients.
You’re welcome for that, by the way.
These saucy wings pair perfectly with the Granny Smith apple slaw I decided to match them up with. Granny Smiths are more tart than other apple varieties due to their lower sugar content. I love how crunchy they are, and I can never resist picking up a few because they look so pretty sitting in my kitchen until we eat them.
Edible decor is something I’m really into.
And so are these wings, although they didn’t last long enough to be used as decoration, pretty as they are. They quickly turned into a pile of bones that have since made their way to my freezer, destined to become an amazing pot of broth. One meal, turned into two, and nothing wasted. Reason enough to make another oven full of wings, I think.
The best part of following a real food diet is that you never have to sacrifice taste. When you eat to nourish your body, delicious food is just a convenient benefit.
Bottoms up!
Honey Bourbon Balsamic Chicken Wings with Granny Smith Apple Slaw
Ingredients
For the Wings
- 3.5 lbs chicken wings (organic or pasture raised)
- salt, pepper
- drizzle of olive oil
For the sauce
- 3 oz bourbon
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- black pepper
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
For the slaw
- 4 cups shredded red cabbage
- 2 granny smith apples
- 3 tbs greek yogurt
- juice of one or two lemons
- 2 tsp whole grain mustard
- 1 tbs honey
- fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Remove chicken wings from refrigerator to take off the chill. Preheat oven to 400.
- Rinse chicken wings and pat dry. Arrange in one layer on a baking sheet, use a metal rack if you prefer crispy chicken wings. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake wings for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
- While wings bake, add all ingredients for sauce into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and allow to simmer until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 15 minutes) Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- While sauce reduces, mix greek yogurt, juice of one lemon, mustard, honey, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl. Mix to combine.
- Finely slice cabbage and apples and chop parsley leaves. Add to mixing bowl with dressing and stir to combine. Taste, and add additional lemon juice if desired.
- After 30 minutes of baking, remove chicken wings and transfer to mixing bowl. Pour 3/4 of sauce over wings, using tongs to toss and coat. Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.
- Transfer wings to serving dish and drizzle with remaining sauce. Serve with slaw.
Better bring your napkins!
11 responses to “Honey Bourbon Balsamic Chicken Wings with Granny Smith Apple Slaw”
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Oh my gosh, this chicken looks so finger-lickin’ good! The sauce….that gorgeous slaw. I’m totally drooling! These would be so perfect for game-day. ๐
All that sticky bourbon sauce is seriously making my mouth water.. these chicken wings look incredible!
I’m vegetarian but I would eat this right now. Flavorful. ๐
Hi Allyson, I just found your blog today and you have some seriously gorgeous pictures! Right now and peaking at these chicken wings in my office (don’t tell my boss!) and feeling more hungry than ever! This recipe makes me think of a nice glass of Old-Fashioned. I think the drink and these wings will by my snack this Friday night ๐
Wow, those chicken wings are definitely making my mouth water! Love the idea of putting the apple in the slaw too. What a fabulous (and healthy!!!) game day recipe!
What a nice combination! As an apple-lover, I have got to try that slaw. The wings are perfect for this weekend, too ๐
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Hi Allyson, Found your site because of my search for red cabbage coleslaw. I was excited to try it because of the addition of Green Apple ๐. It sounded delicious! Unfortunately the dressing didnโt work out. My One small organic lemon ๐ yielded 1/4 cup of juice which seemed like a lot to add to the other few ingredients. Luckily I didnโt squeeze the 2nd lemon as listed in the recipe. So just the 1 lemon was WAY too sour, and I like sour. I didnโt want to add more honey so I had to add 2 Tbsp EV Olive oil, then 1/4 cup of Hellmanโs mayo and Lots of Salt and pepper, and then still had to also add 1/2 Tbsp more honey. In the end it was tasty but I would appreciate if you will kindly update your recipe with exact measurements of lemon since every lemon is different. I also had no idea about the quantity of parsley if it was a main ingredient or just decoration so I left it out.
Hi Linda, thanks very much for taking the time to leave feedback on the recipe! I’ve updated it to be a little more clear about the lemon — you’re right that lemons will vary in size and tartness, so I appreciate you providing your experience.
Hello, the Lemon quantity for the slaw wasnโt updated. Imstarted with 1Tbsp which was equal to the honey. I added a splash or two more for taste, so I will start with that again. Thanks for the recipe, it is delicious!
glad you liked it!