On a Wing and a Prayer

We had these wings during the first Packer game with returning refs. Originally I was going to name them, "Welcome Back Wings," but during that game "The Honeymoon Is Over" became a more appropriate title. Whether your squad is playing dismal or amazing ball, these wings will heat things up.

I've seen a lot of Sriracha-Honey recipes, including a particularly tasty one from Food Republic. Adding maple syrup brings an autumn appeal and complexity to these sweet-hot-butter-sticky wings, and I opt for baking the wings rather than deep frying. We made one batch sans butter for our dairy-free daughter and those wings were even stickier than the butter-added version.

Sriracha Maple Honey Wings
3 to 4 pounds chicken wings
Several tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup Sriracha hot sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup white rice wine vinegar
5 cloves garlic, smashed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 stick butter, cut into 1 tablespoon chunks

Toss wings with vegetable oil and place single layer in heavy, deep sided roasting pot. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, flipping wings half way through baking.

Bring remaining ingredients to simmer over medium heat in saucepan, stirring frequently and adjusting measurements to your taste (more hot sauce if you like fire, more maple if you like sweet). When butter is melted, remove sauce from heat.

Toss wings with sauce and return to oven for additional 10 minutes. Serve hot with ranch dressing on the side.