These Raspberry Habanero Wings are sweet, tart, spicy, heavenly, and addictive. I quickly threw this together with a bunch of left overs from other recipes. I’m thrilled to share the results with you!
The frozen raspberries for this recipe came from my food share with Philly Foodworks. They were taking up room in the freezer so I figured I could either make a smoothie or some sort of sauce. Right next to the raspberries was the ginger which also came from Philly Foodworks. I’ve made raspberry ginger smoothies before but I didn’t have any of the soy milk I usually prefer. I did have some habaneros I decided not to use on that Citrus Walnut Broccoli Salad a few days ago. So now I’m thinking a sauce would be great with those frozen wings in the back of the freezer. I love making hot sauces. Let’s do this!
The next big question is whether to bake or fry the wings. If you’re baking wings you need to prep well ahead of time. As I did with the Ultimate Baked Honey Sriracha Wings, it’s ideal to air dry them for a couple hours or longer. There’s a process to making these (nearly) as crispy as a fried wing. I was short on time, excited to get this sauce on these flappers, and had never actually deep fried chicken wings before. I bought a liter of canola oil and broke out my candy thermometer.
How To Deep Fry Wings.
It goes without saying, you’re dealing with a vat of bubbling hot oil here so use caution. But don’t be afraid! You need a candy thermometer, a large heavy vessel, and 2-3 cups of frying oil. You can use canola, corn, or peanut oil. You’ll see I used a deep carbon pan for frying these wings – don’t do what I did. Use a large dutch oven and fill it less than half way with oil. Because I used a small pan I was only able to fry 2-3 wings at a time. Any more and it would have bubbled over. The only trick here is managing the temperature of the oil. You want to stick right around 360°F. The temperature will drop when you add the wings so pay attention to your flame.
Allow the chicken wings to come to room temp then thoroughly dry them on paper towel. Lightly dust wings with salt and corn starch on both sides. Prep your oil by heating in a large dutch oven to 370°F for 5 minutes. Cook in batches so you don’t over crowd the pot. Slowly add wings one at a time while maintaining temperature by slowly adjusting heat. Fry wings for 4-5 minutes and drain on paper towels. Allow wings to dry completely then transfer to a large bowl. Add a few tablespoons of Raspberry Habanero Sauce at a time and toss until just coated. Reserve extra sauce to drizzle over wings or for dipping.
The Raspberry Habanero Sauce only takes a few minutes to make. Right off the bat I want to say this is some awesome sauce you could use for anything – chicken, pork, cauliflower, etc. This recipe is written as I made it and how I like it – extra spicy. You should adjust the amount of chilis you use for your own taste. Finely chop 3 habanero chilis and sauté in 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil until tender. Add 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped ginger, honey, vinegar, and sugar and 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries. Stir the sauce with a wooden spoon as it cooks over medium low heat to break down the raspberries. If the sauce gets too thick add a few drops of water. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and allow to cool slightly before tossing with the wings.
Raspberry Habanero Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken wings
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 Tbs kosher salt
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
- 3 habanero chilis
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tbs finely mined ginger
- 2 Tbs white vinegar
- 2 Tbs sugar
Instructions
- WINGS
- Allow the chicken wings to come to room temp then thoroughly dry them on paper towel. Lightly dust wings with salt and corn starch on both sides.
- Prep your oil by heating in a large dutch oven to 370°F for 5 minutes.
- Cook in batches so you don’t over crowd the pot. Slowly add wings one at a time while maintaining temperature by slowly adjusting heat.
- Fry wings for 4-5 minutes and drain on paper towels.
- Try not to eat them!
- SAUCE
- Finely chop 3 habanero chilis and sauté in 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil until tender.
- Add 2 tablespoons each of finely chopped ginger, honey, vinegar, and sugar and 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries. Stir the sauce with a wooden spoon as it cooks over medium low heat to break down the raspberries. If the sauce gets too thick add a few drops of water.
- Transfer the sauce to a bowl and allow to cool slightly before tossing with the wings.
- COMBINE
- Allow wings to dry completely then transfer to a large bowl.
- Add a few tablespoons of Raspberry Habanero Sauce at a time and toss until just coated.
- Reserve extra sauce to drizzle over wings or for dipping.
Notes
- Never fill your frying vessel more than halfway will oil.
- Use a candy thermometer to monitor and maintain a 360-370°F temperature.
- Adjust habanero chilis to your taste. Three chilis was just right for me as I like my sauce extra spicy.
Inspiring. I love how you write. And now I am very hungry…