Baked or Grilled to a beautiful golden brown and kissed with honey, this healthy Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wing Recipe is Party Girl Diet approved - and uses my personal "skinny swaps" such as V- 8 juice instead of hot sauce, and olive oil instead of butter to reduce the sodium and saturated fat content - making this one super delicious and healthy chicken wing recipe to serve up at your next party.
PLUS - We've got the SexyAbsDiet.com Blog Secret Spice Rub recipe to add even more tasty abs nutrition. And the best party is...The SexyAbsDiet.com Blog's Sweet & Spicy Hot Wings are so sinfully delicious - no one but you will know you're hot wings recipe is super healthy too.
Party Girl Diet Approved SexyAbsDiet.com Sweet & Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wings:
Prep/Cooking Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Prep: Rinse approximately 4 pounds of chicken wings - or chicken fingers if you prefer boneless (separated at joints - drummettes and wings, tips discarded) pat dry, and set a side.
Preheat outdoor grill for high heat; or preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, combine the following SexyAbsDiet.com *Spices to create a "sexy abs spice rub" in a large mixing bowl and mix well:
*1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
*1 tablespoon powdered garlic - OR 3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic (please do not use garlic salt)
*2 teaspoons ground cumin (Or Turmeric)
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
dash sea salt
1 tablespoon dry mustard
Few tablespoons of olive oil for drizzling prior to baking or fat free olive oil cooking spray
Optional - 1 or 2 bottles of low-fat or fat free blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping, celery stalks, trimmed, and cut into 1/4 wide dippers.
*Spices marked with a "*" are super healthy for you, and offer sexy abs benefits.
Then combine the following Ingredients to make The SexyAbsDiet.com Sweet & Spicy Sauce:
1 cup honey (local and organic if possible)
1 cup low-sodium Spicy V-& Juice (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of Louisiana style hot sauce which is off the charts in sodium).
1/2 cup Olive Oil - First old Press (original recipe calls for 3/4 cups butter - which is a lot of saturated fat)
2 tablespoons reserved SexyAbsDiet.com spice rub, from above.
After blending all of the dry spice ingredients well, reserve a few tablespoons of the mixture for use in the Sweet & Spicy Sauce. Add the cleaned wings to the mixing bowl of spices and stir to be sure all of the wings get some of the rub on them. You can cover (loosely) and refrigerate for a few hours OR cook immediately - see **cooking directions below.
When you are ready to cook the wings:
**For the grill: Cook the wings over direct heat until they are golden brown and crispy, about 15 to 25 minutes. Turn them over and put them on indirect heat, flipping frequently, as required. (Be sure they do not char)
Oven method: Prepare a baking sheet with a tinfoil liner (if you prefer to avoid a mess) and place a nonstick wire rack on top. Line up your wings on the rack, drizzle with olive oil or spray with fat free olive oil cooking spray, and bake them for 45 to 55 minutes, turning halfway through the baking process. Keep an eye on them, turning more frequently if needed!
While the wings are grilling/cooking, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the honey, olive oil, and low sodium spicy V-8 juice stirring frequently. Add the reserved 2 tablespoons of the *spice mix. Bring to a simmer (sauce will naturally thicken slightly) and keep warm until ready to use.
When the wings are done baking or grilling, add the wings to a large mixing bowl, pour in the sauce and mix to coat well. Place the wings on a tin foil lined baking sheet pan (no wire rack required at this step) and pop the sauced up wings under the broiler for a few minutes to heat through right before serving.
Serve family style on a large platter lined with leaf lettuce, traditional celery stalks, and provide fat free or low-fat dipping ranch or blue cheese dressings on the side. Until next time...keep the party going ~ Aprilanne
