Ancho BBQ Chicken Wings
This recipe for crispy baked chicken wings is perfect for game day, drenched in homemade ancho bbq sauce. You might need to make an extra batch.
It’s that time of year when we’re all talking about “game day”, “the big game”, “tailgaiting”, all those catch phrases that really mean one thing – Super Bowl! Well, there will be quite a LOT of games from now until then, but that is the ultimate game day, at least here in the U.S.
Then again, there is the UEFA Champions League Final, which is basically the European Super Bowl, and it is watched by more people than the U.S. Super Bowl. Not to mention the Cricket World Cup, The Olympics… oh heck!
Who cares?! The point is there will be a LOT of games all year long, darnit, and to be honest, I care more about the food anyway!
Like this recipe – Ancho BBQ Chicken Wings.
YES!
Chicken wings are one of my very favorite foods. I’m a cook so we obviously eat at home a lot, but when we go out, I swear that half the time it is for chicken wings. They’re great comfort food, and you don’t have to gorge yourself on them. Get yourself a half order and they will satisfy you.
The thing is, they’re almost always fried at restaurants. I LOVE me some chicken wings, but I do try to NOT eat fried food all the time, especially at home. I fry quite rarely, to be honest.
With these chicken wings, you can BAKE them and they’re wonderfully satisfying. Especially for your game day table.
Make a big batch of these and watch them all disappear. Seriously, you might need to make yourself an extra batch. Or THREE.
There is a restaurant near me that serves ups some pretty darned great chicken wings. It is a version of this very recipe – Ancho BBQ Chicken Wings, with their own homemade Ancho BBQ Sauce, so of course I had to give to you MY version.
It uses my very own Homemade Ancho BBQ Sauce Recipe, which is quite easy to make. You can make yourself a batch of this and keep extra on hand for quick and easy recipes. Drizzle it onto pulled pork, make BBQ style tacos, drench grilled chicken. You name it.
The restaurant near me also serves up what they call “Wild” sauce, which is essentially a mixture of their ancho bbq sauce and ranch dressing, and um, yeah, it’s pretty darned tasty.
So! Feel free to drizzle a bit of ranch onto these babies. Or maybe a bit of Mexican crema. Just to mix it up a little bit.
Dude. Seriously.
Just looking at these, I know what I want now for lunch. Chicken wings!
And yep, they’re definitely going onto my game day table! Let me know if you wind up making these, and if you do, let me know how they turned out for you. Send pics! Feel free to share! Best of luck to you and your team, no matter what game you’re watching.
Enjoy! — Mike H.
NOTE: I did this recipe for Chile Pepper Magazine’s latest issue. See my article on “Twists on Bar Food Classics”. I’ve done many features for them. If you’re interested in Chile Pepper Magazine, get yourself a subscription. I’ve added a link to the right where you can pick one up at Amazon (affiliate link, my friends!). Highly recommended. I am a regular contributor.
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Check Out Some of My Other Popular Chicken Wing Recipes
- Crispy Baked BBQ Chicken Wings
- Jalapeno-Cheddar Chicken Wings
- Grilled Ghost Pepper Chicken Wings
- Baked Ghost Pepper Chicken Wings
- Sticky Habanero Glazed Chicken Wings
- One-Pot Sweet and Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings
- Baked Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Wings
- Pressure Cooker Chicken Wings
- Grilled Jerk Chicken Wings
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
- 2 ancho chili peppers
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 ounces tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Dash of cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Soaking water or stock for thinning
- 2 pounds chicken wings separated and wing tips removed
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
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Make the sauce first. Dry roast the ancho peppers on a hot pan about 1-2 minutes per side. The peppers will puff slightly and the skins will begin to turn red.
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Set them into a large pot of boiling water and remove from heat. Let them soak covered in water for 30 minutes.
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Remove the stems and coarsely chop the anchos. Reserve the soaking liquid.
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Set the chopped anchos into a food processor.
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Heat the oil in a pan to medium heat and add the onion. Cook about 3-4 minutes to soften.
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Add the garlic and cook another minute or so, until you can smell the garlic. Add them to the food processor.
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Add the remaining sauce ingredients along with about 1-2 tablespoons of the soaking liquid. Process until it smooths out.
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The sauce will be thick at this point. You can add more soaking liquid to achieve your desired consistency.
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Adjust with salt and pepper, then press the sauce through a coarse strainer into a bowl.
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For the wings, pat them as dry, which helps with the crispiness. Add them to a large bowl.
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Add garlic powder, cayenne, paprika and baking powder. Toss to coat.
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Heat oven to 250 degrees. Set the wings onto a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Flip the wings.
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Increase oven heat to 425 degrees and bake another 30 minutes, or until the wings are cooked through and the skins are nice and crispy. You can also hit them with the broiler a couple minutes to crisp them up even more.
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Toss them with the ancho bbq sauce and sprinkle with fresh herbs.
Serves 2
3 comments
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The ancho chiles, are they dried or fresh?
Jeff, Ancho peppers are dried poblano peppers. Here is a link for your review: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-types/sweet-mild-chili-peppers/ancho-chili-peppers/
Outstanding ! Love the oven techique. #genius