Bubba’s Honey Sting Wings with CC’s Honey Fire BBQ Sauce

The inspiration for this recipe came from my most recent trip to Kentucky where I attended this year’s Kentucky Bourbon Affair. One of this year’s evening events was a dinner with the Russell’s. What a fantastic evening where I was able to spend time with Jimmy, his wife Joretta and of course their son Eddie. We started the night off with drinks & appetizers on the 127-year-old Young’s High Bridge. Young’s’ a former railroad bridge, is now one of the highest bungee jumping sites and even if there was bungee jumping that evening, I’m not sure if I could have gone through with it.

We returned to the visitor’s center where we enjoyed a lovely dinner; we listened to music laughed from Jimmy & Eddie’s stories, and had the opportunity to taste any of 10 their products. Being that I have tasted the majority of their products, and the fact that several people I know had raved about it, I chose to try the Honey Sting.

Flavored whiskeys usually aren’t my thing, so I wasn’t sure exactly what I was expecting for the Honey Sting. I was initially nervous about the ghost pepper, but I was pleasantly surprised by its sweet yet fiery taste. So of course, thoughts of recipes started to fill my head, and I had to buy a bottle of it. Some of the lovely women working at the visitors’ center were kind enough to share with me how great the Honey Sting & Honey were to cook with and that I needed to try Bubba’s chicken recipe!

Bubba, (if you don’t know), is just about as well-known as the Wild Turkey distillery and the Great Jimmy Russell himself. Bubba is a retired Marine, who hangs out with Jimmy at the visitors’ center and gives tours around the distillery. He is known for sharing stories about him and Jimmy and occasionally even shares his favorite recipes made with Wild Turkey products. I’m sad that I didn’t personally get to meet Bubba that night, but hope that one day I may.

The Wild Turkey ladies shared Bubba’s chicken recipe with me, I added just “A Lil’ Dab” of course, and paired it with my special BBQ sauce. Even though I made a few tweaks to Bubba’s chicken recipe, I hope that I was still able to make him proud.

Stay Cool while eating these wings & remember to #EatResponsibly

BUBBA’S HONEY STING WINGS WITH CC’S HONEY FIRE BBQ SAUCE

MARINADE

• 1.5 lbs. Chicken Wings
• ¾ Cup Wild Turkey Honey Sting
• ½ Cup Pineapple Juice
• ½ Cup Pineapple chunks
• Thai Chiles (as many as you like, I added in 10)

1. For the chicken, season chicken wings with ½ Tbsp. salt & 1 tsp. black pepper, add the chicken to a Ziploc bag & add the Wild Turkey Honey Sting, pineapple juice, pineapple chunks & Thai chilies. Thai chilies are very HOT, so if you would like to cut back on the heat, do not add as many. I like the well balanced sweet & spicy taste with this recipe, and want to be hit with the heat of the spice first with a smooth finish, so I crank up the spice and add in 10 Thai chilies. Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 3-4 hours or for maximum flavor marinate this the chicken overnight.
2. When you are ready to cook your chicken, remove from & discard the marinade.
3. Turn your grill on low, temperature around 200-250 degrees, place chicken on the grill and baste the chicken with the BBQ sauce.
4. Continue to baste the chicken and keep the grill on low, slowly cook the chicken for 20-30 mins (depending on the thickness of your chicken) You could always smoke the chicken, if you have a smoker
5. Remove from the grill and serve with CC’s Honey Fire BBQ sauce for added flavor

CC’S HONEY FIRE BBQ SAUCE

• ½ Onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ¾ Cup Honey Sting Whiskey
• ½ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
• ½ Tbsp. Salt
• 2 Cups Ketchup
• ¼ Cup Tomato Paste
• 1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Liquid Smoke Flavoring
• ¼ Cup Worcestershire Sauce
• ½ Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Hot sauce

1. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onions & garlic, sauté until translucent & fragrant about 2-3 mins. Drop the heat to med-low & carefully add in the whiskey, simmer for 8-10 mins.
2. Stir in the salt, ground pepper, ketchup, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar & hot pepper sauce. Mix thoroughly.
3. Bring the heat up to med-high and bring the sauce up to a soft boil for 3-4 mins.
4. Reduce the heat back to low and simmers for the next 20 mins.
5. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cool you can either strain it if you prefer a smooth sauce or just place in a hermetic glass jar and store up to 3 months.