Hairy Bikers sticky chicken wings are baked not fried, so they come out glossy and dark in a soy, honey, and apricot glaze. That glaze comes from Our Family Favourites, where the wings serve 4 at around 320 kcal in about 50 minutes.
One of the Hairy Bikers reckons he can “strip the meat off a chicken wing in one go,” which shows how they rate these. The glaze earns that love, because it is all homemade, with dark soy, sriracha, honey, and apricot jam replacing any shop-bought sauce.
Getting that glaze to stick is all in the basting, because you turn the wings twice and spoon the marinade back over as they bake. Every basting adds another sticky layer, so miss it and the wings turn out pale and dull rather than dark and sticky.
Hairy Bikers Sticky Chicken Wings Recipe
Description
Whole wings soak in a marinade of dark soy, sriracha, garlic, honey, apricot jam, lime, and sesame oil for at least half an hour. They then bake until dark and sticky, turned and basted as they go, and finish with a scatter of chopped spring onions.
Ingredients
For the Wings
For the Marinade
To Serve
Instructions
- Make the marinade: Mix all the marinade ingredients together with a little salt, then add the wings and stir so they are properly coated. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or longer in the fridge for a deeper flavour.
- Heat the oven: Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4, then line a baking tray with baking parchment.
- Bake the wings: Lift the wings from the marinade, scraping off any excess, then spread them on the tray. Bake for about 40 minutes, turning twice and basting with the leftover marinade as they cook.
- Finish and serve: Once dark and sticky, scatter over the chopped spring onions, then serve with the optional blue cheese soured cream.
FAQs
How do I make the wings really sticky and glazed?
The apricot jam is the secret, since it melts and caramelises in the oven into a thick, glossy coat. Honey deepens it, while the dark soy and sriracha keep the glaze savoury rather than just sweet.
Most glazed chicken wings lean on sugar or ketchup, so this jam trick is what makes the Hairy Bikers version different.
Can I make them spicy honey glazed or milder?
Yes, the balance is easy to shift, because the sriracha brings heat and the honey softens it. For proper spicy honey glazed wings, add more sriracha, while an extra spoon of honey tips them milder.
The book stays gentle at one tablespoon of sriracha, so start there and adjust to taste. If you like that sweet-savoury hit, their sweet and sour chicken works in the same flavour world.
How long should the wings marinate?
At least 30 minutes, though longer is better, since the marinade needs time to sink into the skin. Leave them covered in the fridge for the morning or overnight, because a long soak makes the glaze cling harder.
I would not push past a day though, as the soy and lime can start to toughen the meat. The same soak-and-bake trick works beautifully on fish, which is how their salmon with chilli ginger sauce gets sticky.
Do these need frying like buffalo wings?
No, these are baked the whole way, so there is no oil and no deep-frying to deal with. The glaze does the job frying does for other wings, giving colour and stickiness straight from the oven.
If you would rather have them fried and fiery instead, their buffalo wings take the deep-fried, hot-sauce route.
Is this the same as “ice glazed” chicken wings?
No, and this catches a lot of people out. Ice glazed just means frozen wings sprayed with a thin coat of ice, which stops freezer burn in the packet.
So it has nothing to do with a cooking glaze, while these sticky wings are the edible kind you bake on yourself.
