Juicy, tender and delicious, these wings come flavor packed with a combination of bourbon, peach and smoke. These smoked bourbon peach wings might just be the best way to kick off your BBQ. Best of all, unlike most meats in the smoker, wings are super fast!
If your looking for more BBQ starters check out our Smoked Jalapeno Poppers and Smoked Queso Dip.
Smoked Bourbon Peach Wings
Is there any better way to kick off a BBQ than with some delicious smoked wings? Yeah, I didn’t think so! These Smoked Bourbon Peach Wings are the perfect beginning to the perfect BBQ. They’re fast, they’re easy and most importantly they pack some serious flavor!
A fruit forward flavor profile backed up with bourbon notes, these smoked wings are bound to please. Yes, I did go with some connoisseur verbiage there, I couldn’t help it! This recipe combines 2 of my favorite things, Bourbon and Smoking. And if tasty bourbon drinks are your thing, check out this Smoked Oaxacan Old Fashioned, it won’t disappoint!
Now that we found a way to kick our BBQ off, we’ll need some goodies to keep it rolling. Our Smoked Twice Baked Potatoes may be that perfect something when paired with some Smoked Beef Short Ribs.
How to make Smoked Bourbon Peach Wings
Ingredients
Wings:
Whole Wings – Not just the drums or the flats, we’re talking the whole package here. You’ll be looking for the whole wings before they’ve been trimmed and cut.
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Sauce:
Peach Preserves – What better place to get our fruit flavor than from preserves. Already prepared and packed with flavor, these peach preserves will work perfectly in our sauce.
Yellow Onion
Pressed Garlic
Habanero Peppers
Bourbon – Doesn’t have to be the good stuff, but shouldn’t be rocket fuel either.
Olive Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Chicken Stock
Salt & Pepper
Preparing the Wings
First things first, in order to have Smoked Bourbon Peach Wings, you need to start with smoked part.
Prepare your smoker as needed and preheat it to the temperature of 225°. For this dish we’ll be using Peach wood to add a mild but sweet smokey flavor. It makes perfect sense, trust me.
Combine all of your ingredients for your seasoning and toss your wings. It’s a good practice to use a pair of tongs to help you toss your wings. You want to make sure you have even coverage of seasoning across all of your wings.
With your smoker now maintaining a temperature of 225°, place your wings into the smoker. Allow them to smoke for 2 to 2 and a half hours, until the wings reach an internal temperature of 165°.
Preparing the Sauce
With your wings in the smoker, it’s now time to make your sauce.
With a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add your olive oil and diced onions. Allow the onions to cook until soft and translucent but not sauteed or caramelized. Next you will add in your garlic and minced Habanero peppers. If your looking for a little more heat, you can always leave the seeds in with the peppers or use a spicier pepper. Just keep in mind your audience. Going up the Scovill scale can certainly leave an impression on your guests and not always a good one.
Next, add in your bourbon, apple cider vinegar, chicken stock, peach preserves, salt and pepper and lastly a little bit of lime juice. Combine all of these and bring them to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes of simmering, blend this delectable concoction together. You can use a handheld blender to accomplish this right in the sauce pan but if you don’t have one, a countertop blender will certainly do the trick.
Put your sauce aside to rest, it’s time will come!
Saucing the Wings
Right before the wings are about done, turn on the broiler in your oven to 500°.
Now that your wings have been on the smoker for about 2 and a half hours, it’s time to pull them off. We’re going to take them right from the smoker to the broiler to give them a little extra crisp. With your wings about 8-10 inches away from the broiler, this should only take about 4-5 minutes, but those things have a light on them for a reason. Keep a watchful eye on your wings and pull them when you think they have reached your desired crispiness.
Once your wings are done crisping up, it’s time to toss them in your prepared sauce. Using a large mixing bowl, add a little bit of your sauce to the bottom of the bowl. Add your wings then cover in more sauce. Using a set of tongs, toss your wings until completely, thoroughly and evenly covered. Don’t let any of these wings go out naked, they need to be dressed for success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Peach preserves cut down on time and effort but you can certainly use fresh peaches for the same effect. It takes about 30 minutes of prep time but it certainly can be done.
To make this sauce even spicier you can do 1 of 3 things. First, when preping your peppers for the sauce, you can leave the seeds in with the peppers. Second, you can always switch out the peppers for hotter varieties. Third, when prepping your seasoning for the wings, you can increase the amount of cayenne pepper.
Serving:
These wings are only the beginning of a great BBQ, but what a way to begin! A tough act to follow, only the best sides and entrees will do. You can’t go wrong with ribs and these 321 Ribs are up to the challenge! Lucky for the ribs, they can have a sidekick to make the challenge easier. Compliment those ribs with some great Smoked Scalloped Potatoes and who knows, your guests might just forget about the wings. Who are we kidding, that’s not going to happen.
Enjoy!
Smoked Bourbon Peach Wings
Ingredients
Seasoning for wings
- 1-2 tbsp salt to taste
- 2-3 tbsp pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Sauce for wings
- 10 oz peach preserves
- 1 yellow onion
- 6-8 garlic cloves
- 4 habanero peppers
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
Seasoning for wings
- Add all ingredients for the seasoning into a large stainless steel bowl.
- Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Sauce for wings
- With a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add your olive oil and diced onions. Allow the onions to cook until soft and translucent but not sauteed or caramelized.
- Add in your garlic and minced habanero peppers.
- Next, add in your bourbon, apple cider vinegar, chicken stock, peach preserves, salt and pepper and lastly a little bit of lime juice. Combine all of these and bring them to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Using a hand blender, blend the sauce together.
Smoking the wings
- Prepare your smoker as needed and preheat it to the temperature of 225°. For this dish we’ll be using Peach wood to add a mild but sweet smokey flavor.
- Toss your wings in the prepared seasoning. Make sure you have even coverage of seasoning across all of your wings.
- With your smoker now maintaining a temperature of 225°, place your wings into the smoker. Allow them to smoke for 2 to 2 and a half hours, until the wings reach an internal temperature of 165°.
- Right before the wings are about done, turn on the broiler in your oven to 500°.
- After the smoking time is complete, take your wings and place them in the broiler about 8-10 inches below the heat for 4-5 minutes. Keep a watchful eye on your wings and pull them when you think they have reached your desired crispiness.
Saucing the wings
- Once your wings are done crisping up, it's time to toss them in your prepared sauce. Using a large mixing bowl, add a little bit of your sauce to the bottom of the bowl. Add your wings then cover in more sauce. Using a set of tongs, toss your wings until completely, thoroughly and evenly covered.
Nutrition
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