Mango Habanero Wings

A pan of juicy chicken wings in an orange mango habanero sauce.

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Flats and drumettes are coated in a simple spice mixture, then oven-baked until crispy and tossed in the sweet heat of a homemade mango habanero sauce.

Prep: 20

Cook: 45

Total: 1 5

Recipe makes approximately 4 servings

Equipment Needed

Food processor (or blender)
medium bowl (or airtight container)
Oven
large baking sheet
Aluminum foil
Wire baking rack
neutral-flavored cooking spray
Paper towels
2 large mixing bowls (or 1 large mixing bowl, cleaned after first use)
Tongs
Internal meat thermometer

Ingredients Needed

For the Mango Habanero Sauce

1 large mango (peeled, pit removed, diced)
3 medium habanero peppers (see Notes)
3 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon paprika (plus more to taste)
1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)

For the Chicken Wings

1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder (plus more to taste)
½ teaspoon paprika (plus more to taste)
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (plus more to taste)
½ teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
10 whole bone-in chicken wings (cut into 10 flats and 10 drumettes)

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

For the Mango Habanero Sauce

Add 1 large mango, 3 medium habanero peppers, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, ½ teaspoon paprika, and 1 teaspoon salt to food processor or blender.
Pulse ingredients until mixture is completely smooth, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl or blender as needed.
Once mixture is completely smooth, transfer sauce to bowl if using immediately, or to airtight container if using later. Refrigerate sauce in airtight container until ready to use. Bring chilled sauce to room temperature before using.

For the Chicken Wings

Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, then place wire baking rack on top of foil layer. Spray wire rack with cooking spray and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt to large mixing bowl. Stir until dry ingredients are well blended.
Pat chicken flats and drumettes completely dry on all sides with paper towels, then place chicken in mixing bowl with dry ingredients. Gently toss chicken wings in spice mixture until wings are coated on all sides. Work in batches as needed depending on size of bowl.
Place "breaded" wings on wire baking rack with skin-side of wings facing up. Be careful not to overcrowd rack - work in batches as needed depending on size of baking sheet or baking rack.
Once all chicken wings have been "breaded" and arranged on baking rack, place baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake wings 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, carefully remove baking sheet from oven and flip wings over so skin-side of wings faces down. Return baking sheet to oven and bake 10 minutes, then begin checking doneness. Continue baking wings as needed until chicken wings reach internal temperature of 160° Fahrenheit.
Once chicken wings reach 160° Fahrenheit internally, careful remove baking sheet from oven and set aside. Allow wings to rest 5 minutes.
Place rested wings in large bowl and add ⅓ cup of prepared mango habanero sauce. Gently toss wings to fully coat in sauce, then transfer wings to serving platter. Serve immediately with remaining sauce.

Recipe Notes

Habanero Peppers: I recommend using the seeds from 2 of the 3 peppers in the sauce, for a nice heat that's not too strong. For a mild sauce, use the seeds from just 1 pepper, or omit the seeds completely. For a hot sauce, use the seeds from all 3 peppers.
Whole Wings: Whole wings typically have more meat to them than pre-packaged party wings, and splitting them into flats and drumettes really isn't difficult. Just cut off the wing tips right at the joint, then discard the tips or use them to make a stock. Separate the flat and the drumette by starting at the high ridge on the joint and cutting straight down. You may run into a little resistance, but a little back-and-forth motion should help push the knife through.
Frozen Wings: If you're using frozen chicken wings, make sure to defrost them completely before starting this recipe.

Nutrition Info (Approximate)