Baked Southwestern Seasoned Wings served with Honey Chipotle Cilantro Dipping Sauce

I'm starting a new series of recipes!  Wing Wednesdays are here! There will be smoked wings, baked wings, grilled wings, and fried wings. There will be dry wings with dipping sauces and wet wings that are tossed and coated with a tasty sauce!

Feel free to comment and leave your suggestions for flavor combinations!  ☺

We're started out with a wing combination that packs a LOT of flavor in each bite. Southwestern flavors are combined to make the dry rub for coating the wings before baking and Chipotle Olive Oil is whisked with honey and lime juice for a very spicy dipping sauce!

Baked wings are much less greasy and fat-laden than the fried version. A low-temperature slow cook for 30 minutes or so to render the fat then a blast of really high heat for 40 minutes or so to crisp things up a bit, result in a really great wing in my opinion!

As always, when hot sauce and spices are concerned, use less for milder/kid friendly taste buds!

This recipe will make 2 1/2 - 3 lbs. of wings.

Rinse wings and pat dry.

In a small bowl, whisk together the following:

1 T. baking powder

2 t. salt

2 t. ground annatto powder

2 t. ground cumin

1 t. ground coriander

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. ground cayenne

1 t. granulated garlic

1 t. onion powder

1/2 t. black pepper

Add dry rub mixture to a Ziploc bag or a larger bowl and toss with the wings until they are coated evenly.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place a rack on a baking sheet and spray both with non-stick spray.

Place wings onto rack and baked on upper middle rack of oven for 25 - 30 minutes. 

Remove from oven and increase heat to 425 degrees F. Using tongs, turn wings over.

Return to oven and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes.

While wings are baking, prepare the dipping sauce OR you can toss the cooked wings in this mixture and serve "wet."

Chipotle Honey Lime Sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 T. Chipotle Olive Oil

2 T. lime juice

1 Serrano pepper, minced

1 T. minced garlic

2 T. finely chopped cilantro

1/2 t. salt

Whisk all ingredients together. Taste and add additional salt or Chipotle Olive Oil if needed for more heat, or more honey if you'd like a sweeter taste. 

Add cooked chicken wings to a large bowl and gently toss with the sauce using a spatula or serve on the side as a dip.