Barbecue Chicken Wings

Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summer, and we're so excited to leave the dreary weather behind that we drag it out over a whole weekend:  barbecues, grilling, igloo coolers, jello shots, wait what?...  And if you're lucky enough to live in the Midwest or on the Eastern Seaboard, you're already in Celebration Central!  

This is one of my favorite things to grill on the outdoor holidays--chicken wings.  Mine are a little spicy, kinda sticky, and totally delicious.  Paired with your favorite sides and some ice cold drinks, you really can't go wrong.  So get out your sparklers and put up the bunting--summer's here!! :)

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(WHAT YOU’LL NEED)

As many chicken wings as you'd like
Your favorite barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)
Cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chacheri's)
1-2 teaspoons honey
1 lemon, quartered
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Powder
Salt/Pepper


Mix sauce:
How much sauce you make will depend on how many wings you make.  Start with this and add more ingredients if needed:
In bowl, place 2 cups barbecue sauce, juice of 1/4 lemon, 1 teaspoon honey, and some sprinkles of cayenne pepper.  Mix and taste.  Adjust as needed.

Heat grill

Place wings on cookie sheet and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. 
Tip:  do not add the sauce until the wings are almost done.  Otherwise the honey and sugars in the sauce will crystallize and burn before the chicken is cooked.

Grill wings, turning as needed.  When almost cooked through, start basting with the sauce.  Continue doing this until the sauce has had time to heat up nicely and thicken on the wings, and the chicken is cooked all the way through.  The wings should be a little sticky.  Remove to platter and serve with your favorite side dishes.

radishes, cauliflower, celery, sugar snap peas, and carrots with a buttermilk ranch dip

I made these wings for dinner last week and I served them with a fresh vegetable platter.  Two actually, as there's a picky eater in my family who only eats carrots and celery...grrrrrrr

the picky eater vegetable platter