Bourbon Bacon Chicken Wings

By Tom Jackson
Sep 2, 2016

Recipe Items

Just when you thought we’d run out of ways to use bacon… We’re employing a brand new (to us) technique that might change all kinds of classic foods (like turning regular chicken wings into Bourbon Bacon Chicken Wings!). It’s bacon paste!

I know, it sounds strange, but it’s fantastic, and I feel like there are a lot of possible uses for this in the future. The idea is to take raw bacon and combine it with any number of seasonings and aromatics in a food processor and processing it into a smooth paste. Read on for more bacon awesomeness!

Bourbon Bacon Chicken Wings Recipe

Ingredients

2.5 lb chicken wings

Bourbon Bacon Paste

1/2 lb bacon, diced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup Plowboys BBQ Fin & Feather Rub
1/4 cup bourbon

Bourbon BBQ Sauce

1 cup Big Rick’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce
3 tbsp bourbon

Instructions

Preheat your grill to high heat (450°F+), set up for direct and indirect grilling.

To make the Bourbon Bacon Paste, combine the ingredients in a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth.

Rub the bacon paste onto the chicken wings. Grill wings over direct heat until all sides are slightly charred, then transfer to the indirect grilling area. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the meat reads 160°F.

While the wings are cooking, combine the Bourbon BBQ Sauce ingredients in a small cast iron pan. Place the pan on the grill to warm the sauce.

When the wings reach an internal temperature of 160°F, remove from the grill and place in a foil pan. Add the Bourbon BBQ Sauce and toss to coat the wings. Place the pan with the sauce coated wings on the grill (indirect) and cook 5 minutes to allow the sauce to tack up. Remove from the grill and serve hot.

In this case, our bacon paste seasonings include bourbon, garlic, and Plowboys’ BBQ Fin & Feather seasoning.

We’re spreading this thick paste all over the wings. It’s messy, but it’s worth it!

You’re going to lose some of your bacon on the grill. There’s really no getting around it. What you want to do is take those cooked bacon bits of goodness that are stuck to the grill and throw them in a small foil pan. We’ll reunite them with the wings soon enough.

When the wings are almost completely cooked you’ll want to toss them in a foil pan with your warmed sauce and bacon bits. Toss all of that together and place the pan in the cooker. In a few minutes, your wings will be soaked in sticky bourbon barbecue sauce and bacon goodness, crumbs and all!