I did this thing for Coca Cola in September of 2018 that aired during the NASCAR Race on NBC on 10/28/2018. In the video, I cooked three tailgating recipes for two NASCAR drivers (Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace). Of course I had to do wings because they are, in my mind, the quintessential tailgating food, mainly because utensils aren’t needed to mow down a mess of wings. Most tailgating set ups don’t have tables, thus making food that needs utensils is not the best idea. Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter are the perfect finger food for tailgating.

Made this today on our Green Mountain Pellet Grill. They turned out better than anticipated. Once the sauce as done, I set it outside for a few minutes to thicken up ( we live in Minnesota). it applied very well.
I am looking forward to trying the sauce on pork chops, ribs as well as some Salmon.

     ~ T. Reichert (in the comments below)

You can find the full video of the recipes here and here:

A little more about this recipe. They asked that I take some inspiration from three regions. Virginia, Texas and Arizona. This one was inspired by Arizona with two different chili flavors (ancho and adobo) and I used orange wood to smoke them because of all the orchards in Arizona (something I didn’t know about until I started developing these recipes). So let’s dive in.

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter Ingredients:

  • 12 whole chicken wings
  • Coarse salt
  • 3 tsp Turkish ground coffee
  • 5 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 5 tbsp adobo sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 3/4 stick of butter
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (optional to reduce the heat factor)
  • Juice of 1 lime

First up, place the wings on cookie cooling racks over baking sheets, salt the chicken liberally on both sides and then put them in the fridge overnight:

Mmmmm salty
Time for the wings to take a chill in the fridge

Salting the wings and leaving them in the fridge overnight helps to firm up the skin.

The next day, combine the ancho, coffee and brown sugar:

Get that rub ready

Always apply the rub on the bottom side of the wings first:

Dust the bottom side of the wings

Why season the bottom side first? Because the natural shape of the wings will keep the meat elevated off the cutting board and thus the rub won’t stick to the wood. If done the other way first, you will wind up having to reapply the seasoning. Now season the tops:

Then the top side

Some of you are wondering about the coffee. It’s an amazing addition to just about any rub and we’ve used it on steak and salmon, as well as ribs. It adds a great earthiness to any rub that is phenomenal. Remember to grind it as fine as possible. Turkish if you can. And feel free to run it through twice if you can.

How to Grill Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter

Now prepare the grill for two zone grilling. In the case I put the smokin’ stone between the heat and the grill grate because it is a kamado style grill. The smokin’ stone allows for the heat to pass up and around the wings, imparting that wonderful smoke flavor without overcooking the chicken.

On a conventional grill, place coals on one side and the meat on the other. Target temp inside the grill is 275 with a couple chunks of orange wood on the hot coals:

On the grill

Smoke the wings for 40 minutes.

While the wings are smoking, it’s time to make the sauce. Open the chipotle pepper cans and extract the wonderful adobo sauce, leaving the peppers behind:

Saucy

You might need sieve/strainer to get all the liquid deliciousness out:

A good sieve goes a long way

Next add the honey:

Disregard the Christmas Story cup in the background Thats the leg lamp

Put it on a burner on the stove with the butter:

Butter is a lot like bacon It makes everything better

Bring it to a boil:

Boiling

Reduce to a simmer and blend thoroughly:

Ready for the wings

It doesn’t take long for the sauce to thicken with that much honey in it so once it reduces, take it off the heat and head out to the grill (about 20 minutes). The wings are browning up nicely:

These wings are gonna be soooooooo good

Time to brush some adobo honey butter on those ancho coffee wings:

Time to glaze
Mmmmmm Glazy

Close the lid to let the sauce thicken and absorb more smoke. Add more sauce every 5-10 minutes. After the first application of sauce, the wings will look like this:

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter
First coat

After a couple more applications, the wings will look like this:

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter
Final coat

Once the wings hit 180 degrees, they are ready go.

You can garnish with sliced peppers and cilantro but you don’t have to. That’s more for presentation than anything.

But don’t forget the limes. Squeeze a lime over the top:

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter
Give it a squirt of lime

And here we are, paired beautifully with some ice cold Coke, which you are going to need, because these wings have some serious heat:

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter

Summary of the Chicken Wings

But how do they taste? First, these ancho coffee wings with adobo honey butter are hot. But the heat doesn’t hit right away. It takes a few seconds for it to kick in which means that the glaze is well balanced and not just a slap in the face with heat. The heat is balanced nicely with sweetness of the honey and brown sugar and that earthy flavor of the coffee rounds it out beautifully. Don’t forget the Coca Cola to offset the heat of the wings.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or shoot me an email.

Also, you can follow us on our GrillinFools Facebook pageInstagram, and YouTube feeds

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter are dusted with an ancho and coffee rub then slathered in an adobo honey sauce making these perfect for tailgating.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Course: Appetiser, Chicken, Finger Food
Cuisine: American, American Fare, Barbecue, BBQ, Chicken, Chicken Wings, Finger Food, Grilling, Southwest
Keyword: Adobo, Ancho, Barbecue Wings, BBQ Wings, Charcoal, Charcoal Grill, Chicken Wings, Coffee, Grilled Chicken, Grilled Wings, Homegating, Honey, Kamado, Kamado Grill, Lump Charcoal, NASCAR, Primo Kamado Grill, Tailgating, Wings
Servings: 6 People

Ingredients

  • 12 chicken wings
  • coarse salt
  • 3 tsp Turkish ground coffee
  • 5 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 5 tbsp adobo sauce
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 6 tbsp salted butter (¾ stick)
  • ½ cup your favorite BBQ sauce (optional to reduce the heat factor)
  • 2 tbsp lime juice (from 1 lime)

Instructions

  • Place the wings on a cookie cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and salt on both sides
  • Put the rack of wings in the fridge overnight
  • The next day, combine the coffee, ancho and brown sugar and dust both sides of the wings
  • Prepare the grill for two zone grilling with a target temp of 275 and orange wood for the smoke
  • While the wings are smoking, combine the adobo sauce, honey and butter in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let it thicken for about 20 minutes
  • After the wings have smoked for about 40 minutes, slather with the sauce
  • Close the lid and let the sauce absorb the smoke
  • Reapply the sauce every 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thick and gooey
  • Once the wings make it to 180f plate, squeeze a lime over the top, and serve

 

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter

Ancho Coffee Wings with Adobo Honey Butter

 

 

 

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.
Scott Thomas

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4 comments

I seen your skit on NASCAR Championship in Miami!!! I’m making these wings for sure!
2 questions.
First, I can’t find your recipe for the Pork Tenderloin Sliders w/ Parm. Could you direct me to it?
Second, which driver , Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace, shocked you on their eating etiquette? Who ate the most? Lol.

Thank you!

I can’t find you

Reply

Chuck,

Sorry, I went into hibernation when it got close to Thanksgiving. We are going to be doing the Parm Pork Sliders as soon as it warms up a bit. Supposed to be a low about 0 in a day or two. As far as the drivers, Daniel LOVED the hot and spicy. That’s about all I can tell you. Both of these guys were so gracious and cool. I really enjoyed hanging out with the two of them.

5 stars
Made this today on our Green Mountain Pellet Grill. They turned out better than anticipated. Once the sauce as done, I set it outside for a few minutes to thicken up ( we live in Minnesota). it applied very well.
I am looking forward to trying the sauce on porkchops, ribs as well as some Salmon.
Thanks for the great recipe.

Reply

Tom,

So glad to hear. Yeah, that sauce could be used on a lot of things. It’s been a while since I made it. I need to make this again!

…….Scott

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