21/09/2026
Grilled Cholula-Honey Wings with Fresh Herb Ranch
Serves: 4–6
Wings: 3 lb
Ingredients
Grilled Wings
* 3 lb chicken wings
* 1½ tsp kosher salt
* 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1½ tbsp avocado oil
* 1 tsp paprika
* 1½ tsp garlic powder
Cholula-Honey Cream Sauce
* 1 large bottle Cholula Original Hot Sauce (about 12 oz)
* 1 stick (½ cup) salted butter
* 2–3 tbsp honey
* ¼ cup heavy cream, plus a little more if you want them milder
Fresh Herb Ranch
* ½ cup buttermilk
* 1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
* ½ cup sour cream
* ½ tsp onion powder
* ½ tsp garlic powder
* ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
* 2 tbsp fresh dill
* 2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
* ½ tsp kosher salt, or to taste
* ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
* Juice of ½ lemon
Garnish
* Cotija cheese, crumbled
* Fresh parsley, finely chopped
How to Make Them
1. Marinate the wings.
Put the wings in a large bowl or zip-top bag. Add salt, pepper, avocado oil, paprika, and garlic powder. Toss until every wing is coated. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Overnight is even better.
2. Make the fresh ranch.
Combine the buttermilk, Duke’s mayo, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, dill, chives, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Blend briefly until the fresh herbs are finely incorporated and the ranch turns that beautiful pale green color. Don’t pulverize it into water—you still want a thick, creamy ranch. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. It’ll taste better after it sits for 30–60 minutes.
3. Make the Cholula sauce.
Pour the Cholula into a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and stir until completely melted and incorporated.
Add 2 tablespoons honey, taste, and add another tablespoon if you want more sweet-heat balance. Reduce the heat to low and slowly stir in the heavy cream.
Don’t boil it after adding the cream. You just want everything warm, smooth, and emulsified. The cream softens the heat while keeping that distinctive Cholula flavor.
4. Grill the wings.
Preheat the grill to about 400–425°F. Put the wings on the hot grill and cook, turning regularly, until they’re browned, crispy, and have some legitimate char on them—roughly 20–25 minutes, depending on their size and your grill.
Cook chicken to at least 165°F internally; for wings, I actually like them closer to 175–185°F because the connective tissue renders better and they become more tender.
5. Sauce them.
Put the hot grilled wings into a large bowl. Pour over enough warm Cholula-honey cream sauce to thoroughly coat them and toss aggressively.
6. Plate.
Pile the wings onto a platter. Crumble Cotija over the top and finish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve the cold fresh-herb ranch alongside for dunking.
