Description
Tender wings with a sweet-spicy lemon butter glaze and a short broiler finish.
Chicken: 3 pounds split wings
Servings: 6 appetizer or 4 larger portions
Prep: 10 minutes
Slow cook: About 3–4 hours LOW or 2–3 hours HIGH
Finish: About 15–25 minutes
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 pounds chicken flats and drumettes, fully thawed
- ½ cup hot honey
- Up to 2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning; start with about 1 tablespoon if salt-heavy
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Pat thawed wings dry without rinsing. Place in an appropriately sized slow cooker.
- Whisk hot honey, seasoning, melted butter, and lemon juice. Pour over chicken and turn to coat. Cover and begin cooking immediately.
- Cook LOW about 3–4 hours or HIGH about 2–3 hours, checking several large pieces for at least 165°F away from bone. Stop when safe and tender but still intact.
- Transfer wings to a broiler-safe rimmed metal sheet in one layer. Drain excess liquid from the wings.
- Transfer cooking liquid to a saucepan and skim excess fat. Bring to a full boil, then simmer while stirring until lightly thickened, often 8–15 minutes or longer. Do not scorch or reduce to a candy coating.
- Brush wings lightly with glaze. Broil in short intervals, about 1–3 minutes per side as a starting guide, watching continuously and adjusting distance for your oven.
- Serve promptly with a little more safely boiled glaze if desired. Brushing preserves browned edges better than a heavy final toss.
Storage: Refrigerate promptly for 3–4 days. Reheat leftovers to 165°F before any brief browning finish. Freeze up to 2 months for best quality.
Estimated nutrition: Roughly 380–500 calories per serving at six servings; wing size, edible yield, and sauce portions vary.
Texture note: Expect tender, sticky wings with caramelized spots rather than uniformly crisp fried skin.