This is a super simple recipe using some ordinary store-bought ingredients, resulting in extraordinary results. As the title would suggest … limes are the featured ingredient in these easy lime chicken wings. That’s a no-brainer. But varying the type of hot sauce and chile powder is where there is room for creativity.
The lime has two functions in this recipe. Of course they add tanginess, but it’s also an important source of acid (along with vinegar from the hot sauce) to penetrate the meat for an effective marinade. Without acid, this would be just a spice rub and the flavors would stay on the chicken wing surface. I wanted the lime element of these lime chicken wings to help guarantee that the flavor will really “get in there”.
Why Lime Chicken wings?
Lime is quite the international gateway ingredient to bridge culinary gaps between different cuisines. My first introduction to using lime in such abundance was in a Mexican food context with chili-lime corn on the cob and lime wedges used as a garnish for street taco carts of Queens, NYC. And it’s impossible to ignore the presence of lime in Thai cuisine in the form of kaffir lime leaves ground up in a Thai curry paste, or how lime juice gives a nice balance of tanginess to some spicy, salty dipping sauces. However, I was super intrigued about the presence of lime in 18th century Rhode Island while doing my heritage cooking research (I’m Sicilian and Black American from Rhode Island).
From my Rhode Island food history research, I learned about the use of limes in a 1766 slave journal which shows evidence of limes taken to a picnic and used for punch. More research is needed to understand exactly how limes made it to Rhode Island in that time period, but for now I wanted to feature them in this recipe to honor my ancestors and imagine what I would have done with them.
Chili Powder Variations
Freshly ground Pasilla chile powder.
One way to get creative with this recipe is with the powder. In the ingredients list, I put “chili powder” as a general ingredient, but you can make this your own by grinding up your own chili powder. If you live in an area with Mexican products, take some time to experiment with grinding up some dried Mexican chiles. Buy a coffee grinder that is specifically used for grinding spices, lightly (and briefly) toast the chiles on a hot skillet, then grind away until it’s powder-like. Seeing how there is already enough spiciness in the hot sauce you will be adding, try a more mild dried chile such as a Pasilla chile which has a subtle smokiness, pictured below.
Look for these Pasilla chiles in stores if you want to grind your own chile powder. They’re earthy and slightly smoky.
How to prepare thyme leaves
Fresh herbs are always best to use in recipes, and there is a precaution when dealing with thyme. I grew my own thyme this past summer, and dried it myself for this recipe. But I fully advocate buying fresh thyme at the store. The woody stems found at the lower half of the stems do not EVER break down in cooking. There have been instances where people have gotten a thyme stem stuck in their throat and it’s not fun from what I hear. So … see below about how to remove the thyme leaves from the stems. It takes a little extra time, but it’s completely worth it for food safety reasons.
Spicy Lime Chicken Wings
Ingredients for spicy lime chicken wings
- 12 whole chicken wings, or 24 pieces of drumettes and flats
- garlic powder
- chili powder
- freshly ground black pepper
- freshly ground thyme leaves
- ground and dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
- kosher salt
- Louisiana hot sauce
- juice of 3 limes
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash your chicken. If using whole wings, cut them into flats and drumette sections.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl, garlic, onion, and chili powders, black pepper, thyme, parsley, sugar, and salt.
- In a large bowl, toss the chicken in the seasonings until it’s evenly coated. Then add the hot sauce, limes, and liquid smoke. Continue to toss until the chicken seasoning is evenly moist.
- Allow the chicken to marinate at least 3 hours, or overnight is preferred.
- Take the chicken out of the oven an hour before you plan to cook them, so they can come to room temperature. (Putting cold chicken in a hot oven is a cooking foul!)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the marinated lime chicken wings on a flat sheet pan in one layer with no overlapping. Once the chicken is at room temperature, bake them for approximately 3 hours, or until the meat easily releases from the bone. Be sure to rotate your sheet pan and flip the wings every 30 minutes.
