Lime-Mezcal Wings Recipe

This recipe is excerpted from Does This Taste Funny? by Stephen Colbert & Evie McGee Colbert, on sale September 17, 2024.

STEPHEN • These wings are cooked the same way as the Salt-and-Pepper Wings on page 107, but they are marinated before and sauced after. This recipe came about because I had a lot of Key limes that were at a “use it or lose it” stage and a new bottle of Dos Hombres mezcal given to me by the dos hombres themselves, Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston. What do you know? It worked. Yeah, science! 

EVIE • I am not sure if it is the mezcal or Key limes, but these are so so good and make the kitchen smell so delicious that it almost makes me want to eat chicken again. 

Makes 6 appetizer servings 

½ cup fresh lime juice (from Key limes if possible!) 
¼ cup Dos Hombres or other good-quality mezcal 
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 
4 cloves garlic, crushed 
2 tablespoons Auggie’s Fennel-Bourbon Candied Hot Peppers (page 27), finely chopped, or 2 teaspoons sugar plus 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
2 teaspoons salt 
2 pounds chicken wings (the kind already cut into "half-wings") 
1 teaspoon fine salt 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
2 tablespoons honey 

Directions

Stir the lime juice, mezcal, olive oil, garlic, peppers, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the wings and toss well, then remove the wings and mezcal mixture to a container that suits you: I like the convenience and utility of a gallon zip-lock bag, but the environmental cost of single-use plastic is not lost on me. So use a better container, you better person reading this. 

Marinate the wings in the fridge for, oh, maybe 4 hours? I can never judge. The lime juice and mezcal mix is pretty potent, but I don’t think that overnight would hurt ya. 

Take the wings out of the bag, drain them well, and retain the marinade—this will be boiled down into the sauce, if you don’t want to squeeze a lot more limes. 

Pat the wings as dry as possible. Place them on a paper towel– lined plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for an hour or two. The drier the skin, the crispier the wings will cook up. 

Heat the oven to 250°F with a rack in the center position. While that’s happening, toss the wings in a mixture of fine salt and baking powder. Use your hands to make sure the mixture is rubbed over all the wings. Lightly oil a cooling rack and set it over a baking sheet. Lay the wings out on it, with enough room between them for air to circulate. 

Bake for 30 minutes. (The low oven temp helps with the skin drying/crisping.) Turn the oven up to 425°F and continue baking until the skin is browned and crisp, about 45 minutes. You may want to flip the wings for the last 15 minutes to even out the browning. 

While the wings are baking, make the sauce: Strain the marinade into a saucepan, bring to a low simmer, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the honey and bring the sauce to a foaming boil, then kill the heat. The sauce should be golden and fragrant and approximately the consistency of maple syrup; if it is not, boil for a minute or two more. 

When the wings are done, put them in a bowl, pour the lime-mezcal sauce over them, and toss until they are coated. Serve the crispy, tart, and sweet wings.