Crispy Oven Baked Bacon Skinned Atomic Wings

Holy Death Bed.

As per my usual flu scandals, I  am planning out my funeral. I swear every time I get sick (or in this case invaded by a plague) I just count my blessings, ask for forgiveness where need be (um, Life) and pray that the good Lord will just take me out of my misery STAT.

And then I swipe through “Bumble” (ridiculous step up from “Tinder” dating app, but really not that much better) and stumble upon a cute boy that I match with (we both find each other moderately attractive) and somehow am fully recovered with dancing shoes on and ready to m-i-n-g-l-e.

But then I come into harsh reiazliation that my upper lip is beet red from blowing what sounds like a symphony out of my nose, my eye bags are legit black holes and I feel like a walking zombie (probably look like one as well) so  I immediately go back to lying down horizontally and decide that bed sores are probably my most welcoming companion for my current state of notsowell-being.

I blame this all on the Patriots. Yep, the whole damn thing.

When life flings poo at you, Patriots.

My excuse for 2017.

But…………………………..

These wings tho.

I can blame these guys for semi clearing out my sinuses, and giving me the will to live, again. Crispy Oven Baked Bacon Skinned Atomic Wings.

Recipe Notes:

(Note, Repeating some of these Notes from the Original Crispy Bacon Skinned Skinless Wings Recipe, which has the grilling method so refer to that for cooking on a grill if need be)

The skinless drumette bit. What you really want to focus on is cleaning up the thick bits of skin on the chicken. You don’t really need to focus on the super thin parts if you don’t want to (or are in a rush). They don’t goo up like the thick parts. So just remove as much as you can. Also I prefer to leave a good 1/4″ of skin at the bottom of the wing (where you hold, the “handle”). Basically right where the chicken is exposed and not wrapped in bacon. it will crisp up super nicely from the fat of the bacon that drips down creating the most wonderfully textured and flavored bit of skin. This leaves perfect texture with every bite. And texture goes hand-in-hand with flavor when it comes to wings. Or really just food in general.

I use center cut bacon for my wings. This cut of bacon typically has less fat and mo’ meat. Stay away from thick-cut. It won’t wrap as nicely and you want the bacon to crisp up and have the same cooking time as the chicken (roughly). Also make sure the ends are on the backside of wing when placed on the rack – this will keep bacon in place and will not unravel.

For the marinade I refer to my absolute favorite  (the easy atomic hot wing marinade) but added in an additional sweetness that is necessary for these wings (the bacon needs it).

Serve with any of the optional dipping sauces…. if you don’t want to just fly off the handle completely then I recommend sticking with low fat yogurt…. however if you’re ready to just go balls to the wall…. bleu cheese. Or ranch if you’re from the midwest/south. Since we tend to throw ranch on literally every piece of meat/cheese/saucy meat.

Crispy Oven Baked Bacon Skinned Atomic Wings

Prep time:  4 hours

Cook time:  45 mins

Total time:  4 hours 45 mins

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Ingredients

• 3 lb (roughly or 3 packages) drumettes (small wings), thick part of skin removed
• 2½ lb center cut bacon

Marinade

• 2 habaneros, whole
• 2 jalapeños, whole
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ cup beer
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder (I prefer California style)
• ¼ cup honey

Sauce:

• ½ cup franks red sauce (or any hot sauce)
• 3 tbsp butter

Optional Dips:

• Yogurt (healthy)
• Bleu Cheese Dressing (Not so healthy)
• Ranch Dressing (Definitely not healthy)

Instructions

1. First remove drumettes from packaging and using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife remove thick skin, leaving about a ¼ - ½ " left on the bottom (or handle) of the chicken.
2. Next, blend marinade ingredients together in a food processor. In a large ziplock bag add drumettes and marinade and let chicken soak for at least 3-4 hours, but best left on overnight.
3. Once chicken is done marinading, remove and pat dry. Take one slice of bacon for each wing and wrap, starting at the top (the thick part) and wrap around leaving about a ½" of the "handle" (the bottom of the wing) exposed (where you left some skin on).
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Let wings sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes or until oven is done preheating.
6. Line a baking sheet with foil, and place wire racks on top. Add wings on top of wired rack and place into oven.
7. Let wings bake in oven for about 35-45 minutes, or until desired crisp is reached.
8. Remove from oven and toss with a combination of franks and butter (butter will melt as tossed with hot wings).
9. Serve alone or with any optional dips

3.5.3226