Honey Garlic Habanero Wing Sauce

Honey Garlic Habanero Wing Sauce
This is a recipe Oakton resident Tim Artz has perfected over the past few years. He says it's a party favorite that isn't as hot as one might think, based on the number of habanero peppers.

Freezing the habanero peppers makes them easier to stem, seed and chop.

Toss 3 to 4 tablespoons of warm or reheated sauce with 15 to 20 just-fried, -baked or -broiled wings and/or drumettes in a large bowl.

MAKE AHEAD: The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 weeks or frozen (preferably in 1-cup increments) for up to 3 months.

Makes enough sauce for about 10 to 15 pounds of wings (about 2 cups)

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
Cloves from 2 heads of garlic, finely chopped
20 habanero peppers, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped (see headnote)
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce, preferably Frank's or homemade
2 tablespoons Creole mustard, preferably Zatarain's or Rex
Dash Worcestershire sauce, preferably Lea & Perrins
2 to 3 grinds freshly ground black pepper
Pinch sea salt, or more as needed
1/2 to 3/4 cup honey
Directions:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook until it has softened but not browned. Add the habanero peppers and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until they have softened.

Add the hot sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper to taste and the salt; mix well and taste, adding salt as needed. (The mixture will be very hot at this point.) Add the honey to taste until the flavor and texture of the sauce are balanced. The sauce will have some heat but will taste more fruity. Remove from the heat.

The sauce is ready to use; or cool and transfer to containers for storing.

Recipe Source:

From Oakton resident Tim Artz.