I met award-winning cookbook author Virginia Willis about a month ago at IACP Portland, and within seconds of meeting, we were giggling about….oh I don’t even remember! After a couple glasses of wine, chocolate bar and bite after bite of seafood cooked on salt blocks, courtesy of the fabulous Mark Bitterman, selmelier (yes! a salt expert!), specifics were forgotten and all I can say was that a good time was had by all.
Virginia was Martha Stewart’s former kitchen director, and book, Bon Appetit, Y’all: Three Generations of Southern Cooking was an instant hit…and now it’s become one of my favorites. So far, Cola Glazed Baked Wings and Dirty Rice have each been made and ravenously consumed by my family.
How can you not love a woman dressed in nothing but collard greens!? If you have a chance, come and visit her blog. If I lived next door to this lady, I’d never leave her doorstep.
I’m planning a trip to Atlanta soon, and she doesn’t know it yet, but I’m stopping at her house first to get fed. We vowed that the next time we would see each other, I would teach her more about blogging and she would bake me a pie.
Don’t tell her I’ve got the better end of the deal!
How to make Cola Glazed Baked Wings
Simple ingredients! I bet Dr. Pepper would work just as well.
Simmer the sweet cola sauce:
Stir in as much jalapeno as you want:
Let cool a bit and then toss with wings:
Bake, flip and bake more:
And that’s it!
Virginia Willis' Cola Glazed Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup cola
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 jalapeno, finely minced (discard the seeds)
- 2 pounds chicken wings
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
To make the glaze:
- In a small sauce pan, bring the soda, lime juice, brown sugar and the minced jalapeno to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture is syrupy, about 30 minutes; keep warm over low heat.
To prepare the wings:
- Cut off the wing tip (reserve the tips to make stock), and separate the wings at the joint. Place the wing pieces in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Pour about half the glaze over the wings and toss to coat Keep the remaining sauce warm over low heat.
To bake the wings:
- Position an oven rack 4 inches below the broiler element in the oven. Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the glazed wing on the baking sheet and broil for 10-12 minutes per side, brushing twice on each side with the reserved glaze. Transfer to a platter.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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This recipe is awesome. Thanks for sharing. Great taste, big hit at the office party!
Just saved this recipe & will try it immediately.
Looks delicious!
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JUST MADE THE COLA GLAZED WINGS FOR SUPPER , WAS GOING TO SAVE SOME FOR TOMORROW BUT THEY WERE SO GOOD I ATE THEM ALL , GREAT RECIPE 🙂
Thank you so much Adrian! – Happy Easter! – jaden
Sorry I meant 10 minutes per side.
Hi Jaden, I love your recipes! I’m thinking of replacing the brown sugar with honey or just regular (coarse) sugar. Do you think that will work? and whats the temperature of the oven?
Thanks a lot.
Hi Jaden! Remember me? I’m Recipegirl (Lori’s) son, Brooks. I started up a food blog in May and now it’s doing great. These wings look SO YUMMY! Coca-Cola WITH wings! A great combo.
Hey Brooks! How are ya! Love that you started your own food blog – I’m headed there right now to check it out.
Hi Jaden, This is the first time I used one of your recipes, but it worked in just perfect. In the Coca-Cola Glazed Baked Wings,
I used chicken thighs instead and cut the ingredients in half for just two of us. It was a big hit with my husband and the taste was out of this world. Thank you
I remember finding your blog a long time ago and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get back here. I make your Sweet and Sour chicken from a guest post on Simply Recipes often. These look delish Jaden. Your website is so user friendly. I really like it. Thanks!
Thank you! 🙂
Hello Jaden, I tried your Cola Glazed Baked Chicken in my kitchen today, it’s yummy! So yummy I added it in my food blog and credited your website for a very fantastic & easy recipe. Blog site is letuseatgoodfood.blogspot.com if you would like to see the finished product. I’ll definitely make this recipe again. Thank you for sharing.
Those are some good lookin’ wings!
I want to make these but don’t understand what to do with the tablespoon of cooking oil called for in the ingredient list…help!
Hi Scotty – sorry about that. Original recipe includes oil, but I didn’t think it needed the oil because wings are pretty fatty and have plenty of oil on their own! Fixed recipe and deleted oil.
I’m assuming you are broiling these since you say to put 4 inches under the broiler but then it says to bake on each side for 4 minutes.
Yes, you’re right – “broil” for 10 minutes each side
10 minutes on each side didn’t produce “done” wings so I had to “bake” an additional 30 minutes. Â Also, never figured out to do with the wing tips that were supposed to be used for “stock”.
Hi Valerie! Throw the wingtips in with some carrots and celery, a small sprig of fresh thyme, half an onion. Make chicken soup 🙂
If you throw it all in a slow cooker, low for 4-6 hours, you’ll have soup when you come home. Skim the oil on top, season with salt.
I had to prepare it for the two of my neighbours!
The recipe is new and fantastic!!
I liked this recipe, didn’t have any lime juice so I used some lemon peel and some lemon pepper. Also, I added garlic to it as well. Yum, Yum!
Question: Do you add the cooking oil to the marinade? I’ve re-read the recipe but don’t see where it’s added. I have gone back and forth between thinking it is in the glas and wondering if I’m to coat the chicken wings with it first. Help, por favor! Thinking of making this recipe and the Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings for a gathering this weekend.
How tempting is this dish!!
If people ask what is in the recipe, we really would not know right? because we don’t know what is in coca cola ;))
Magical!
Thank you 😉
Bridget [The Internet Chef]
wow! this looks very nice!
any reason not to ovenroast at 350 for 30-45 mins?
That’s fine too. I cook my wings both ways.
Virginia cooked for my cooking demos here in Kansas City two years in a row. I was such a lucky gal to get to know her and taste her food.
In fact, Virginia made me (yes, made me) cook an apple crumble for a live tv cooking segment we put her in. I was so scared. I don’t bake and barely cooked back then. So to be fixing a famous chef’s recipe for the finished product shot was terrifying. Luckily it was not only easier than I imagined, it was tasty too.
I give Virginia a lot of credit for my fearless attitude in the kitchen these days.
The wings look stellar.
We made this recipe the other night, using chicken thighs (with bone and skin). I marinated in half the glaze for several hours, then basted with the remaining glaze as they baked. As Jaden suggested, I baked at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, turning them once. When they were done, I wanted a crisper skin, so we threw them on the outdoor grill for a few minutes. That did the trick! Very very yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
Just like how my mummy made it in the old time~!! =]
Love the new site? Any suggestions on using this recipe with chicken thighs?
You’ll love it w/thighs! Instead of just using broiler, you’ll have to bake. What I would do is marinate bone-in thighs for a couple of hours or overnight. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes, then turn and bake another 10 until cooked through.
These look great but have a couple questions.
1) Are you using the broiler or the oven element?
2) What’s the temp and time on these?
Thanks.
Broiler
Recipe says 10 minutes per side
I am so gonna try this one weekend. Looks so so sticky delicous. I always remove the skin as much as possible form the wings as hubby and daughter don’t like the skin, even though i think the crispy skin is the most delicous part.
Love the recipe, and your site looks amazing! The logo is very cute!
love the new white clean look. but, isn’t there too much white space next to the logo? (btw, i LOVE the logo!)
Love the redesign, Jaden! Specially the turquoise (w/c is my all-time favorite color) buttons that even match your blouse! =) Wings look so yummy! Was wondering though if in your opinion it would taste as good with pork spareribs? I have been looking around for a tasty marinade and this might actually work. Watcha think? Keep up the great work! =)
Thanks April! Yes – the ribs with this sauce would be divine.
Here’s what I’d do –
Bathe the ribs in the cola sauce. No need to marinate, just slather on. Cover w/tin foil. 250F for 4 hours. Then uncover, baste again (with clean marinade that hasn’t touched raw) and bring rack up near top of oven. Broil for 6 minutes. You’ll LOVE it!
Well, I think I’m going to give it a shot. I’ll bake longer and at lower heat. I’ll definitely let you know how it turns out!
Do you think this would work OK with boneless/skinless breasts? That’s all I have in the house right now!
hmmm….I don’t know…timing would have to change and I wouldn’t put the rack up high. You’d have to lower temp too. test and let me know how it goes?
I agree, Jaden. Virginia is fabulous! Love the design and the wings.
Jaden, Love the new site design!!! Great job. The wings look great, too. Well done.
YUM!!! Such a great idea..cola glazed wings..genius!!! 🙂
oooooooh i’m doing this TO-NIGHT!! thanks for sharing this! love the new design and the new logo! very very chic. 🙂
Those wings look exceptional, Jaden. And like you, I think Dr. Pepper would rock as well. I keep trying to think of something to cook using Red Bull but it eludes me because…..well damn that stuff tastes nasty, don’t know why I keep drinking it.
These wings look irresistible. I need to check out the cookbook.
Love the new look, as well! So fresh and clean looking.
The new site looks great! I went to one of Virginia’s cooking classes in Atlanta several years ago. She was delightful and her wings look incredible. I would definitely leave all the heat in the glaze. I like inferno these days!
The site looks amazing…I love it. The wings look amazing! I’m giving them a try this weekend!
First off, love the ew look of the site!
I’ve heard of recipes like this before, but ever had a visual and couldn’t imagine how it would come together into something that i would want to eat. These look amazing though! And I love the idea of trying it with Dr. Pepper. Do you think it could be done with diet soda?
Sure! I’ve done it with Diet as well.
Virginia is great! I met her at an Edible Institute conference in Santa Fe in January. I highly recommend her cookbook! PS Love the new site design.
Love the design! And these wings? While I’m no longer a soda drinker, I think I could definitely squeeze in this recipe!
I’ve eaten cola glazed pork before and it was very tasty. I must try your recipe this time!!
Love your new site design and the chicken looks good too!
The new design looks lovely – clean and fresh. And the wings? Yes, please. And pass me some napkins, too, please. I’m drooling.
Um, I think I drooled on my keyboard. Yes, these photos actually made my mouth water. Can’t wait to try them. And the new design is lovely!
Yum! Thanks for sharing a recipe from the amazing ms. willis!
Man, I don’t eat meat but even these look great. Love the new site design!
just in time for memorial day bbq.
Love the new look! And these look perfect for this weekend BBQ we have planned.
These looks great! Your new design is awesome as well 🙂
Love the new look! These sound fabulous. Will try for our long weekend!
Love your new site!
I tried something similar before. It was some bizarre food day where you bring some food to a party.
Not sure if you remember, there was some kind of Blue Pepsi once upon a time. I used blue pepsi to cook. The chicken came out blue! LOL…
omg. I totally remember the blue soda!!
I love these kinds of recipes. We can sit there using very ‘select’ ingredients, making everything from scratch, but there’s a limit to it really. Gotta be practical sometimes! Love your logo. 🙂
thank you!
it must be so delicious!
I really like your new blog design! This looks delicious. I’ve never tried using soda in cooking before… I’m a bit nervous as to how it would turn out. Did it taste like Coke? 😀
Wei-Wei
You must try – no it doesn’t taste like Coke at all!
Congrats on the new design – you’re moving up in the world! Thesis was getting stale.
Keep going with the great content!
Congrats on the new site design – it’s gorgeous!
Also, this recipe sounds super easy and really tasty. I hope it’s not too sticky sweet.
I really like the new design!
Love the new design Jaden! Envious 😉
Of course, these baked wings looks so scrumptious!
The site looks absolutely GORGEOUS! Congrats!! Oh yeah, and the wings look great too. 🙂
Looks great!
Jaden! Your redesign is absolutely fantastic! Absolutely gorgeous – and these wings are a fantastic bonus :D.
Jaden, these wings look amazing! And the site is looking amazing! I was thinking of another word, but I’ll leave that word for twitter 😉