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Jul 29 2014

Instant Pot Wings with Bourbon Honey BBQ Sauce

Find the recipe card at the end of the post. Make sure to read the content as it contains chef tips, substitution options, and answers to FAQs to help you succeed the first time around!

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When you want wings, you want them fast and delicious – this is the recipe you need!

Pressure Cooker Wings with Bourbon Honey Sauce1

Now as you know by now we love wings here.  I never used to like them as I have always had issues with chicken with bones in them but those crispy baked oven fried wings blew me away.  Now I’m not going to say these wings replace those. 

Pressure Cooker Wings with Bourbon Honey Sauce2

I’m saying these wings are equally as AWESOME, but in a bajillionth of the time it takes to make those.  No longer do you have to let them sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours or bake them for 20-30 minutes. 

Pressure Cooker Wings with Bourbon Honey Sauce6

Yes, you can still enjoy them, but for those nights when you are really short on time, these wings are cluckin’ unbelievable!

Pressure Cooker Wings with Bourbon Honey Sauce3

If you’re new to using an Instant Pot, it’s actually pretty simple.  When a recipe says “10 minutes under pressure,” it doesn’t mean the cooking time is 10 minutes; instead, it means the unit reaches pressure and then cooks for 10 minutes at that pressure. 

Pressure Cooker Wings with Bourbon Honey Sauce

Just like any item, the unit has to warm up, or in this case, build up pressure. Mine takes 5-8 minutes to build up to pressure.  Still, you can’t beat the time it takes to make stuff in this machine versus a stove/oven or a crock pot!

Pressure Cooker Wings with Bourbon Honey Sauce4

Since I knew I wanted to crisp up the wings, I put the oven to broil with a rack about 6″ below it.  I lined a pan with foil and placed a cooling rack on top. 

Pressure Cooker Wings with Bourbon Honey Sauce5

As always, I gave it a light spray.  After the quick release, I used my tongs to remove the wings.  OMG, the meat was so tender that it practically fell off the bone… and into my mouth!

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Instant Pot Wings with Bourbon Honey BBQ Sauce Recipe

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4.9 from 43 reviews

When you want wings, you want them fast and delicious – this is the recipe you need!

  • Author: The Kitchen Whisperer
  • Prep Time: 10 mionutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 3-4 people
  • Category: game day foods, instant pot wings, sticky wings, wings
  • Method: instant pot
  • Cuisine: game day foods, instant pot wings, sticky wings, wings

Ingredients

  • 2lbs wings
  • 1 cup prepared bbq sauce (I used Cowboy BBQ Sauce )
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup bourbon
  • 1–2 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1–2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  1. Pat the wings dry, then put them into the Instant Pot.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the sauce, water, bourbon, smoke, paprika, cayenne, brown sugar, honey, salt, and pepper. Pour over wings.
  3. Lock the lid down and set it to High pressure, 10 minutes. *Note if they are frozen, increase to 12 minutes
  4. When the 10 (12 if starting from frozen) minutes are up, do a quick release. While the quick release is relieving pressure, place the oven to broil with a rack in the middle.
  5. Line a rimmed pan with foil and place a cooling rack on top. Lightly spray the rack.
  6. Gently remove the wings from the pressure cooker with tongs and place them on the rack.
  7. Set the pressure cooker to saute. Place the wings in the oven and broil for 5 minutes on each side. While the wings are in the oven, stir the sauce until thickened ~10 minutes.
  8. Remove the pan from the oven and slather on some sauce. Return to the broiler for 5 minutes.
  9. Flip the wings over, cover with more sauce, and broil for five more minutes or until they are nicely browned and the sauce has set on the wings. Place the sauce in a container for serving.
  10. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

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118 responses

  1. KarenB
    March 22, 2017

    These are in my Instant Pot right NOW! Can’t wait! Also, if it weren’t for you, my whisperer friend, I would NEVER had bought a pressure cooker. NOW? I don’t know HOW I have lived without it! Lol

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      March 23, 2017

      Lol so thrilled you love it as much as I do!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  2. Terry
    March 7, 2017

    Made these today, and must say they were very good. But not what I was expecting. Will try another bbq sauce next time. The sauce did not thicken back up as I expected. If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      March 8, 2017

      Hi Terry,

      So a few things will cause it to not thicken up in the amount of time – your wings were “wetter” or perhaps slightly frozen? Or there was too much liquid that was given off during the pressure cooking process. Plus it also depends on the bbq sauce you start with. Like in my recipe I use my cowboy sauce which is a thick sauce. But if you use say a different sauce like a more liquidy sauce (Carolina sauce) it will take longer to thicken up.

      However what you can do is honestly just cook it longer to reduce the sauce. The longer you cook the sauce the more it will reduce and thicken. Pinkie swear 🙂 It works 🙂

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  3. Susan
    March 6, 2017

    Just tried last night with my version of Carolina BBQ sauce. Loved thighs after broiling ! We had fried plain tails an Margo pineapple bean salad. Everything’s no was kinda orange but oh so yummy!

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      March 6, 2017

      Oh that all sounds divine! Thank you so much!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  4. Carol Bodway
    March 5, 2017

    These were awesome. I did not have bourbon so I used peach brandy ant it was excellent. I will try again with bourbon. Besides what booze I didn’t change a thing. Next time the only change will be to make more 😀 Thanks for the great recipe.

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      March 6, 2017

      Thank you so much Carol! I’m so happy that you loved these. AND I’m LOVING your sub of peach brandy! I’m definitely going to try that too!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  5. Wade
    March 5, 2017

    No liquid, just the sauce to cook’m in the pressure cooker

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      March 5, 2017

      No you must have missed the other ingredients. You also need the water and bourbon.

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  6. Mary
    February 13, 2017

    Just made these wings, and the family loves them!
    Here’s my question. We do have extra sauce, and I know you mentioned making them two nights in a row. Do you just reuse the same sauce in the pressure cooker? Add more water to the leftover sauce and then reuse it? Please advise and thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      February 15, 2017

      Hi Mary!

      Yeah! I’m thrilled they love them! Yes you can re-use the same sauce when you want to make them a 2nd night. Just add more water to it, pressure cook and then follow the instructions to thicken.

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  7. Ashley
    February 4, 2017

    Hi! This recipe looks so goood! If I wanted to make a bigger batch could I double the recipe in the instant pot and double the liquid? Or do I have to do it in a bunch of small batches? I’m feeding 9 people so I always have to cook a lot!!

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      February 4, 2017

      Hi Ashley!

      So the thing about pressure cooking is you have to make sure that you leave enough room for the pressure to build up. I have an 8qrt one that I can make about 3-4 pounds of wings in (so almost double this). Go by the size of your PC. Plus never, ever fill it beyond the safety lines (inside the pot).

      BUT with the liquid – this is important you never want food submerged in the liquid fully. You’re not boiling it. What I tend to do is when I use my bigger PC I’ll go with about 1 1/2 cups of liquid mixture and then the rest – I just add it to the pot when the chicken is resting on the pan while I make the sauce. Make sense?

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  8. Jodie
    December 5, 2016

    How many servings does this recipe make? Consider that when I say “serving,” I feed a husband and four teenage boys every day… 😉

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      December 5, 2016

      4 teenage boys? Oh good lord – you need a chicken farm for all the wings you need to feed them *wink* LOL 2lbs of wings are about 15 or so wings so I would go with making at least 2-3 batches of these. However what’s awesome is that while you’re broiling up the first batch you can have the 2nd batch going in the pressure cooker. By the time the first batch is ready to eat, the 2nd batch can go in the oven.

      However keep in mind this also depends on how big your wings are too.

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  9. Erin
    August 27, 2016

    These were great!! I didn’t have all the sauce ingredients called for, but the results were still approved by my hubby! The method and timing were perfect for producing the type of wings he likes. We just need to add more spice next time.

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      August 29, 2016

      That’s awesome to hear Erin! Thank you so much!

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
  10. AB
    August 3, 2016

    What would you recommend as a substitute for the bourbon? 1) I don’t drink alcohol, so buying a bottle just for this would kind of be silly. 2) I don’t think my children would like a bourbon flavor. Any ideas on what to swap? These sound amazing!!!! Also, have you ever tried doing larger chicken legs (drum sticks) with a similar glaze?

    Reply
    1. TKWAdmin
      August 3, 2016

      Hi AB!

      I would go with chicken stock, not broth only because stock has a more richer flavor. Agreed if you don’t like bourbon or alcohol in general AND you don’t drink then don’t buy it. It’s a myth that the alcohol cooks out.

      Bone-in breasts typically take about 15 minutes so I would say 10-15 for the drum sticks however to be honest I haven’t tried the drum sticks. What I’ll do is grab some this weekend and test it out for you, k?

      Best Kitchen Wishes!

      Reply
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