Grilled Honey Chipotle Chicken — The Wings That Made DeAndre Say “Fire”

Super Bowl week. I do not care about the Super Bowl. I have not cared about football since I blew out my knee at Lane College in 1978, which is a long time to hold a grudge against a sport but I am a Johnson and Johnsons hold grudges the way we hold seasoning: indefinitely and with conviction. But the Super Bowl is an occasion, and occasions require food, and food is a language I speak fluently even when I have nothing to say about the game.

Walter Jr. hosted a Super Bowl party at his house in Cordova — twenty adults, a dozen kids, and the expectation that Big E would bring the meat. I smoked wings. Sixty of them. Three racks of ribs. And a pork butt, which I pulled and served in a slow cooker to keep warm through the game. The wings I did two ways: classic dry-rub (salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, cayenne) and a honey-sriracha glaze that I've been experimenting with — smoked at 300 for ninety minutes, then tossed in a sauce of honey, sriracha, soy sauce, and lime juice. The honey-sriracha wings were the hit of the party. DeAndre ate five and declared them "fire," which I initially took as a compliment about the smoke and then learned is a slang term meaning "excellent," and I accepted both meanings.

The game itself was remarkable, I'm told. I was in the kitchen, refilling the slow cooker, slicing ribs, monitoring the wing supply, doing what I always do at parties: feeding people. That's my position. My role. I don't sit on couches and watch screens. I stand in kitchens and watch plates. When a plate is empty, I fill it. When a person is hungry, I feed them. This is the ministry of food, and it requires the same dedication whether you're at a Super Bowl party or a church soup kitchen.

Tamika caught me in the kitchen during halftime and said, "Earl, you haven't sat down once." I said, "I'm working." She said, "You're retired from work." I said, "I'm retired from mail. I'm not retired from feeding." She laughed and hugged me, and I thought: this woman is good for my son and good for my grandchildren and good for our family, and I am grateful that Walter Jr. found someone who understands that love, in the Johnson family, is measured in portions.

Wednesday this week was a quieter affair. I made shrimp and grits for dinner — a dish that is not Memphis, not Orange Mound, not Pearlie Mae's kitchen. It's Charleston, Lowcountry, a dish from the coast that I learned from a cooking show fifteen years ago and have been making ever since because some things call to you from across geographical lines, and shrimp and grits called to me the way the smoker called to me: irresistibly.

Stone-ground grits — not instant, never instant, because instant grits are a betrayal of corn and of time — cooked slowly in water and milk with butter and sharp cheddar, stirred every few minutes for forty-five minutes until they're creamy and thick. Shrimp sauteed in butter with garlic, lemon, a splash of white wine, and andouille sausage (my own, sliced thin), served over the grits with a scattering of scallions and a dash of hot sauce.

Rosetta ate the shrimp and grits and said, "This is the healthiest thing you've made all year." I said, "It has a cup of butter in it." She said, "Relative to your usual output, Earl, a cup of butter is a health food." She has a point. My cooking is not for the faint of heart. It is for the full of heart, and the full of heart can handle a little butter.

Rosetta’s crack about butter being a health food stuck with me all week — partly because she was right, and partly because it made me want to lean into something unapologetically indulgent and a little dangerous. Honey chipotle chicken wings felt like the right answer: sweet, smoky, and just enough heat to remind you you’re alive. Here’s how I made them.

Grilled Honey Chipotle Chicken Wings

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 6–8

Ingredients

• 4 lbs chicken wings, tips removed, drumettes and flats separated
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
• For the Honey Chipotle Glaze:
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2–3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce from the can)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Dry the wings. Pat chicken wings thoroughly dry with paper towels—this is non-negotiable for crispy skin. Place in a large bowl.
2. Season. Toss wings with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne until evenly coated. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes while you prepare the grill and the glaze.
3. Make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine honey, minced chipotles, adobo sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, and garlic. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, swirl in butter, and set aside. Taste—add more chipotle for heat, more honey for sweetness.
4. Grill the wings. Heat grill to medium-high (about 400°F). Place wings skin-side down over direct heat. Cook 10–12 minutes per side, turning once, until skin is crispy and internal temperature reaches 165°F.
5. Glaze and finish. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, brush wings generously with the honey chipotle glaze. Flip once, glaze the other side, and let the sauce caramelize slightly without burning. Remove from heat.
6. Toss and serve. Transfer wings to a large bowl, pour remaining glaze over the top, and toss to coat. Serve immediately—with extra napkins, because this is not a tidy dish, and that is exactly right.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 740mg