Add This Breakfast Staple To Give Wing Sauce The Perfect Balance Of Sweet And Spicy

"Swicy" is a flavor trend that took the foodie scene by storm, and it belongs all over your favorite game-day snack. Chances are, you probably have everything you need for restaurant-worthy wing sauce in your kitchen already: Just add jelly. It's time to raid your own fridge, use up the dregs at the bottom of your jelly jars, and take your chicken wing game to the next level all in one fell swoop. This tip is also a great way to use up all those home-canned jars of homemade jelly from last year's harvest, when the consistency might not be in tip-top condition, or when you've already eaten as much jelly toast as you can stand.

This simple wing sauce upgrade is all about the interplay of spicy sauce and the fruity roundness of jelly (take a cue from classic sweet chili wings). To do it, simply add the jelly of your choice to a traditional wing sauce. Two parts wings sauce to one part jelly is a solid jumping-off point, but feel free to adjust your proportions to taste. About 2 cups of sauce plus 1 cup of jelly will make enough swicy wing sauce to coat 12 chicken wings. For bolder flavor, coat the flats and drumettes in the jelly sauce before cooking, then finish them with another layer post-bake or grill as a glaze.

This knockout jelly wing sauce only packs a punch if it actually makes it into your mouth. To help this flavor-packed jelly sauce stick to your wings (instead of pooling on the platter), thoroughly coat each raw wing in a layer of flour before applying the sauce pre-cook for extra traction. As you brainstorm creative flavor pairings, just keep in mind that this tip probably won't work as well with creamy dairy wing sauces, like garlic parmesan or ranch.

Buffalo wing sauce would pair well with strawberry jelly, or you could mix Nashville hot wing sauce with raspberry rhubarb jelly. Pair honey garlic with orange marmalade, barbecue sauce with cherry jelly, or sriracha with apricot jelly. Use peach jelly to whip up a DIY mango habanero wing sauce with pureed fresh habanero peppers, lime juice, and a little apple cider vinegar. Turn red pepper jelly, soy sauce, and honey into a killer wing sauce. Or, you could stir teriyaki wing sauce with blueberry jelly.

For an elevated umami bomb, stir sticky fish sauce with grape jelly. You could even whip up your own complex, Chinese-flavor-profile inspired sticky wing sauce with a mixture of sweet-sour plum jelly, gochujang, and wasabi, garnished with black and white sesame seeds. Or, to really lean into the jelly ingredient, try making a playful PB&J wing sauce with grape jelly, creamy peanut butter, toasted sesame oil, and a drizzle of sriracha.