It’s spring. I know I am stating the obvious but this means heating up the grill in the backyard and making some amazing chicken appetizers! Don’t you just love when you gather your friends and family for a casual hangout with chicken appetizer recipes like skewers, rolls, wraps, sliders…?

Especially if you have an awesome guide to perfect chicken appetizer recipes that makes you a pro in this field!

However, this post is all about chicken wings. More precisely, about making this chicken appetizer better. Because what are chicken wings without a sticky, hot, messy, tasty sauce? Grab a beer and the party is on!

To be honest, this post is inspired by a disastrous chicken appetizer experience I had some time ago. I felt too lazy to make a wing sauce and tossed the wings directly into a hot sauce. Can you guess what happened?

Hot sauce, also known as pepper sauce or chili sauce, is made of hot peppers (usually chili) and vinegar. Some types also contain salt and some seasonings. This sauce is really hot, as the name suggests, so go easy on it, unless you want to make intensely hot chicken appetizers. It is best if you add a bit, then taste and see if you need more.

Wing sauce can be store-bought or homemade. It already contains hot sauce, usually neutralized with other ingredients like butter. If you go for this option, your chicken appetizer will be less hot, but flavorful enough. Here is a standard wing sauce recipe:

2/3 cup hot sauce

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

pinch of salt

Combine the ingredients in a pot and heat over medium heat. Bring to a simmer stirring constantly and remove when it begins to bubble. Set aside. 

So, if your chicken appetizer (wing) recipe calls for hot sauce and you decide to use wing sauce, there is no much harm done. The final product will probably be less spicy than the original. Feel free to use a larger amount of wing sauce than the recommended amount of hot sauce. 

But if the chicken appetizer recipe requires wing sauce, then think twice before tossing them in a pure hot sauce. They’ll be too hot and your mouth will burn!

The Best Varieties of Buffalo Sauce for Your Favorite Chicken Appetizer In case you have run out of red hot sauce needed for the classic Buffalo topping, make one of these quick and easy sauces for your chicken appetizer. 

Jalapeño sauce is made with green instead of red hot sauce. For extra hotness and a tangy twist, add some pickled jalapeños peppers as well. 

Sriracha sauce combines Sriracha, butter, lime or lemon zest, and cilantro. 

Jerk is a more exotic sauce variety originating from Jamaica. Buy ready-made jerk paste and mix it with garlic powder, onion powder, and dried thyme. 

Maple & chipotle sauce is made of canned smoked hot chili peppers called chipotle, adobo sauce, butter, and some maple syrup for a sweet twist.