Hot Honey Mac and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Wings
A deboned wing flat, stuffed with cold three-cheese mac, battered twice, fried, and doused in hot honey — the most outrageous recipe I make and the strongest party flex on the channel. Make it for someone you love dearly, because it's going to take you some time. And like I say in the video: "we ain't losing no weight this summer."
Here's how the day actually goes: the mac and cheese comes first, because it needs time to get cold — honestly, as cold as possible — before it goes anywhere near a wing. I build the sauce, stir in the noodles, and park the pot somewhere cool; by the time all twelve flats are deboned, it's about ready to work with.
And a little honesty from behind the camera: I prepped some of the wings before filming, because the deboning is the tedious part — but I still walk you through every cut so you can do it yourself. Jumbo wings give you more room to stretch the pocket, and the drumettes don't go to waste — save them for another recipe, or dress them up and eat them tonight.
Watch me make it — video from my YouTube channel
The recipe
Hot Honey Mac and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- about 2 cups elbow macaroni (cooked al dente)
- salt, to taste (for the pasta water)
- a little oil (to toss with the cooked macaroni so it doesn't stick)
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter (cheese sauce)
- 2 tablespoons flour (cheese sauce)
- 2 cups milk (cheese sauce, added slowly)
- 1 cup smoked gouda cheese (cheese sauce)
- 1 cup ghost pepper cheese (cheese sauce — very spicy)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (cheese sauce)
- about 12 chicken wings (flats only; drumettes cut off and saved)
- 1 cup cornstarch (wet batter)
- 1 cup flour (wet batter)
- 2 teaspoons salt (wet batter)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (wet batter)
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (wet batter)
- 1 1/2 cups cold water (wet batter — make sure it's really cold)
- 2 cups flour (dry coating)
- 1 teaspoon salt (dry coating)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (dry coating)
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (dry coating)
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder (dry coating)
- 1 tablespoon onion powder (dry coating)
- neutral oil, for deep-frying
- about 1/2 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot (hot honey sauce)
- 1/2 cup honey (hot honey sauce)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (hot honey sauce)
How to Make It
- Cook about 2 cups of elbow macaroni in salted water until al dente.
- Drain the macaroni and toss it with a little oil so it doesn't stick; set aside.
- Melt 1/2 stick of unsalted butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk a little at a time — do not add it all at once.
- Keep stirring until the sauce thickens and comes to a low boil.
- Lower the heat.
- Whisk in the cheeses 1 cup at a time — smoked gouda first, then ghost pepper, and lastly cheddar — whisking the whole time.
- Stir the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce.
- Let the mac and cheese cool completely until it is cold and has a solid texture.
- Cut the drumette off each wing at the joint and set the drums aside for another recipe.
- Cut through the joint between the two bones of each flat, then pull the skin back and work your thumb in to separate the meat from the bones.
- Pull the bones out without destroying the chicken.
- Use your fingers to stretch a pocket inside each deboned flat, as far as possible without ripping it.
- Make the wet batter: whisk together 1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, and 1 1/2 cups very cold water.
- Make the dry coating: mix 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon onion powder.
- Stuff each wing pocket with the cooled mac and cheese.
- Dip each stuffed wing into the wet batter and let the excess drip off.
- Dredge the wing in the dry coating and gently shake off the excess flour — careful not to shake out the mac and cheese.
- Set the coated wings on a rack and let them sit a few minutes so the coating sticks.
- Heat neutral oil for deep-frying to 350°F.
- Fry the wings 4-5 at a time, without crowding the skillet, for 8-10 minutes until golden and cooked through.
- While the wings fry, combine the hot sauce, 1/2 cup honey, and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a measuring cup.
- Microwave the sauce for 30-45 seconds, until the butter is melted and the sauce is hot.
- Transfer the fried wings to a cooling rack.
- Pour the hot honey sauce over the wings and serve.
Curtis's Tips
- Salt the pasta water — the salted noodles carry into the dish, so "you shouldn't have to add... that much salt to the cheese."
- Do not stop stirring/whisking the sauce — constant whisking from the flour stage all the way through the cheese.
- "You can use any three cheeses you want" — he went with smoked gouda, cheddar, and ghost pepper.
- Warning: the ghost pepper cheese is "very, very spicy."
- Let the mac and cheese get as cold as possible before stuffing — hot mac is runny and "extremely hard" to stuff; cold gives it a solid texture.
- Use only the wing flats — "it's the easiest one to stuff." The drums won't stuff as well; save them for another time, or dress them up and eat them tonight.
- Jumbo wings help — more room to stretch the pocket.
- Cutting off the drumette should be an easy cut between the joints — "it shouldn't feel like you're sawing through a bone."
- Let the excess wet batter drip off before dredging, or the dry flour gets clumpy.
- Frying tip: after coating, always let the chicken sit so the flour seeps in and sticks — that way it won't fall off in the oil.
- Oil-readiness trick: dip a wooden utensil in — when you see bubbling around the wood, the oil is ready.
- Only fry 4-5 at a time depending on skillet size — too many at once "is going to mess up the chicken."
- "Whoever you're making this dish for, I hope they love you and I hope you love them dearly, because this dish is going to take you some time" — the deboning and stuffing are the tedious parts.
- "We ain't losing no weight this summer."
- Description variant (as written): the video description uses 2 tablespoons butter (vs the 1/2 stick / 4 tablespoons used on camera) for the cheese sauce — either works; 4 tablespoons makes a richer sauce.
- Description variant (as written): the video description calls for 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper in both the wet batter and dry coating instead of 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning — cayenne is significantly hotter; use it if you want extra heat.
Why this works
There's a reason behind each of the fussy-looking steps. Salting the pasta water means the seasoning rides in on the noodles, so the cheese sauce barely needs more salt. Chilling the mac is not optional: hot mac and cheese is runny and extremely hard to stuff, while cold mac firms up to a solid texture that stays inside the wing. The flat is the easiest part to stuff — the pocket you stretch open with your fingers, as far as it'll go without ripping, is where the mac and cheese lives. And the coating has its own logic: really cold water in the wet batter, a good drip-off so the dry flour doesn't clump, and a few minutes' rest so the flour seeps onto the chicken and sticks instead of falling off in the oil.
FAQ
Can I use different cheeses?
You can use any three cheeses you want. I went with smoked gouda, cheddar, and a ghost pepper cheese I wanted to try — fair warning, that one is very, very spicy. Not into big heat? Build your three without it; the method doesn't change.
Why does the mac and cheese have to be cold before stuffing?
Because hot mac is runny and extremely hard to stuff; cooled to a solid texture, it packs into the pocket. I make the mac first so it chills while I prep the chicken — the timing works out about right.
Can I stuff the drumettes too?
I stick to the flats — the easiest one to stuff; the drums won't stuff as well. Cutting the drumette off between the joints should be easy — it shouldn't feel like sawing through a bone. Save those for a different recipe, or dress them up and eat them tonight.
How do I know when the oil is hot enough?
Dip a wooden utensil into the oil — when you see bubbling around the wood, it's ready. While it heats, the coated wings sit on the rack; that rest is what makes the flour stick. Fry four or five at a time, depending on your skillet — too much at once is going to mess up the chicken.
My cheese sauce came out thin — what went wrong?
Usually the milk went in too fast, or the whisk stopped too soon. Add the two cups of milk slowly — not all at once — and keep whisking until the sauce thickens and comes to a low boil. That low boil is your signal it's ready for the cheese: lower the heat, whisk the cheese in one cup at a time, and don't stop whisking.
Estimated nutrition, per serving (recipe makes about 6 servings): ~965 calories · 34 g protein · 52 g fat · 90 g carbs. Computed from the ingredient list using standard reference values — an estimate, not a lab analysis; your exact brands and portions will vary.
