To begin, piece the chicken wings into drumettes and wing tips (which you can freeze to make stock). Pat them dry and combine rub ingredients in a small bowl. Place chicken in a 9″x13″ Pyrex and rub each piece down with the spice mixture. Remove from dish and place on an oven safe cooling rack to allow all sides of chicken to dry. Place cooling rack on a cookie sheet and place in refrigerator (cover if you wish).
Preheat oven to 450°F. Remove plastic wrap (if used) and place cookie sheet with cooling rack into the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping once during the cooking process. While chicken is cooking, make the glaze or sauce, instructions are listed below. Heat until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 150°F and remove from oven. The pieces will continue to gain in heat (usually around 10 degrees) while they rest. If you’d like your chicken to government standards, heat until 180°F (which in our book, will be overdone).
As soon as the chicken goes in the oven, you’ll want to start in on your sauce. Combine all ingredients (except butter) in a medium sauce pan over high heat, stirring occasionally. When the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, add butter and stir to combine. When wings are removed from oven place them in a glass bowl and pour sauce over the top. Flip or toss to coat and place wings back on the cooling rack/cookie sheet combo to cool. Let wings rest for 5 minutes, the glaze will set slightly and the internal chicken juices will be redistributed, making them perfect for chowing down!