Bourbon recipes to add additional flavour to the braai this Heritage Day

Braai Day, more formally known as Heritage Day, is all about celebrating our country with comforting South African cuisine.

Here area few sticky and spicy recipes to try … beginning with Maker’s Mark Bourbon Chicken Wings – with not one, but three different sauces, a smokey Maker’s Mark BBQ Sauce to accompany any meat dish and a Kentucky favourite, Maker’s Mark Bourbon Baked Beans, the perfect side dish for the day.

Maker’s Mark Bourbon Chicken Wings

Ingredients

30 high-quality chicken wings

2 shots Maker’s Mark Bourbon

2 tbsp. kosher salt

2 tbsp. dark brown sugar

2 tbsp. Tabasco hot sauce

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Bourbon Sweet Chili Sauce 

2 shots Makers Mark Bourbon

1 cup prepared sweet chili sauce

1 tbsp. Sriracha chili sauce

KY White Sauce

2 shots Maker’s Mark Bourbon

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. cracked black pepper

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Salt to taste

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a large container and mix well. Let sit covered in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours for best results.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Spray with nonstick spray to make clean-up even easier.
3. Place chicken wings on tray barely touching and not stacked. If they are piled on each other, it will cause the wings to steam, not caramelize.
4. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until cooked through.
5. As soon as you remove wings from the oven, toss with one of the wing sauces below or your homemade Maker’s Mark BBQ sauce. To create a glaze, put sauced wings back in the oven to finish for 3–5 minutes and serve.

Bourbon Sweet Chili Sauce

1. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix until fully incorporated.
2. Toss in a large bowl with wings immediately after taking wings from the oven for best results.

KY White Sauce 

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
2. Toss with wings immediately after removing from the oven.

Maker’s Mark BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

Your favorite prepared BBQ sauce

Maker’s Mark Bourbon

Suggested additions

Yellow mustard

Apple cider vinegar

Red chili flakes

Caramelized onions

Roasted garlic

Brown sugar

Crispy cooked bacon

Method

1. Add 1 cup of your favourite readymade BBQ sauce to a bowl. Since you will be adding to the sauce, use about half as much as you think you will need.
2. Add 2 shots of Maker’s Mark Bourbon and whisk it well.
3. Add ingredients of your choosing until you have something you like.
4. Store covered in the fridge for up to one week.

Maker’s Mark Bourbon Baked Beans

Ingredients

1kg  dried pinto or white beans

250g of bacon, cut into medium dice

1 white onion diced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

3/4 cup Homemade Maker’s Mark BBQ sauce

4 shots Makers Mark bourbon

1 can of ginger ale

4 cups pork or chicken stock

Toppings

1 cup panko bread crumbs

3 tbsp. butter

100g  country ham, chopped

Method

1. Soak dried beans for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. While preheating oven to 180 degrees, brown bacon on the stove over medium heat in an oven-safe pot or Dutch oven.
3. When almost crispy, add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
4. Drain your beans and add to the bacon mixture.
5. Add Maker’s Mark BBQ sauce, Maker’s Mark Bourbon and ginger ale. Mix well, and then add the pork or chicken stock.
6. Cover pot, place in oven and bake for 1 hour.
7. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes or until beans are tender and a crust has begun to form on top of the dish.
8. FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING
9. Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and add country ham and panko.
10. Stir constantly until lightly brown, about 5 minutes.
11. Remove beans from oven and top with the crumble before serving.