Want to make party guests smile? Stroll out of the kitchen with a platter of crisp, sauced chicken wings. They’ll be gone in minutes. The good news is, you can easily make a generous amount of them for your next gathering or game-day watch party.
The granddaddy of the wing craze is, of course, the Buffalo chicken wing. You hardly need a recipe for this dish, which was reportedly first served 60 years ago as a treat for family and workers at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, N.Y. Traditionally, they are deep-fried (sometimes double-fried) without any coating and then tossed in hot sauce and melted butter and served with celery sticks and cool blue cheese dressing for dipping.
You can buy a jarred Buffalo sauce or make your own. (I like to use about ¾ cup of Crystal Hot Sauce and a half-stick of melted butter for 2 pounds of wings.) Frank’s Red Hot is another popular option, but any favorite hot sauce will do.
Is this the most popular flavor of wing sauce in America? I can’t say for sure, but there is even a Buffalo Wild Wings fast food chain dedicated to them.
My favorite wings are made the traditional way, plain (with no breading) and fried until very crisp in vegetable oil. That’s how Rouses Markets makes them — and they make thousands, especially during football season and Mardi Gras. (Rouses also makes what it calls a fried boneless wing, too.)
When I make wings at home, however, I shy away from frying because it is time-consuming and messy.
Also, unless you have a commercial kitchen or an electric fryer, it’s tough to keep your oil at a constant 350ºF the way Rouses can. If your oil drops in temperature, you can end up with oily wings; if it gets too hot, you can end up with a burnt taste. (If I want fried wings, I buy fried wings.)
With ovens and air fryers as an option, however, I’m game to make wings at home for parties, tailgating or even for supper when a craving hits. And when it comes to saucing, I’m in the add-it-just-before-serving camp.
Some folks like to sauce their wings — even marinate them — and then roast (or grill) them. That can be delicious, of course, but I’m on a make-it-easy-on-myself kick right now. Besides, I’ve found the small amount of meat on the roasted wings gets plenty of flavor from a modest coating of sauce — no marinating needed.
Also, by roasting the wings and making the sauce separately, I can roast large batches of wings for big gatherings, and then just sauce them as I serve them.
I sprinkle a large batch of wings with a dry spice mix that includes salt and baking powder, and keep them in the refrigerator until needed. If I double or triple my sauce and keep it warm, I can roast the wings, toss them in the sauce in batches, and keep serving them until folks have had their fill. (When bringing wings to a party, I like to sauce them upon arrival, if possible.)
As with any chicken part, the challenge is to crisp the skin while not drying out the meat. It’s easier with wings because there is so little meat to worry about.
Here are some tips for getting the crispiest wings from your oven.
- Pat your wings dry. Dry skin stands a much better chance of crisping.
- Dry-brine them. Add baking powder (I’ve also tried cornstarch or potato starch, but I like baking powder best) and salt to your dry seasoning mix. Salt and baking powder will draw moisture from the skin so it can crisp, seal and help the meat stay juicy. You can add other spices, too, to give the wings more flavor.
- Rest your seasoned wings. For the crispiest wings, let them rest to allow the moisture to be drawn out of the skins. The seasoned wings can sit at room temperature for up to an hour. (Remember, do not leave raw wings out for more than two hours for safety’s sake.) For the best results, however, chill the seasoned raw wings in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. You can leave them in a bowl or, if space allows, spread them in a single layer on a sheet pan.
- Give your wings air. By placing an oven-proof rack inside your sheet pan beneath the chicken wings, you’ll allow heat to circulate all around them. Flipping them halfway through roasting helps to ensure a more even crispness, too.
- Turn up the heat. High heat helps to quickly seal the skin, creating a barrier for the meaty part of the wing. (Consider air-frying. The upside: The appliance combines high heat with powerful convection to crisp the skin even more. The downside: Most air fryer baskets are on the small side, meaning you have to cook the wings in batches if you’re serving a large amount.)
- Sauce your wings just before serving. Even the crispiest wing will wilt a bit once doused in sauce, so save that step for last and add just what you need to generously coat the wings. Any leftover sauce can be served on the side.
Chicken wings cooked at a high heat for 40 to 50 minutes, as directed in the recipes below, will most assuredly be cooked to the USDA recommended internal temperature of 165ºF. If your wings are big and meaty, you can insert a digital food thermometer into the thickest part of the wing, avoiding the bone, to check the temperature.
How you flavor your wings is up to you. Rouses makes a variety of sauces, including Buffalo, BBQ, Sweet Heat Chili, Teriyaki and Mango Habanero.