Time 1 hour
Servings 2
There is nothing I love more than buffalo chicken (with apologies to my family). It’s my desert island food – or it would be, were it not for the heartburn, but I’d be thinking about it the whole time. Thing is, I don’t love deep frying stuff at home. It’s messy, it can be wasteful, and over a gas stove? It can even feel… dangerous. Fortunately, oven-baked (or air-fried!) wings are just as good as the real thing (promise!) without all the muss and fuss.
What You Need
Chicken
1 lb chicken wings (– preferably already broken down into recognizable wingettes and drumettes, what am I, a butcher?)
1/8 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne
salt & pepper
2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce
1/8 cup (or a little more) hot sauce (Frank’s original red hot or similar)
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Garnish
blue cheese dressing
celery and/or carrot sticks
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
parchment paper
baking sheet
ziplock bag (optional)
tongs
PAM spray (optional)
sauce pan
large bowl
How it’s done
1
IF YOU HAVE TIME
Pat chicken dry and leave for an hour or two uncovered in the fridge to achieve maximum crispiness (but if not, I get it).
2
GET READY TO ROCK
Preheat your oven or air fryer to 425 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Give that parchment paper a little spritz of PAM.
3
PREP THE CHICKEN
Mix together cornstarch and seasonings and dredge the wings. (Optional: brush vegetable oil on the wings before dredging for extra crispiness!) You can do this in a ziplock bag or by tossing everything in a bowl. Use tongs to shake off each wing (to get rid of any excess) and transfer to your lined baking sheet. Arrange the wings on the sheet tray, making sure they don’t touch.
4
COOK THE WINGS
Cook wings 20 min on each side in the oven, or 10 min on each side in the air fryer. (Depending on wing size, you may need to adjust – just make sure you get to an internal temp of 165 F!)
5
MEANWHILE, MAKE YOUR SAUCE
While the wings cook, melt your butter in a sauce pan on medium low. Mix in your sauce ingredients and turn off the heat. Transfer sauce to a big bowl.
6
GARNISH, AHOY!
Do any washing, peeling and chopping you need to prep your celery and/or carrot sticks. (No judgement if you bought the pre-chopped ones. I do sometimes too.)
7
FINISH THE JOB
Once your wings are ready, give them 5 minutes to cool slightly, then add to the bowl and toss in the sauce until covered. Serve right away – with a side of blue cheese dressing and your veggies, of course!
For extra crispiness, brush the wings with vegetable or canola oil before dredging. And on the cooking time, fear not: overcooking a little will only give you a crispier wing – there’s enough fat in the wing that they shouldn’t dry out.
EXTRA NOTES
For extra crispiness, brush the wings with vegetable or canola oil before dredging. And on the cooking time, fear not: overcooking a little will only give you a crispier wing – there’s enough fat in the wing that they shouldn’t dry out.
Stay in the loop.
Get monthly-ish emails.