Buffalo Wings
Oven-Baked Buffalo Wings! Here’s an easier and less messy way to make Buffalo Wings. Marinate your wings in a spicy sauce, broil them briefly, then serve with a tangy blue cheese sauce.
Photography Credit: Elise Bauer
Featured in 11 Wing Recipes to Make Your Super Bowl Soar
Football (American) championship season. Sports bars, beer, and spicy things that make you want to drink more beer. Darts, pool, loud conversation — either an ill-spent or well-spent youth, depending on your perspective.
“Buffalo” Wings
Once in my early twenties, I happened to be in Buffalo, New York for a wedding of a dear friend. On our site-seeing day, the gang of us revelers happened to drive right by the Anchor Bar, home of the “Original Buffalo Chicken Wings.”
Did you know that Buffalo wings are so called because they were first invented in Buffalo, NY?
I didn’t, and it had always been one of those oddities that gnawed at the back of my brain during these beer filled nights. In San Francisco, we had Tommy’s Buffalo Burgers made with real buffalo meat. But buffalo wings? Hah! Mystery solved.
Buffalo Wing Sauce vs. Marinade
Buffalo wings are traditionally deep fried and slathered with Buffalo wing sauce. But these baked Buffalo wings are what I prefer.
The wings are broiled after they’ve been marinating in a spicy sauce. This recipe will show you how to make Buffalo wings that taste great, with less mess and easy clean-up.
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Broiled vs. Fried Buffalo Wings
First off, both methods–broiling and frying–make delicious wings! Fried wings can have crispier, chewier skin and slightly richer flesh. But making broiled wings is easier and less messy, plus it’s better suited to making a large batch all at once.
Photo by Irvin Lin
How to Prepare Chicken Wings
You can buy a handy, giant bag of fresh or frozen wings that are already separated into drumettes and flats—the party parts—with none of the wee tips.
However, we’ve found the quality of intact, fresh chicken wings to be much better. They’re meatier and their skin is more supple. To prep them, use a sharp, sturdy knife to cut through two joints, separating each wing into the plump drumette and the smaller flat (also known as a plank). Save the tips for stock, or discard them.
What to Serve with Buffalo Wings
Abundant celery sticks and blue cheese dressing are the classic side. However, ranch dressing is also tried and true.
Love Wings? Try These Recipes!
Buffalo Wings Recipe
Recipe adapted from the New Cook Book – Limited Edition “Pink Plaid”.
Ingredients
For the wings:
- 2 pounds chicken wings (about 12 wings)
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 4 tablespoons bottled hot pepper sauce (like Crystal or Frank’s Original)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the blue cheese dip:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
To serve:
- Celery sticks (optional)
Method
1 Prepare wings: Cut off wing tips (discard or reserve for other use such as making stock). Cut wings at the joint. Put chicken wing pieces in a large bowl. Set aside.
Food safety note: when cutting raw chicken it is best to use a cutting board reserved just for cutting raw chicken. Wash thoroughly when finished. Do not let raw chicken juices come in contact with other food.
2 Prepare marinade: Create a marinade by stirring together the melted butter, hot pepper sauce, paprika, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper in a large bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the marinade and set aside (you will use to coat the wings after they come out of the oven).
3 Marinate the wings: Add the chicken wings to the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat all of the wings with the marinade. Let the chicken wings marinate at room temperature for half an hour.
4 Broil the wings: Remove the wings from the marinade (discard the marinade) and place them on the rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for about 10 minutes on each side, until chicken is tender and no longer pink.
5 Prepare the blue cheese dip: While the wings are cooking, place the sour cream, blue cheese, mayonnaise, vinegar, and garlic in a blender and pulse until smooth. Cover and chill. (Dip will last up to a week.)
6 Baste the wings with reserved marinade: Remove the chicken wings from oven and baste with the 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade (not the marinade that was in contact with the raw chicken).
Serve with Blue Cheese Dip and celery sticks.
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Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family’s recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.