I have been making Buffalo Wings since the 1980’s, and have always loved them, but, I have also worked on my recipe to keep them every bit as tasty, but mebbe just a wee, tiny bit less likely to induce heart disease.
My first version, shared by friends in California, called for almost one pound of butter in all. One stick for the sauce (that remains a constant), but then another couple of sticks to bake the wings. Totally delicious, but as part of a kindofa regular dietary choice? Not great.
So, I kept the one stick of butter, but started playing around with how to best bake the wings. A light breading and a tablespoon or two of oil did the trick for a couple of years, but then I started using cooking spray and played around with gluten free breading options, when needed.
Then, for a while, a toyed with using rice vinegar in place of plain old white. As it turns out, plain old white is the way to go.
And so, here we are…
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
•8 tbsp (1/2 cup) Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce – or your fave hot sauce
•8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
•2 tbsp white vinegar
•1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
•1/4 tsp Cayenne
•1/4 tsp garlic powder
•1/4 tsp onion powder
•1/4 tsp steak seasoning
Seasoned Breading:
•1 cup biscuit mix (gluten-free works a treat)
•1 tsp steak seasoning
•1 tsp paprika
•1/2 tsp garlic powder
•1/2 tsp onion powder
•1/2 tsp curry powder
Chicken:
•Up to 24 chicken wings and drumettes
•Cooking spray
Add the sauce ingredients to a small pot and cook over low heat, whisking every now and then, until the butter is melted.
Set aside.
Heat your oven to 400º and line a rimmed baking pan with foil. If you have one (and if you do not, why not?) place a rack in the foil lined pan and apply cooking spray.
Add the biscuit mix and seasonings to a gallon sized zipper bag, close, and shake to mix well. Add ten or twelve pieces of chicken, close the bag, and shake to coat.
Arrange the chicken on the prepared rack and, if you are making a larger batch, add another ten or twelve pieces of chicken, shake to coat, and arrange on the rack.
Lightly apply additional cooking spray and bake for 45 minutes. The wings will be a lovely golden brown.
Transfer the wings (ten or twelve at a time, if you are making a large batch) to a large bowl and pour the prepared sauce over, tossing the wings in the sauce to coat.
Return to the rack and, again, if making a larger batch, transfer the remaining ten or twelve wings to the bowl and toss with additional sauce before returning to the baking pan.
Baste the wings with some of the sauce left in the bowl, coating each piece well.
Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, until the wings are nicely glazed.
Serve as you will. Bleu Cheese and celery are, of course, a classic, but ranch dressing works a treat, as well.
And now, compare and contrast…
My first incarnation of wings, lo those many decades ago, used at least two, more like three sticks of butter in all
This version uses just the one stick, which, if you make a crowd sized pan of 24 wings, works out to about one teaspoon of butter per wing.
You probably use more on your baked potato, so, go ahead and enjoy!
As a side note, air fried seasoned sweet potato fries make for a pretty tasty side dish.