Classic Buffalo Wings
Leave fried wings to the pub. Frying them is messy and involved, and not what you want to be doing when the game is on. Baking the chicken is way easier. Just give yourself plenty of time. Depending on the size of the wings, they'll need between 50 to 60 minutes in the oven before being sauced. Once they're crispy, they get tossed in the buffalo seasoning and go back into the oven, under the broiler, until caramelized.
First, The Sauce
What even is buffalo sauce? In most cases, it's a simple mixture of melted butter and hot sauce. For us? We like to add a touch of honey, too. To make your own, bring honey and hot sauce to a simmer in a small saucepan, then whisk in butter. Cook until butter has melted and sauce is slightly reduced.
Buffalo Wings – A Brief History
One of the most popular bar snacks in the U.S. was actually born in a small Buffalo, NY, bar in 1964. Without the Anchor Bar and the ingenuity of its owner (she wanted to re-purpose leftover cooked wings to feed her family), many a game day, bar-hopping American would likely never know you could combine crispy wings bathed in sweet-hot sauce.
Crispness Is Key
The key to perfect crispness is putting the wings on a wire rack inside of a rimmed baking sheet. The rack allows air to circulate underneath the wings and allows for even cooking.
Can I Use An Air Fryer?
Most definitely. Just check out our Air Fryer Chicken Wings recipe.
What About Cooking the Wings Ahead Of Time?
Oh yes. You can cook and refrigerate the wings (without the sauce) up to 3 days ahead of time. When ready to re-crisp, place them on a rack set in a baking sheet, and cook them in a 400° oven for about 10-15 minutes. Then sauce them and proceed with the final recipe step.
Feed The Masses
This recipe feeds about four hungry people. If it's a part of a larger game day spread, six people could probably get in on it. However, there's never any harm in doubling the recipe—people will always want more buffalo wings. See the chart below for how much you should buy!
Feeling EXTRA lazy? Try our Slow-Cooker Buffalo Wings instead. Or, if you always, always need cheese, give our Buffalo Chicken Dip a go. It's killer.
Made these? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
chicken wings
Vegetable oil
garlic powder
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
hot sauce (such as Frank's)
honey
butter
Ranch dressing, for serving
Carrot sticks, for serving
Celery sticks, for serving
- Preheat oven to 400° and place a wire rack over a baking sheet. In a large bowl, toss chicken wings with oil and season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until chicken is golden and skin is crispy, 50 to 60 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together hot sauce and honey. Bring to simmer then stir in butter. Cook until butter is melted and slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Heat broiler on low. Transfer baked wings to a bowl and toss with buffalo sauce until completely coated. Return wings to rack and broil—watching carefully!—until sauce caramelizes, 3 minutes. Serve with ranch dressing and vegetables.
