Here's a collection of Buffalo Chicken Wings recipes. There are several schools of thought going on here - deep frying, double deep frying, baking, coating with cornstarch overnight and then baking - it's all over the place. There does seem to be a growing consensus for double-cooking them in some way. Coating them with cornstarch or baking powder or something similar is showing up a lot too. BTW, I have a recipe from LA Times for Blue Cheese Salad Dressing that might be useful, it in turn uses their recipe for Classic Mayonnaise.
Serious Eats as always did extensive testing on making Buffalo Wings using both deep-fried and baked methods. Here are recipes for each. The first one double-cooks them, first frying them in oil or baking them in the oven followed by a second deep-fry. The second method bakes them after coating them in a mix of baking powder and salt and letting them set overnight.
Here is the double-cook method. Click here for the original webpage, it also links to their detailed analysis. In this version, the wings are either baked or deep fried at a low temperature and then allowed to rest either at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator before deep-frying at a high temperature. NOTE: I have tried this method, doing a deep-fry followed by the overnight-rest. Verdict: not recommended. The wings were indeed very very crispy but they were also extremely dry and hard, to the point of being like chewing on balsa wood.
Ingredients
3 quarts peanut or canola oil
4 pounds chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup Frank's RedHot Sauce
Blue cheese dressing
Celery sticks
Instructions
1. Stovetop method: Place oil and chicken wings in a large wok or Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it registers 225 to 250°F on an instant-read or deep-fry thermometer (chicken should be gently bubbling). Continue to cook, stirring and flipping chicken occasionally while adjusting heat to maintain a temperature of 225 to 250°F until chicken is cooked through and skin is tender but not crisp or browned, about 20 minutes total. Transfer chicken with a wire mesh spider to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels. Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or cover and rest in the fridge for up to three nights. Proceed with Step 3.
2.Oven Method: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 225°F. Place oil and chicken wings in a large oven-safe Dutch oven. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it registers 200°F on an instant-read or deep-fry thermometer. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook until chicken wings are tender but not browned, 40 minutes to 1 hour (chicken should be tender but not falling apart). Remove pot from oven. Transfer chicken with a wire mesh spider to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels. Allow chicken to rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or cover and rest in the fridge for up to three nights. Proceed with Step 3.
3. When ready to serve, combine butter and Frank's in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is completely melted. Transfer to a large bowl. Heat oil to 400°F. Carefully add one third of chicken and cook, stirring and flipping chicken occasionally while adjusting heat to maintain a temperature of 375 to 400°F until golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to bowl with sauce, toss to coat, and serve with blue cheese and celery. Repeat with remaining batches, serving one batch at a time.
Here is the oven baking method. Click here for the original webpage, Many commenters on the Reddit post indicated they liked this best, but also said to follow the recipe exactly.
Ingredients
1 to 4 pounds (450g to 1.7kg) chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder per pound of chicken wings
1 teaspoon (5g) kosher salt per pound of chicken wings
2 tablespoons (1 ounce; 25g) unsalted butter per pound of chicken wings
2 tablespoons (1 ounce; 30ml) Frank's RedHot Sauce per pound of chicken wings
Blue cheese dressing, for serving
Celery sticks, for serving
Instructions
1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set a wire rack inside. Carefully dry chicken wings with paper towels. In a large bowl, combine wings with baking powder and salt and toss until thoroughly and evenly coated. Place on rack, leaving a slight space between each wing. Repeat with remaining 2 batches of wings.
2. Place baking sheet with wings in refrigerator and allow to rest, uncovered, at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Add chicken wings and cook for 20 minutes. Flip wings and continue to cook until crisp and golden brown, 15 to 30 minutes longer, flipping a few more times towards the end.
4. Meanwhile, combine butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking until combined. Transfer wings to a large bowl, add sauce, and toss to thoroughly coat. Serve wings immediately with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks, conspicuously shunning anyone who says that real Buffalo wings must be fried.
AB's method is another double-cook, first steaming the wings, allowing to cool, and then baking them; it also incorporates starch (potato or corn). Many comments I've found prefer this method above others. It raisess the possibility of steaming them (or pre-cooking them) in the Instant Pot; I've found recipes for this that indicate 9 minutes. This is a PDF. By the way, it's also a tiny recipe using just 12 wings, but certainly could be doubled (or better yet quadrupled).
Click Here for Alton Brown's Buffalo Wings recipe
This is another double-cook recipe, using a pan with 2 inches of oil instead of a full deep-fryer style. It also incorporates coating the wings with starch or cornstarch.
Ingredients
2 pounds chicken wings (drumettes and flats)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch
Neutral oil, for frying
3/4 cup Cajun pepper hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Blue cheese or ranch dressing, for serving
Carrot and/or celery sticks, for serving (optional)
Instructions
1. Pat the wings dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, add the wings, garlic powder, salt and pepper and toss until the seasonings are evenly distributed. Add the potato starch or cornstarch and toss until the wings are evenly coated. Let them sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes to help the coating adhere.
2. Meanwhile, add enough oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot to come 2 inches up the sides and set it over medium-high heat. Heat until a deep-fry or instant-read thermometer registers 350 degrees. (If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the oil by adding a pinch of potato starch or cornstarch; the oil should be at the proper temperature when it quickly, but not too vigorously, sizzles away.) Place a wire rack over a sheet pan or line a tray with layers of paper towels and set it near your work area.
3. Give the wings another toss or two to refresh the starch coating, and working in two batches (see NOTE), shake off any excess starch from the wings, carefully add them to the oil. Fry, occasionally turning the wings with a spider to promote even cooking, and adjusting the heat as needed so that the oil doesn’t drop below 325 degrees, until the wings are cooked through and have started to get crispy, about 12 minutes. (The bubbling will have quieted when they are ready.) Transfer the wings with a spider to the prepared wire rack or paper towels. Repeat with the remaining wings.
4. Starting with the first batch, return them to the oil and fry until extra-crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using a spider, return the wings to the wire rack or paper towels. Repeat with the remaining wings and let the last batch rest for 2 minutes before saucing.
5. While the wings are frying, in a small or medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the hot sauce and butter and cook until the butter has melted, about 2 minutes; whisk until combined.
6. In a large bowl, add the wings and sauce and toss until evenly coated. Transfer to a platter along with the dressing, carrot and/or celery sticks, if desired, and serve.
This version is from the LA Times. It is a simple "deep fry" version. The recipe incorporates their recipe for Blue Cheese Salad Dressing which in turn uses their recipe for Classic Mayonnaise. In the instructions they say you can adjust the heat of the sauce by increasing -- or decreasing -- the proportion of hot sauce to melted butter.
Ingredients
8 cups canola oil
2 1/2 pounds chicken wings, tips cut off and discarded, wings cut into two at the joint (to make about 16 pieces)
2 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
5 tablespoons Frank's RedHot Sauce
4 stalks celery, cut into sticks
Blue cheese dressing
Instructions
1. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy (5- to 6-quart) pot until it reaches 375 degrees. Fry the wings, in batches, until golden, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the vinegar and hot sauce and stir until blended.
3. When all the wings are cooked, place the wings in a large bowl, pour the sauce over and toss to coat. Serve warm, with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
Perhaps not technically "Buffalo Wings", WSJ's recipe uses a Korean style sauce. This is a "Baked" version.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
3-1/2 pounds chicken wings, separated into drumettes and flats
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
For the sauce:
1-1/2 tablespoons neutral oil such as grapeseed oil
4 garlic cloves, grated
1-1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons gochujang
For the garnish (optional):
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Thinly sliced pickled jalapeños or fresh red chiles
Instructions
1. Pat chicken wings completely dry and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together baking powder, salt, black pepper, corn starch, onion powder and garlic powder. Add chicken wings and toss to coat thoroughly and evenly all over. Gently press coating onto each chicken wing to ensure it sticks. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set a baking rack on top of the baking sheet. Transfer chicken wings to prepared rack/baking sheet and set in refrigerator, uncovered, to dry-brine for at least 8 hours or overnight.
2. When you’re ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Keeping rack-baking sheet setup intact, transfer wings to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Flip wings and return to oven to bake, flipping wings twice more during baking, until deeply golden brown all over, about 35 minutes more. Remove chicken from oven and let rest about 5 minutes before tossing with sauce.
3. Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic has slightly crisped, about 5 minutes. Add corn syrup, soy sauce, white vinegar and yellow mustard, and bring to a simmer. Add brown sugar and gochujang, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until sugar completely dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
4. In a large bowl, combine chicken, sesame seeds and sauce, and toss to coat. Garnish with scallions, if using, and toss again. Add pickled jalapeños, if using, and toss once more.
