My family is from Buffalo, NY, so it’s pretty safe to say that wings are a staple. I spent years deep frying my wings the traditional way, but let’s face it, deep frying makes a hell of a mess, and while I love cooking, I hate cleaning up. However, since I don’t live in Western New York, good wings are hard nearly impossible to come by. After a few years of experimenting to find a cleaner way to make delicious wings at home, I came up with this version. They are still crispy, but are fall-off-the-bone tender, and I have had more than one Buffalo native tell me they are some of the best they have had. And, bonus, I’ve included steps for making these in a smoker if that’s your thing – they turn out just as deliciously crispy with that added smoky/bbq flavor!
What You’ll Need
Not much is needed for these wings – just chicken wings, a few spices, olive oil, and whatever sauce or rub you prefer. Nothing is better than traditional Frank’s Red Hot, but your favorite BBQ sauce, Asian Dressing, Parmesan & Garlic, Lemon Pepper, or Old Bay are all great options. I never get too fancy with my sauces and rubs, my go-tos are traditional Frank’s, Parmesan & Garlic, and BBQ. For this post, I made traditional and Parmesan & Garlic.
Serve with carrots, celery and bleu cheese (or ranch if you’re picky, though anyone from Buffalo may judge you a little bit).
To bake, you’ll also need baking sheets lined with foil, then topped with cooling racks, as pictured below.
Getting Started
Preheat your oven to 475 degrees F. Prepare your baking sheets. Cover the wings with olive oil and your spices: salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder and garlic powder. For extra flavor, let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
Add Wings to Prepared Baking Sheets
Add the wings to your prepared baking sheets, trying your best to keep the wings from touching each other – this will allow them to crisp up the best.
Bake for 45 mins to an hour, or until wings are crispy on the outside and the internal temperature has reached a minimum temperature of 165 degrees F. Remove from oven. Honestly at this point, they’ll be good enough to eat!
Broil and Toss Dry Rub Wings
For any wings that you will be using a dry rub for, broil for about 5-10 mins or until crispy and slightly charred, but watch closely, the broiler can be unforgiving. Once you remove from the broiler, toss with your rub ingredients.
For the Parmesan & Garlic, add butter, grated parmesan cheese, parsley and garlic powder. Toss gently until butter is melted.
Toss Then Broil Sauced Wings, Then Toss Again
For wings that you will be tossing in sauce, toss gently with your sauce of choice, then return to the baking sheets to broil for 5-10 minutes, or until slightly charred. Again, watch closely as the broiler can go from charred to burnt to a crisp really quickly! Once the wings are charred, remove from the oven and toss gently again in your sauce of choice.
Serve & Enjoy!
Oven “Fried” Wings
Servings: 6-8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Ingredients
Wings
- 5 lbs chicken wings
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or to taste if you prefer less heat)
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
Sauces & Rubs
Quantities below assume you are making 5lbs of wings, half traditional and half parmesan & garlic
- Frank’s Red Hot, to taste (I use about 3/4 to 1 cup)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
- Prepare 2 baking sheets, cover completely with foil and top with cooling racks (make sure your are oven safe!).
- Mix the spices, olive oil and wings thoroughly.
- Add the wings to the sheets, trying your best to keep the wings from touching each other – this will allow them to crisp up even better.
- Bake for 45 mins to an hour, or until wings are crisp and reach a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- For wings that will be dry rubbed, put under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes or until wings are slightly charred. Watch closely, the broiler acts fast and can be unforgiving – this may take less than 5 minutes. Once charred, toss with dry rub (for Parmesan & Garlic, this is the butter, garlic powder, parsley and grated parmesan).
- For wings that will tossed in sauce, remove from oven and gently toss in sauce until covered evenly but lightly. For this step, I use about a 1/4 cup of sauce. Return wings to baking sheet, then put under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes or until wings are slightly charred. Watch closely, the broiler acts fast and can be unforgiving – this may take less than 5 minutes. Toss gently again with the remaining sauce (about 1/2-3/4 cup).
- Serve with celery, carrots, and bleu cheese or ranch.
Smoking Instructions
- Heat your smoker to 225 degrees F.
- Mix the spices, olive oil and wings thoroughly.
- Add the wings to your smoker and smoke for 2-3 hours, or until wings reach a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- To finish, follow steps 6-8 above.
Basil & Thyme 