Buffalo Chicken Wings

Baked crispy chicken wings slathered in sweet and spicy buffalo chicken sauce. Served on a white plate. Behind it there are celery and carrot sticks and a dish of ranch dressing.

These delicious chicken wings are baked in the oven but come out crispy and crunchy. They are tossed in an amazing zesty and peppery sauce and served hot with a side of celery and carrot sticks and Ranch dressing. Try them once and you will crave them again and again.

This authentic recipe brings back great memories of my younger days. These flavorful and spicy chicken wings are so simple to make – you won’t believe it! Rather than frying, these wings are cooked in the oven and you would never realize it. They come out crisp and crunchy every time. The sauce is mouthwatering good. Serve it all up with carrot and celery sticks and a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing – these wings taste every bit as good if not better than the ones you would get in a restaurant.

The secret to making crispy wings in the oven is to coat them with aluminum free baking powder and salt – the baking powder draws the fat out of the chicken where it cooks the skin in the oven until it is perfectly crispy and crunchy.

Coating with baking powder yields crispy chicken

Buffalo Chicken Wings

These oven baked wings cook up great, but they take a little time to cook up properly. The wings are separated into two pieces- the drumette and the winglet. I usually discard the wingtips to allow the wings to cook up evenly in the oven.

Use aluminum free baking power to coat the chicken and get the perfect crunch. The sauce is super easy to make- I combine 1 part oil based Italian dressing and 1 part cayenne pepper-based hot sauce to get a medium heat level. You can adjust the ratio of hot sauce and dressing to get the heat level to whatever works for you. Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing is served on the side- it’s delicious and it help neutralize the spices in the sauce.

A heaping plate of delicious Buffalo Chicken Wings

PREP	COOKING	YIELD
15 minutes	80 minutes	Serves 2

PREP	15 minutes
COOKING	80 minutes
YIELD	Serves 2

Ingredients:

8 chicken wings, drumettes and winglets (center portion) separated
1 TBSP aluminum-free baking powder – don’t use baking soda!
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Franks hot sauce
1/2 cup Zesty Italian dressing

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 250 degs F/120 degs C.
Separate the tips from the winglets and discard the tips.

Pat the chicken dry.
Add the baking powder and salt to a bag and add the chicken as well. Shake together to evenly coat the chicken.
Line a baking pan with foil and then place a wire rack on top. Grease the rack and line the chicken on the rack, skin up.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Raise the temperature to 425 degs F/220 degs C.
Bake the chicken for 45 to 50 more minutes until the skin is golden brown. Turn over the chicken halfway through the cooking time.

While waiting for the chicken, add the hot sauce and Italian dressing to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Toss the wings in the sauce.

Serve with Ranch Dressing and celery and carrot sticks.

Notes:

Refrigerate Leftovers
If you don’t want to bake the chicken wings or are in a hurry, do ahead and fry them up! Coat them with your favorite breading or cook them without – see my Tebasaki recipe for instructions on how to do this.