Recipes > Buffalo Wings Wild n' Spicy
This chicken wing recipe is sure to please those that love "Wild Buffalo Wings". Steamed and baked chicken wings are not only delicious, they are also healthier than deep-fried wings.
Dawn Thomas
- Serves: 2 to 4
- Active Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr - 2 hrs
- Views: 56,218
- Success Rating: 95% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Preparing the Chicken Wings
- 12 whole chicken wings (24 split)
Method
Remove the wings tips and save for making stock. Next, separate the rest of the wing by cutting between the wing and the drummette.
To steam the wings, place a pot filled with 1" -inch of water onto the stove-top. Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer.
Once the water is hot, place a single layer of wings into the steamer basket, place over the pot and cover. Let steam over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked through.
Step 2: Cooling the Chicken Wings
Method
Line a tray with paper towels and place a cooling rack over top. Once the wings are done, remove them from the steamer basket and place onto the cooling rack.
Let the wings cool and then transfer them to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This will help them crisp up in the oven. This can also be done the day before. If storing the wings overnight, it is best to cover the wings with plastic wrap, so they don’t dry out too much.
Step 3: Roasting the Chicken Wings
Method
Preheat the oven to 425°F (or 220°C).
Once the oven is hot, remove the paper towel from underneath the wings. For easy cleanup, place a piece of parchment paper onto the baking tray. Transfer the wings to the tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
Next, remove the wings from the oven (close the door, so you don’t lose too much heat), flip them over and then return to the oven. Let cook for another 20 minutes or until the skin has started to turn a nice golden brown.
While the wings finish cooking, you can go ahead and make the hot sauce.
Step 4: Preparing the Hot Sauce
- 3 oz unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup hot sauce (such as Frank's)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 small garlic clove (optional)
Method
To make the hot sauce, first melt the butter, either in a pot or in a small bowl in the microwave. If using garlic, mince it and add it to the hot butter.
Pour the butter and garlic into a large stainless-steel bowl (or one that is large enough to toss the wings in later. Next, add the hot sauce and salt and stir to combine.
*Note – if you want the sauce to be a bit thicker, add a teaspoon or so of cornstarch (mixed with equal parts of water) to the hot sauce. In this case, you will need to bring the sauce to a simmer in a pot on the stove top. Then add the cornstarch mixture until you reach the desired sauce-like consistency. Let simmer for a few minutes to cook out any cornstarch flavor.
Step 5: Tossing and Serving the Buffalo Wings
- 1 cup blue cheese dressing (optional)
Method
Once the wings are ready, toss them with the hot sauce and serve immediately.
These hot wings are great served with individual portions of celery sticks and Blue Cheese Dressing.
64 Comments
-
will this be turned to a certified Rouxbe recipe soon? i would love to see a video for this. A very unusual way prepare wings. what does steaming the wings do for the dish? -
I do not think this will become a Rouxbe Video as it is a fairly straightforward recipe. We are however working on some steaming lessons that may shed some light on the subject of steaming for you. In this case the wings are steamed rather than deep-fried as steaming helps to maintain the moisture within the chicken. It also just happens to be healthier than deep-frying. Hope this helps! -
When making these wings, I was absent minded and added the sauce after steaming and cooling them. There was nothing to do but bake them and I have to say they tasted very good. They got browner than the ones in the picture and they cooked faster but I wouldn't hesitate to do it this way again:) -
Good to know Liz. I do like wings where the sauce is more baked on so I think I will try this the next time I make wings. Cheers!
-
I always bake my wings. It's easier and healthier than deep frying for sure. And I coat the wings with the sauce before baking. Very yummy when baked at 425 for about 25 minutes or so. -
Why is it necessary to steam first and not baked straight? -
Rouxbe Staff
As Dawn mentions above, steaming helps to maintain the moisture in the wings. Steaming is a suitable method for wings as it helps to break down the collagen and fat in the wings which makes them nice and succulent before they are browned in the oven. Straight baking can potentially dry the wings out. Cheers! -
Are you talking ounces in weight or volume?
-
With butter it does not really matter if you measure by weight or volume. 3 ounces of butter is equal to 6 tablespoons or approx. 90 grams. Cheers!
-
Well just loved how the chicken wings crisped up using this method to cook. But the sauce was very frustrating. I thought I'd add the cornstarch but the sauce split. Figuring I'd done something wrong, I tried again - used room temp water with the cornstarch then added to the hot sauce, then on the heat. Almost right away, the sauce split again into curd like lumps. So thought I'd cook it a bit and maybe it would come together again and no, it didn't. Tried a third time using clarified butter to see if that made a difference. Nope - same result. So gave up on the cornstarch and just made the sauce without it. It was not bad but we wondered about the butter and whether it was necessary or whether that much of it was necessary. It seemed to give the sauce an overly oily look and feel. Anyway, would love to know what is going on that the sauce splits into curd like balls or lumps and how to correct it. Thanks! -
I haven't tried these yet, but certainly plan to. Do you think Sriracha would be a suitable hot sauce? -
Terry, I just left the test kitchen. I wanted to test this out for myself to see what might be the problem. Unfortunately, I am still not sure as what happened to you did not happen to me. The sauce did not split or turn in curd-like lumps. A few things that it could have been - the heat was too high? I used very low heat. Perhaps you used too much cornstarch, but that would generally just make it too thick. With all of that said, I tried the recipe again without the cornstarch and I also reduced the butter to 2 oz and it seemed thick enough for me like this. The butter is not only added for extra richness and flavor but it also makes the wings just a bit more "finger-liking" worthy, which is what some folks love about wings. You could either reduce the amount or leave it out all together and just use straight hot sauce, if you like. I will admit that I mild addiction to Frank's Hot Sauce. When it comes to wings and how people like them, I have to say that most people can, and are, very picky. I know I am. I like them quite crispy and not at all fatty. I used to work in a pub years ago and we had "Wings Wednesdays"...let me just say that I have heard it all :-) Hope this helps Terry. Cheers!
-
Essentially, you can use whichever sauce you like on wings to make up your own flavors. Of course they will likely no long be called "Buffalo Hot Wings" but that's okay. You could certainly give the sriracha sauce a try. Just keep in mind that most sriracha sauces are very spic,y so you might want to start out with less and work your way up from there. Cheers!
-
Thanks for all your comments Dawn. I think the heat level I used was medium? I will try again on low heat and see what happens. And will reduce the butter to 2 oz. as well. I totally appreciate your efforts to help out with my question!
-
No worries Terry. And just for the record, I generally do not add the cornstarch to the sauce. I just melt the butter, add the sauce and pour it over the wings. And because I like my wings on the crispier side I also like what Liz did. Pour the sauce on just after the wings get steamed and then bake the wings with the sauce on them. Cheers!
-
Funny that I should just come across this recipe for sriracha wings. It was actually in one of my many "must-make-one-day" folders. Cheers!
-
Most people seem to have great success with this recipe. I am not sure what I did wrong. I cut each wing into 2 segments and removed the tips. I then steamed the wings in single layer batches for 10 min. each and let them rest for over an hour. I cooked them for 20 min. per side in the oven. The exterior was beautiful -- golden brown and crispy. The interior, however, was over-dry. I am not convinced that the steaming really helped to prevent dryness. The skin -- though very beautiful in appearance -- seemed stringy and tough. The interior had a texture closer to overdone breast meat, instead of softer/fattier dark meat. One of my favorite wing recipes is a breaded, oven baked (with no steam) cooking process. The breading gives the crispness and the interior remains very moist. Any ideas as to where I went wrong?
-
Perhaps the wings were just overcooked, or perhaps the wings themselves where just not the same as other batches you have purchased? It's hard to say exactly what may have gone wrong. I will say that steaming generally does not dry things out (unless they are really overcooked), as steaming is a moist-heat cooking method. Whereas roasting is a dry-heat cooking method and therefore it can potentially dry things out. The only way to really tell if it's just the cooking method that you do not like, is to test a batch of wings. Cook half a batch using the steaming/roasting method and the other half using the straight roasting method. Hope this helps. Cheers!
-
Hello there. I made this recipe last night and the final result was amazing. Because in Romania we don't have Frank's hot sauce I used a normal hot chilli sauce from Heinz and there was this quite strange (acrid) vinegar like smell after coating the wings. Everybody complained about the smell however everybody loved the taste and wanted some more. I followed the recipe entirely, except the hot sauce. Is this smell normal when using hot sauces? Or? -
Yes, often vinegar, especially when heated will give off a very strong acidic smell. Another example, is when you reduce balsamic. You never want to put your face too close to the pot ,as the smell is far too strong, and not to mention that it will feel like it is burning out your sinuses (I know this because this is a joke that senior cooks like to play on junior cooks when they come into a new kitchen. The ask them to get really close and smell how delicious the balsamic smells - mean I know. I never did it). I am happy that everyone really liked the wings in the end. Cheers!
-
It was a first time for me so I was not sure. Thanks a lot, the wings were truly delicious. All the best
-
What is the difference between using parchment paper and foil paper in this recipe? -
Parchment paper creates a non-stick surface while aluminum foil does not. With that said you can use aluminum foil, you will just need to spray it with a non-stick spray first to prevent the wings from sticking. Cheers!
-
I want to add that I initially made this recipe w/o cornstarch but wanted to try a thicker sauce version. I tried using arrowroot powder (which is what I often use as a thickener instead if cornstarch). I also experienced the splitting issue. I was using high heat and almost immediately after adding the arrowroot and water the sauce basically split. It however didn't seam to split the same way that I have seen sauces do before. It seamed that there developed almost dough like curds in a liquid phase of oil. No amount of siring or whisking could homogenize the two phases. All the color stayed in the liquid phase. (I took a picture, not sure how to add it tho). And the "curds" basically would settle into like a slime in the pot lol. Needless to say I made a new sauce without thickener :) -
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Michael- OK, try to bring the slurry up to a simmer slowly while stirring. It's a very small volume and the arrowroot or cornstarch needs to be stirred or it will settle and immediately gelatinize or clump up. Once they cook, you're done - you need to strain it to get them out. The starch from those clumps were supposed to be dispersed throughout the sauce, making it thick and homogenous (no separating). It takes a small amount of thickener and gentle heat to get the sauce to tighten up. I hope this helps! -
A follow up to Michael's question...is arrowroot a 1 to 1 substitution for cornstarch? -
Yes, you can use a 1 to 1 substitution for cornstarch to arrowroot. Cheers!
-
I can't wait to make these for a crowd! Thanks for another delicious recipe, Rouxbe. -
I will be making these in a commercial convection oven, can you tell me how to adjust the baking temperature and/or baking time sonthese turn outwell? -
You may just need to turn the heat down slightly and/or cook them for a bit less time. Just keep an eye on them as they cook and rotate the pan during cooking, if needed. Cheers!
-
how many grams in total approximatly are the wings in total please? thank you.
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Jack- thanks for writing. A whole chicken wing (not split) weighs about 102 grams. Have fun cooking. Char -
if i add 1/4 tsp cornflour to the mixture and bake the chicken wings in it would it crisp up some what?
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Jack- I would suggest to use all the sauce ingredients to toss and coat before baking for deeper browning! Enjoy. -
can i reduce the butter content in the recipe?whats the maximum i can reduce the butter without ruining the recipe?thank you.
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Jack, the answer is subjective. The fat facilitates deep browning, more crispiness, and a richer taste. It is your choice to take out as much butter as suits your palate. I would suggest recipe testing and seeing how much butter suits your taste. My other suggestion is to invest in an air fryer. It is essentially a mini convection. You have expressed interest in reducing or eliminating fat so would explore the air fryer!
-
Hey all, I’ve been playing with this recipe substituting butter for a 3:1 ratio of vegan butter to roasted garlic oil and adding flavors such as white pepper and worsteshire sauce (still working through finalizing the taste I’m aiming for). The sauce I made seemed thick enough without adding the cornstarch- but I’m wondering if I should add some anyway to further emulsify the sauce for extended use? If cornstarch doesn’t have to be the route I take, is there another way to hot hold or reheat buffalo sauce without it splitting? Thank you in advance for your insight. Cheers!
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Heaven- Cornstarch acts as a thickener and stabilizer, not an emulsifier, and will not create a permanent emulsion as you are seeking. Whether vegan based (oil or nut based) or animal fat based you will need to whisk and heat to combine ingredients. I would suggest to adding mustard which is an emulsifier which will give you the "holding" effect you are seeking. Kudos to your flavor explorations!
-
i want to add additional spice to the sauce like the chile and spice oil on this website plus worcestersauce for extra umami.how much is reccommended? -
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, the ingredients that you suggest in this case that alter the taste and flavor should be adjusted to your taste preference. The ingredients are easily added, so I recommend tasting the food as you adjust these ingredients. This process will build your confidence with this all-important task. -
eric thank you.ive baked the wings in the buffalo sauce and butter but when baked there is too much fat left in the roasting tin from both the butter and from the wings themselves.how much can i reduce the butter level?thank you.
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, on one hand, you can reduce the butter by as much as you'd like. I always recommend experimenting to see what you like. But, as a starting point, consider reducing the butter by 50%, then make adjustments as desired. ~Eric
-
Can i flash roast at 230c fan to seal in the juices and obtain better browning.if so how long do u recommend for as I was thinking the first five minutes at 230c then 25 minutes at 200c..
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz- Time and temperature can be adjusted just be sure the chicken is cooked to internal temperature of 165F. The high temperature attributes to browned, crispy exterior, and the lower temperature will help with retaining moisture or as you call it "Seal in juices". Thank you for your question.
-
What could I garnish the wings with ?any suggestions x
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, the garnishing of these wings can be a really fun thing to experiment with! Start with blue cheese crumbles, or thinly sliced scallions, or a light drizzle of honey, or a combination of honey and scallions. Then, try out other ideas that come to mind!
-
I've heard that baking powder makes chicken wings extra crispy? Is that true?
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, yes, it is. Please read this article: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-buffalo-wings-oven-fried-wings-recipe
-
Eric I'm thinking of making a mixture like a dredging mixture here is what I'm planning to do-300g chicken wings,10 g butter 10g seasoned flour and 15 g buffalo Frank's hot sauce would this work?
-
Im thinking of adding abit of sugar to improve the Browning of the wings?if so how much would u recommend?thank you.
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, your dredging/sauce suggestion sounds good. As for the sugar, you'll need to do some testing... Start with 1 tsp of sugar and see how you like the results. ~Eric
-
How can I add a bitter note to the sauce to round out the flavours?
-
Rouxbe Staff
HI Riaz, to get some bitterness for this sauce, you may try (in moderation!) fenugreek seeds, horseradish powder, mustard, or turmeric. Play around carefully as these spices and seeds can take the flavor in an irreparable direction if you put too much. Cheers, Chef Randall -
Thank u Randall much appreciated x
-
I've heard that carbonated water will increase crispiness?is this true?if so how much should I use as I'm baking the wings in the sauce Butter combo.as I'm adding water shall I reduce the Frank's hot sauce as I want to keep the Browning as best as can be.thank u.
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hello Riaz, The carbonation in soda water (or beer or soda) can be added so that the batter becomes more "airy," leading to a lighter and crispier final result after frying. The bubbles provide lift as they escape from the batter during frying. Also, the carbonation makes the batter slightly more acidic, which limits how much gluten can form when the beer and flour mix, preventing the batter from turning tough. Cheers, Chef Randall
-
randall to save on using more pans than i want to use can i oven steam roast the wings first by place them on a roasting rack over a roasting tray,pour boiling water in the surface of the tray to create steam then cover everything with foil and place on the bottom shelf of an oven then remove wings pat dry dry cover with the sauce then bake the wings on the same rack over the tray but this time no water in the tray?how do you suggest i do this and if its possible?
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, The method you describe will work. Most times, wings are not steamed in advance. The author of this recipes explains: "In this case the wings are steamed rather than deep-fried as steaming helps to maintain the moisture within the chicken. It also just happens to be healthier than deep-frying." So you can do it your way, her way, or just roast or deep fry them directly. Cheers, Chef Randall
-
can i thicken the sauce in a pyrex jug in the microwave with a plate on top on 100% percent power instead of dirtying another pot or pan then toss the wings in the sauce after oven steam roasting them then roasting as usual on a oven rack over on oven tray? im thinking microwave the sauce for 1 minute to gelatinise the cornflour.
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, you could use a microwave but I hesitate to advise using that method because of how greatly models vary with wattage and cooking times. You have much more control with a sauce pan and reducing right in front of you. Cheers, Randall
-
Dawn im planning on using a bake on sauce to facilitate browning. I know that this recipe is very simple but how I add complexity to a bake on sauce using store cupboard ingredients? My current ratio is 300 g chicken wings 15 ml Frank's hot sauce and 15 g unsalted butter. I want a balance of flavours that's simple but knocks nandos out of the ball park.thank you
-
I forgot to ask are rouxbes oven recipes do you guys use a traditional conventional oven (no fan) or a convection oven with a fan?
-
if im not steaming the wings at all should i increase roasting time?
-
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Riaz, There are numerous ways to jazz up store-bought sauce. I encourage you to experiment--this approach is fundamental to learning what you like and how flavor come together. As for the oven, I don't recall how this recipe was tested. Either way, it's a matter of checking the food for progress and doneness. And, ditto for steaming or not steaming the wings--please check for doneness during the cooking process. Enjoy, Eric
Details