Recipe - Oven Buffalo Wings

The first time I ate chicken wings was a few years ago with my sister Stacey.  After a fun morning of antique shopping in the charming town of Minocqua, Wisconsin, she took me to a little Bar & Grill she loves for lunch, where we devoured a big plate of hot and spicy Buffalo Wings chased down with multiple glasses of cold diet soda.  I was skeptical at first, but they were highly addictive, and now a trip to visit her is never complete without indulging in this tasty (but messy) activity.  Since the sauce tends to end up all over your fingers and face, it's the kind of thing you want to eat with loved ones--not people you're trying to impress!

Chicken wings are not everyday, healthy dinnertime fare, but party food, best consumed only on occasion.  In my case, that occasion was our Super Bowl party, which, since we are not big sports fans, was more party than Super Bowl.  I did lots of research to find out how to achieve at home in my own oven the crispy results the restaurants obtain through deep frying, and I think my (somewhat) lower fat version turned out quite fabulous!  They were easy as pie--anyone can make them. The sauce is whatever you want it to be, from BBQ to Asian-inspired to the classic Buffalo.  See instructions at the end of the letter.

After the weekend fun, it was back to the treadmill on Monday.  I was glad to see Maceys is again advertising their "Fill it Fresh" promotion, offering lots of healthy, delicious produce to fill a bag to bursting for $10.00.  Take advantage of the savings by concentrating on items that cost the most per pound and/or that your family likes best.  I chose to fill my whole bag with Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers.  See eligible items in the Maceys list below.  Here's my bag:

Please ignore dirty dishes in the background!  This bag held 23 Zucchini and 9 Red Bell Peppers.  That's only $.33/Vegetable.

Oven Buffalo Chicken Wings

4 lbs Chicken Wing Sections (about 35)

2 Tablespoons Baking Powder

¾ teaspoon salt

Cooking Spray

Sauce or Sauces of your choice

 This is the bag after I had used 4 of the 5 pounds it contained.  But there are some brands you can buy in 4 lb bags, which would be just right for this recipe.

Having never made wings before, I opted for a bag of frozen ones that had been pre-sectioned into drumettes and middle sections (the wings tips are not included, but people who cut up their own wings save them for chicken stock).  If you choose to section your own, there are easy instructions at various locations on the Internet which explain how to do so.
 

This is the only time I have ever cooked chicken with the skin left on.  It would be hard to remove the skin, and if you did they would dry out too much.

I did a lot of research to find out the best way to make hot wings (which are traditionally deep fried) in the oven.  The process described below turned out great, and it was very easy.  So here we go!

A couple of days ahead...

-If your chicken comes in a frozen bag, remove the amount you need one to two days before and place in a bowl in fridge to thaw, covered.

On the day of cooking...

-Place chicken wings on cookie sheet, uncovered, in the fridge for a few hours to dry out.

-Remove from fridge and lay them out on paper towels, changing as needed until most of the moisture from the wings is absorbed.  At this point I like to take a sharp knife and try to remove any pieces of excess fat or skin I see that is not directly connected.  You don't have to do this.

-Heat oven to 250 degrees.

-Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Place a cooling rack on top and spray with cooking spray.

-Mix baking powder and salt together well.  Sprinkle over chicken in bowl.

-Using your hands, toss baking powder mixture into chicken until well coated.

-Lay the chicken pieces out on the tray.

-Bake at 250 degrees for 40 minutes to render out the fat.  This, plus the baking powder salt mixture, helps dry out the wings so they can crisp in the oven without deep frying.  This is what they look like at this point.

-Increase heat to 425 degrees.  Cook an additional hour or more until the skin is crisp and blistered.  Watch them, however, because if you overdo it they will dry up and not be good.

 See how the skin is blistered and crispy? 

Remove from baking tray and let stand five minutes.  In a bowl, cover with sauce of your choice and toss to coat.

Choose your favorite sauce or sauces, or make your own.  I used Buffalo Wild Wings Traditional Mild Buffalo sauce AND their Sweet Honey BBQ Sauce, because we got them free for being members of their birthday club last year.  They were great, but there are plenty of choices you can pick up at the store.  Some people like to use an Asian inspired sauce on their wings.

These two photos show the Honey BBQ, which most people will enjoy and the Traditional Buffalo Sauce, which is hotter (my favorite).  The Buffalo sauce is on the bottom.

Here's my plate of wings with some of each.  They were delicious!