Chicken Wings
We love chicken wings! Flavorful buffalo wings and crispy chicken wings are truly a favorite appetizer and great for anytime of the week. They can be a mini-meal or a party appetizer for crowds. We have so many different versions for you to try.
From oven baked wings, to pan fried, to grilled wings, or to air fryer chicken wings, there’s always something for everyone in our collection of chicken wing recipes.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO COOK CHICKEN WINGS:
Here’s the complete write up for –> Different Ways to Cook Chicken Wings
DEEP FRIED, NO FLOUR DREDGING:
- Results: Super juicy and crispy. But like anything that’s deep fried, it’s high in calories.
- Technique: Heat vegetable oil in deep skillet or dutch oven to about 350-375°F. Fry wings for about 10 minutes or until crispy brown. Remove chicken wings from hot oil, blot on paper towels and toss with your sauce.
DEEP FRIED WITH FLOUR DREDGING:
- Results: Super Juicy and Extra Crispy. Adding the flour to the deep fried gives a slightly crispier crust to the chicken wing, but you still have the higher calories vs baking. For gluten free options use rice flour. You can also get great crispy results by using potato starch, tapioca flour or corn starch to replace all purpose flour or do a 50/50 ratio.
- Technique: Lightly coat the chicken wings with all purpose flour, or as mentioned above, use potato starch, tapioca flour or corn starch.Heat vegetable oil in deep skillet or dutch oven to about 350-375°F. Fry wings for about 10 minutes or until crispy brown and cooked through. Remove chicken wings from hot oil, blot on paper towels and toss with your sauce.
COMPARISON ON DEEP FRIED VARIATIONS:
Flour vs. No Flour? After the sauce is added both have great crispy, juicy textures but the one with the flour coating has an extra crispy crust. But after the wings have cooled, the textures become the very similar, so the flour doesn’t really matter too much at this point. If you are saucing the wings, the flour coating will grab a touch more sauce and if you’re eaten it hot, then the flour coating will give that extra crunch.
OVEN ROASTED OR BAKED, NO FLOUR DREDGING: (PHOTO BELOW)
- Results: Juicy & Crispy. The wings are still juicy and crispy, given that you bake them in a hot enough oven and the you don’t over bake them. This option is healthier than the deep fried, however they aren’t quite as crispy or juicy as the fried wings.
- Technique: Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Lay wings and drumettes on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Bake wings in oven for about 40-45 minutes till golden brown then flip them about halfway through baking time, after the first 20 minutes. Toss with your sauce.
OVEN ROASTED OR BAKED W/ FLOUR DREDGING:
- Results: Juicy and Crispier. Like the baked with no flour, they aren’t quite as juicy and crispy as the fried variants, however they are still quite delicious. The flour coating gives them a slightly crispier crust vs the un-coated baked wings, however it is still less crispy vs the fried variants.
- Technique: Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Lay wings and drumettes on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with flour (use rice flour for gluten free) Bake wings in oven for about 40-45 minutes till golden brown then flip them about halfway through baking time, after the first 20 minutes. Toss with your sauce.
{HEALTHIER} AIR FRYING CHICKEN WINGS IN AIR FRYER
- Technique: Just add chicken wings to air fryer. Technique is –> here.
- Results: Seriously, delicious and fantastic without any oil. Hands down, our favorite way to make wings. Best of all, air fryer chicken wings can be made in batches so you can always have a hot crispy batch ready to devour. Or can coat the wings with cornstarch, spray liberally with oil and then air fry. You’ll have a crispy, crunchy air fried chicken wing.
{HEALTHIER} STEAMING OR PRE-POACHING (BOILING) WINGS BEFORE BAKING OR AIR FRYING
- Technique: This is an additional step which will help render some of the excess fat in the chicken wings, making a lower-calorie wing. Bring a pot of water to boil. Boil or poach the wings for about 5 minutes to release excess oil from the skin. But before you bake the wings in the oven, make sure you allow the steamed and pre-poached (or boiling) wings to air dry out for about 10 minutes before baking. You can also cook the wings in the air fryer after poaching. They might dry out a bit, but with extra sauce, they will become more juicy.
- Results: How do they taste? When baked in the oven at a high temperature, the wings are still juicy, however they are slightly less crispy than the baked wings which weren’t poached or steamed. This is the healthiest method since in the steaming or poaching you are rendering out some of the fat from the wings.
