My favourite way of eating chicken wings has got to be these hot and spicy buffalo wings, named so as they were created in Buffalo, New York. They are really easy to pull off at home, thanks to the oven doing the baking. Traditionally, the chicken wings are deep-fried but I simply can’t pass on the convenience of oven-baked wings.
When ordering buffalo wings outside, you get to choose the heat of the wings based on the eatery’s heat-o-meter scale, and the extreme level is usually inhumanly hot. On a scale of 1 to 10, I will rate these wings as 7 – hot but bearable so that we can still taste the flavour of the chicken and sauce. You can easily adjust the heat by reducing or increasing the cayenne pepper used. After the wings are baked, they are coated in a tangy and slightly spicy vinegar-based cayenne pepper sauce (popular brand to use is Frank’s Red Hot Sauce; see photo on page 2) mixed with melted butter. These wings were really finger-licking good and I made them regularly for my guests, to great reviews. They make for great party food, taste great on their own or as a side dish to accompany any meal.
Printable Recipe |
Buffalo Wings (Step-by-Step) |
Prepare the wings by cutting to 3 portions at the joint (drummette, mid joint and end tip). Pat dry with paper towels. | |
In a plate, mix cayenne pepper, garlic powder, a pinch of salt and black pepper evenly. | |
Lightly coat the chicken pieces in the marinade powder. | |
Arrange chicken pieces on wire rack with foil-lined tray beneath. | |
Bake for 20 minutes then use chicken tongs to turn the chicken halfway. | |
Continue baking for another 20 minutes until chicken is cooked and crispy. | |
Mix melted butter, Frank’s hot sauce, salt and pepper in a bowl. Coat baked chicken in the sauce before serving. |
10 Apr 2012: Recipe updated with air fryer instruction.
These buffalo wings are really easy to pull off at home, thanks to the oven doing the baking. Tweak the heat level of the buffalo wings to your preference by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper.