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I’m a huge fan of dry wings. You know, wings without sauce. When most people think wings, they picture a basket of wings covered in Buffalo sauce, needing a stack of napkins. I get it, sauced wings have their place. But dry wings? That’s a whole different experience.
Dry What?
That definitely doesn’t mean wings without flavor, though. In fact, it’s the opposite. Without sauce hiding everything, the flavor has nowhere to hide. These wings are packed with flavor because every bit of it is right there on the skin. We’re talking crispy, crackling skin seasoned with a real dry rub – garlic, smoked paprika, black pepper, cayenne, brown sugar, salt, maybe a little lemon pepper or Cajun kick depending on who made them. Some places smoke them first, some fry them hard until they’re extra crunchy, some grill them over charcoal. The seasoning gets toasted right onto the wing itself, so each bite is layered and crunchy and savory.
All Flavor
What I love most is you actually taste the chicken. You taste the smoke, the char, the crunch. And your hands aren’t completely coated in sauce, which honestly makes them way better for watching a game or hanging out with friends. You can still dip them if you want, ranch or blue cheese or hot sauce on the side, but you don’t need to.
Go For It! Get Dry!
If you haven’t tried dry wings, you should! Especially if you think you don’t like wings without sauce. I used to be a sauce-only person too until I had one perfect batch of lemon pepper dry rub wings that changed everything. Once you go dry, you realize how much flavor you were missing under all that sauce.
This is my list of my best dry wings, the ones I keep going back to, the ones I tell all my friends about, and the ones that prove you don’t need sauce to have the best wings you’ve ever had.
The List
- MIld Sauces
- Made for wings and more