What’s better than a great tangy wing dipping sauce? One that’s easy to make, that’s what! This Buffalo wing buttermilk blue cheese dipping sauce could hardly be any easier to make. And you can easily double the recipe or more for a crowd. It’s nice and creamy and lightly tangy, perfect for cooling you off after that blazing hot wing. And if you happen to like your wings with carrot and celery sticks, this sauce is great for them too!
Thin-Ish
This Buffalo wing buttermilk blue cheese dipping sauce is thinner. Thinner than say, bottle blue cheese dressing. I was totally ok with that. You might not be. You can adjust the buttermilk and mayonnaise to change that. Or add more blue cheese. It does thicken up a bit if you let it ‘get happy’ in the fridge overnight. Personally I thought it was fine for my wings.
I knew before I opened the bottle that I’d love this sauce and I’d love it even more on chicken wings. In part that’s because I loved Nando’s garlic wings. I knew I could trust the brand. I knew when it said ‘spicy’ it’d be spicy. And there’s this little ‘heat indicator’ on the label too. It didn’t indicate ‘mild’ or ‘medium’. It said ‘hot’. And it was. A little sweet, too. And it was oh, oh so delicious! These Nando’s Spicy Brown Sugar wings are great!
Air-Fried. Or Otherwise
I went with my standard go-to air fryer recipe for making these Nando’s Spicy Brown Sugar wings. It’s easy and quick, perfect for my lunch. Yep, lunch. I eat a lot of wings. Probably too many. But I can’t help myself when there are delicious sauces around like this one! I’m a big fan of the light sweetness. And I love the tanginess and slight tartness (it’s those peri-peri peppers!). This sauce is almost BBQ sauce-like, with its hint of smoke. But it’s different. And very good.
Lightly spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick spray. Preheat per manufacturer’s recommendation.
Toss the wing flats and drumettes with the seasoning.
Add the wings to the basket (be careful it’s hot!). If you have trouble fitting them without overlapping, stand the drumettes along the sides of the basket.
Cook at 360 F for 12 minutes for large wings, 10 minutes for smaller ones.
Carefully flip the wings (rotate the drumettes if they are standing) and cook another 12 minutes again (10 minutes for smaller wings) at 375 F.
Flip the wings one last time. Increase the temperature to 390 F and cook another 6 minutes (4 minutes for smaller wings).
We always stop at Buc-ee’s when we travel. Yeah, we’ve done the brisket sandwiches, the cheap gas, and the gear. But for me, the highlight is always the condiment section. I always find something there. BBQ sauces. Jellies. Seasonings. And all reasonably priced, too. Our last stop was at the new Buc-ee’s outside of Dayton, Ohio. There I grabbed a bottle of Tabanero smoked pepperoncini BBQ sauce. And I knew exactly what I was going to put it on first: wings. I wasn’t sure what the smoked pepperoncini would bring to a BBQ sauce but I sure do now, and that’s wonderful flavor. Slightly tangy, a bit smoky and a little sweet, this is one crazy-good BBQ sauce. For wings, ribs, chicken, you name it. This is a great sauce. It made for some of the best wings I’ve had using a bottled BBQ sauce, that’s for sure.
Just Make Some Wings!
I went with some nice-and-easy but-still-yummy air fryer wings for my Tabanero Smoked Pepperoncini BBQ sauce wings. You can do whatever wings you want, but you’ll want to stick to unflavored ones. Don’t get frozen Buffalo wings. Or lemon pepper. And don’t use any seasoning that will ‘fight’ the sauce. Salt and pepper is great here. You just want to make some good wings. Then bring on the sauce and the happiness. The sauce comes in a squirt bottle, so you can just squirt it on and give them a light toss or stir. Or you can serve the sauce on the side, in a cup, for dipping. Or both. It’s your life, your wings. Do you. Just get plenty of the delicious sauce!
Lightly spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick spray. Preheat per manufacturer’s recommendation.
Combine the baking powder and wing seasoning. Sprinkle over the wings and toss to coat.
Add the wings to the basket (be careful it’s hot!). If you have trouble fitting them without overlapping, stand the drumettes along the sides of the basket.
Cook at 360 F for 12 minutes for large wings, 10 minutes for smaller ones.
Carefully flip the wings (rotate the drumettes if they are standing) and cook another 12 minutes again (10 minutes for smaller wings) at 375 F.
Flip the wings one last time. Increase the temperature to 390 F and cook another 6 minutes (4 minutes for smaller wings).
What a fool. I was just sitting here the other day thinking maybe I’d cut back on the wings. Take a little break. After I make these air fryer Hooters Buffalo wings, that sounds like a good time to chill a bit. Well, ‘no’. Just ‘no’ to that idea. Not when there are wings like these. And from the air fryer? I would’ve told you that you were lying to me. No way. “They have to be deep-fried” is what I’d say. Or exclaim. Nope, they aren’t. These are great Buffalo wings. These are the kind of wings that make me happy and ready to eat more tomorrow!
Darn Near Deep-Fried
I use my air fryer for wings a lot because it’s easy and makes for some good wings. But not quite like I’d get deep-fried, which is my wing of choice (well, that and wings cooked on a charcoal grill using the Vortex). These air fryer Hooters Buffalo wings come mighty close to being just as good as deep-fried. Mighty close. Darned close. Close enough? That’s up to you to decide. I loved them. Tossed in a simple standard Buffalo sauce, I could not get enough of them.
Combine the flour, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt in a large bowl.
Add the wings and coat well.
Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
Spray your air fryer basket with non-stick spray.
Preheat your air fryer to 400 F.
Add the wings to the air fryer. Do not overlap.
Spray the wings lightly with more non-stick spray. If there are any 'floury' spots, give them an extra spray so that they crisp up good.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Gently turn the wings and lightly spray again with non-stick spray. If there are still some 'floury' spots, give them an extra spray so that they crisp up good.
For my money, nothing adds great cooked-outdoors flavor like a Vortex. It’s definitely one of my favorite tools for making perfect wings, time and time again. Today I made a batch of delicious dill pickle dry wings using the Vortex. Easy, with crunchy skin and moist meat, these wings pack in the dill pickle flavor from start to finish. You’re not going to be hunting for that great pucker-up dill pickle flavor in these wings, it’s everywhere!
Keep The Shy On The Sly
Load up on the dill pickle seasoning when you make some dill pickle dry wings using the Vortex. From start to finish. Pour it on. You cannot make these wings ‘wrong’ other than to not add enough dill pickle flavor. And make the dipping sauce, too. No ranch or blue cheese here. Add more dill pickle flavor. It’s a party.
Oh yeah. Here we go. We’re bringing the blue cheese. None of them ‘I dunked my wings but I don’t see any blue cheese’ blues here. And we’re bringing thick. None of them ‘the dressing dripped off my wings’ blues here. Nope. This Buffalo wing blue cheese dipping sauce was perfect for my Buffalo wing ‘flight’. My combination of smoked and deep-fried wings, some sauced, some not, was perfect for dipping in this dressing. It cooled me off a bit before I took that next great bite!
Chunky When It Needs To Be
You’re in control of the chunkiness when you make your Buffalo wing blue cheese dipping sauce. Process it a bit longer and you get less chunks. Me, I like a few chunks. I like the ones that stick to my wings. That’s where that thick creaminess comes in. It helps those delicious cheese chunks stick. If you have hot wings and need a cool dipping sauce, this is it. So make extra.
8? 12? 18? How many of these soy-ginger glazed air fryer wings could I eat? Well, I’m not telling. But the answer is definitely ‘a lot’. The sauce on these wings is sweet, salty, savory… and slightly citrusy. No heat here. But plenty of amazing sweetness that is beyond finger-licking good. I actually made this sauce for roasted Brussels sprouts, but after tasting it I realized that its true calling was on wings. And boy, was I ever right!
Yesterday Seems So Far Away
You have to make the glaze for these soy-ginger glazed air fryer wings the day before you plan on devouring them. Don’t realize 10 minutes before it’s time to eat that you need to make it. That’s too late. Do it the day before and refrigerate it overnight. You’ll then have the perfect glaze. Thick. Like molasses. Delicious. And oh so worth it.
The Air Fryer? Again?
No, no, you don’t really have to make these wings in the air fryer. Make the glaze the day ahead. Then make the wings however you want. I went air fryer because that’s my go-to less-mess technique. Grilled, deep-fried, baked… doesn’t really matter. Just make some wings your way. Then glaze them!
Need Heat?
If you’re a gotta-have-it-spicy person, add a few pinches of red pepper flakes to the glaze while it’s simmering happily away. Let it flavor the sauce. Don’t go crazy with it, though. A little is ok. A lot? You’ll overwhelm the delicious sauce.
Combine the brown sugar, sugar and soy sauce in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a simmer and continue simmering, stirring often, until the sauce reduces by one half. The sauce will thicken somewhat and will continue thickening as it cools later.
Remove from heat and stir in the fresh ginger.
Let cool then place into a resealable container in the fridge overnight.
Bring to room temperature before serving. I set the container out while I prepare the Brussels sprouts.
For the wings
Note: Before starting, remove the glaze from the fridge so it can come to room temperature while you cook the wings.
Lightly spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick spray. Preheat per manufacturer’s recommendation.
Sprinkle over the wings with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Note: You'll have to work in batches to cook all of the wings unless you have a super-large air-fryer. Do not overlap the wings in the basket or they will not cook evenly.
Add the wings to the basket (be careful it’s hot!). If you have trouble fitting them without overlapping, stand the drumettes along the sides of the basket.
Cook at 360 F for 12 minutes for large wings, 10 minutes for smaller ones.
Carefully flip the wings (rotate the drumettes if they are standing) and cook another 12 minutes again (10 minutes for smaller wings) at 375 F.
Flip the wings one last time. Increase the temperature to 390 F and cook another 6 minutes (4 minutes for smaller wings).
I saw ‘roasted pineapple and black pepper’ and thought to myself, man, I bet some Country Bob’s Roasted Pineapple and Black Pepper wings would be crazy good. And they were good. I had no problem putting them away, that’s for sure. But were they crazy good? Not quite, but close. I coulda used more pineapple flavor and more pepper. But I did finish the whole bottle of sauce….
Nice ‘N Thick
My Country Bob’s Roasted Pineapple and Black Pepper wings didn’t wow me. Oh, how I wanted to taste some roasted pineapple. I did but it was kinda hiding there. It did add a little nice sweetness. The pepper was more noticeable but over-the-top. The sauce was definitely the right thickness. Perfect I’d say. It stuck to my wings without being gloppy.
These are my favorite lemon pepper wings. Some are homemade sauces. Some are store-bought sauces. All are great and all have a nice lemon and pepper flavor!
I got thru a lot of paper towels. A lot. Because I eat a lot of messy wings. And messy is good. These garlic Parmesan Ranch wings had me reaching for extra paper towels. Lots and lots of butter. Lots of garlic. And of course, lots of cheese. With a wonderful Ranch flavor to boot. Yeah, these are finger-licking good. But you’ll still need paper towels!
Make Extra Sauce
I made plenty of extra sauce for these garlic Parmesan Ranch wings. It’s nice to have a little extra on the side, in a little cup, for dipping my wings for extra happiness. But also, any leftover sauce is great for other things. And by other things I mean garlic bread. Man, is the sauce ever great for soppin’ with a big ole slice of garlic bread! So make extra and thank me later!
You don’t really have to deep-fry your wings. Just make the sauce and use it on wings cooked however you prefer.
Heat 2-3" of oil to 380 F in a deep fryer or Dutch oven.
Sprinkle the wings with the salt and pepper.
Working in batches if needed, fry the wings until golden brown and the skin has crisped, 8-10 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack to drain and cool slightly.
