Creamy, yummy, great. With a hint of soy sauce. These Catalina wings more than hit the spot. I was amazed by how much I loved the flavor combination. Kinda like an Asian-inspired BBQ sauce. Easy as heck to make, too. If you’re looking for a simple wing sauce recipe that can be made from ingredients you already have in your fridge and pantry, this is it. The only one you’ll need!
Make More
The sauce on these Catalina wings is great for more than wings. Slather it on grilled chicken breasts. On fried chicken sandwiches. Dip your nuggets in it. Brush it on ribs. It’s a great all-around sauce that has great flavor and the perfect consistency for just about any application.
If you’re having trouble getting the onion powder to dissolve when stirring, just use a whisk. In a minute or two it’ll disappear into the sauce and you’re good-to-go!
I’ve been wanting to make these crispy Buffalo wings using a gas grill for a while. It’s not that I don’t make wings on a grill often. I do. But I use a thing called a Vortex BBQ and I make them on my charcoal grill. It helps me get amazingly crispy skin using very high temperatures. That’s not what I’m doing here, though. I wanted to prove that I can make fantastically crunchy skin wings without my Vortex, without charcoal. All on my gas grill . And boy did I. These great wings take just little effort, just a little time, and come out fantastic.
It’s Super Easy
There are just two simple steps to making crispy Buffalo wings using a gas grill. First, you need to air dry the wings coated in seasoned baking powder (not baking soda) overnight in a fridge on a wire rack. This helps dry out the skin, making it easier to get it crispy later. And second, when it comes time to cook the wings, make sure you have you set up your grill for direct and indirect cooking. You want one side super hot while leaving the gas off on the other side. That leaves you a less hot zone, called indirect grilling, to cook your wings without worrying about burning them. The high heat circulates around the wings helps crisp up the skin.
Place the wings in a large bowl or resealable container.
Combine the baking powder and Cajun seasoning.
Sprinkle half of the seasoning mix over the wings. Using your hands, toss the wings to coat.
Add the remaining seasoning and repeat.
Transfer the wings to a wire rack over a baking sheet. Place in the fridge 12 hours or overnight to dry out the skin.
Fire up your gas grill for two zone cooking. On one side, have the burners turned as high as they will go. This will be the direct heat zone. Leave the other side unlit. This will be the indirect heat zone, where you'll cook the wings. Give the grill plenty of time to preheat. You want maximum heat over the direct zone.
Place the wings on the indirect heat side of the grill.
Cook until the wings are lightly browned and crispy, usually 45 minutes. Check them after 30 minutes since cook times will vary depending on your grill and conditions (wind can make them take longer).
I admit it, I do eat my share of chicken wings. Most of the time that means picking up a family pack of 3-4 pounds of fresh wings at the grocery store and cooking them up. Fried, baked, grilled… any way I want. I also always keep some wings on hand in the freezer. Why? Because, well, I like them and they are quick and easy. I picked up a bag of these Tyson Smoked crispy wings and made them the other day in my air fryer. And ya know, for fast already-made wings, they were pretty good!
Crunchy Battered Yumminess
Tyson smoked crispy wings are a variety of wing pieces that are “smoked” and battered. Some pieces are bigger than others. Some are meatier than others. Cooking them involves tossing them into the air fryer or oven for a little bit. That’s it. They come out hot and crispy. Like really hot. So be careful with them until they cool a bit.
You can sauce the wings after you heat them or leave them un-sauced. They’re smaller wings, usually, making them easy to dunk in your favorite sauce or dressing. You could easily make these wings for a crowd, though you’d probably want to make them in the oven since you can only do a small amount at a time in the air fryer.
A Little Extra Cook Time
I like to cook these wings a few more minutes longer than the bag states. It could just be my air fryer or oven. I do like crunchier wings. That extra time gets me to crunchy wing happiness.
Ranch dressingoptional, for serving. Or use your favorite
Instructions
For the air fryer
Lightly spray your air fryer basket with non-stick spray. Preheat your air fryer to 360 F per the manufacturer's instructions.
Add the wing pieces and cook for 12-14 minutes. Note: I prefer 16 minutes. I recommend checking them after 12 or so minutes to see if you are happy with the color of the wings and remove them before 16 minutes if desired.
Remove wings and let cool for 2 minutes before serving.
For the oven
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Add wings and cook for 10 minutes. Flip and cook another 10-15 minutes.
Notes
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce on the side, if desired.
Ahhhhhh. Yes. These crispy baked wings are my kind of wings. Baked wings didn’t used to be my kind of wings. Not until this technique came along. Before this, I didn’t like the soft skin. The dried out meat. Nothing but wing sadness. Well, I’m not sad any more! Just a little seasoning and time in the oven and I’ve got nicely crisped-up wings. Grab some of my favorite sauce and I’m good-to-go!
It’s Party Time!
You can make a big ole batch of crispy baked wings in no time. Or you can make a personal-sized batch. Whichever you prefer, it’s easy no matter how many you make. This is the perfect recipe for a crowd. While the wings are cooking to perfection grab (or make!) a few different flavors of sauces and make a wing bar!
As simple as they are to make, these wings do require that you do one thing right when you are preparing them and that’s make sure they are dry before adding the baking powder and pepper mixture. If you see the baking powder making a dough-like puddle at the bottom of your bowl you do not have the wings dry enough. Take the time to make sure you get them dry. The wings will get crispier and taste better if you do!
I cook up a LOT of chicken wings. Sometimes I make them in the deep fryer, sometimes on the charcoal grill, sometimes on the gas grill, sometimes on the smoker, and often on the Char-Broil Big Easy. I love them any way, any time. One of my favorite ways to prepare wings is using a Vortex on my charcoal grill. This simple device gets your grill screamin’ hot, perfect for making those great crispy wings we all love. So grab a Vortex and read on! This is how to make perfect wings using a Vortex!
The Search…
I am always on a quest for the next best wing cooking idea. Recently, I discovered the best way for making crispy wings on the Char-Broil Big Easy, which came out fantastic. But, I was still looking for the best way to get crispy wings on my charcoal grill. That’s when I discovered the Vortex and Vortex chicken wings are amazing. The Vortex is an insert for your grill that let’s you concentrate the charcoal heat, making for an incredibly hot fire. As you can see below, the wings ring the Vortex, getting super hot and in just a while, crispy. And it couldn’t get any easier.
Best Thing Ever…
I couldn’t be more happy with my Vortex purchase. I purchased the small-sized model, which works fantastic on my old 18″ Weber kettle and 22″ Weber Performer grills. But, a larger model is available for the 22″-26″ cookers.
Since I originally posting this recipe, I’ve made wings on my Vortex hundreds of times. I’ve found that rotating the lid isn’t so critical (specially when cooking on a smaller grill such as the Jumbo Joe). For a little smoky flavor, throw a nice chunk of your favor wood (I like hickory or cherry) over the Vortex about 5 minutes before you put your wings on.
These baked maple wings are a fantastic wing for a party. Any party. Or the big game. They are easy to make and come out tasting absolutely fantastic. If you make the recipe as stated the wings are slightly sweet, with a slight hint of spiciness. They are impossible to stop eating. The skin doesn’t get crunchy but it has a nice bite to it. Not ‘weird’ like some baked wings can get.
Make It Several Ways
The beauty of the recipe for these baked maple wings is that you can make a minor change or two and have slightly different wings. That’s what makes these so great for a party. You can make several batches at once, letting your guests decide what variation they prefer.
For a spicy version add more pepper flake or add some hot sauce. For a more Buffalo-inspired version, add a cup of Buffalo sauce. The sauce recipe is very flexible.
Twist And Turn
As easy as these wings are to make, make sure you don’t ignore the instructions to turn them every 20 minutes during the first part of the cook. During the second part, where you’re cooking them using higher heat, definitely don’t ignore the wings for long. They’ll get golden brown quick. A little color is great. But don’t burn them!
Place the wings in a large disposable pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet to help support the pan. Use the baking sheet to take the wings out of the oven and you don't have to worry about the disposable pan collapsing.
Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and pour over the wings. Turn the wings to coat well.
Bake the wings for 1 hours, turning every 20 minutes.
Turn the oven up to 425 F.
Bake the wings for up to another 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes. You don't want the wings to burn. You want a nice golden color to them.
Remove wings to a platter and drizzle with the sauce from the pan.
Devour!
Notes
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce on the side, if desired.
I don’t just make fresh wings at home. I think it’s important to try other wings. Like these TGI Friday’s Honey BBQ snack wings. I know that not everyone wants to grab a pack of fresh wings from the store and go thru the process of prepping and cooking them. It’s a bit of work. And if you have a house full of guests you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen. But you also don’t want to serve bad wings. I can say these are actually pretty good wings. They are definitely some of the best frozen wings I’ve found.
Tasty. And Easy.
I liked the sauce on these TGI Friday’s Honey BBQ snack wings. It’s lightly sweet and a pretty good BBQ sauce on its own. There’s plenty of sauce on each wing too. I didn’t run into a case where one wing was sauced and one wasn’t. The coating on the wings is good too. The wings are reasonably meaty, and I found the wings to be pretty consistent in quality. I can’t say I’ve always had that same experience with other frozen wing brands.
I cooked my wings in the oven. I’m not a big fan of microwaved wings even though the packaging has instructions for cooking them there. The oven gives you just a bit of a crunch to the wings and I like that. Plus they’re easy. Just make sure you use some non-stick spray on the foil before adding the wings. They do like to stick a bit.
And like that I crossed the invisible line between fried wings and grandma’s fried chicken. But, unlike grandma’s deliciousness, my secret spice blend fried chicken wings pack a good little kick. Every bite is a bite into crunchy, moist, flavorful greatness. No, these aren’t Buffalo wings. Not even close. But sometimes you need a break for those saucy yummy classics. And that sometime is now!
Yes, They Seem Kinda Familiar
These secret spice blend fried chicken wings are a take on the spicy chicken fillet sandwich you could get at Wendy’s. Heck, for all I know you can still get the sandwiches. Me, I’m a wing guy. So any time I come across a tasty chicken recipe, I try and adapt it for wings. And I did. These wings hit the spot. I love the coating on them. The spice blend is perfect.
You can use the wet mix for any coating. Even store-bought fried chicken breading. The simple combination of just water and hot sauce adds just a little special flavor to whatever you are deep frying.
I have cooked my share of wings and then some. On my Char-Broil Big Easy. And on a smoker. Sometimes, on a charcoal grill using the Vortex BBQ. Deep fried. Slow cooked. Air fried. Convection oven. Any way, any time, I do love wings. But until now I had never cooked wings using a rotisserie basket on my grill. One thing is for sure, this is not the last time I’ll be doing it, either. Perfectly crispy wings cooked up in no time, using a gas or charcoal grill. Nothing but yumminess here! This is how to make perfect wings using a rotisserie.
Simple Prep. Great Results.
There are no complicated steps involved when it comes to how to make perfect wings using a rotisserie. I just coated the wings in a just a bit of oil first. Then I tossed them with my favorite wing seasoning. That’s it. For the rotisserie all you need is a super hot indirect fire. You don’t want flame directly beneath the wings as they will drip, and that’ll cause flare-ups and burning. So keep the fire around the wings, but not below. Your wings will come out as great as my rotisserie chicken wings did.
No Peaking, Please.
Resist the temptation to open the lid to your grill while the wings cook. But I have to admit, I peaked once or twice because hey, it’s cool to see wings toss around in a basket. It’s the ultimate in food porn.
Place wings in a large resealable baggie or container. Add the oil and seasoning. Seal and toss to coat. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Fire up your grill with a rotisserie attachment. You do not want any direct fire beneath the basket. I put a disposable pan under the basket to catch and drippings. On a charcoal grill you’ll want to keep the lit coals in front of and behind the rotisserie. For a gas grill you want any burner(s) to the left and right of the basket to be lit if your burners run from-to-back. If your burners run from left-to-right you want to have the burner(s) in front of and behind the basket to be lit. If you have an infrared burner above your basket, light it also and turn it to medium-high. All other burners should be on high.
Transfer the wings to the basket and place on your grill. Turn on the rotisserie and close the lid. You want high heat, so no peaking. Let the wings cook for 20 minutes before checking them. They should start to crisp and the meat will start to pull back from the bones. Mine ended up taking 25-30 minutes until they got how I liked them.
I have cooked a LOT of chicken wings on my Char-Broil Big Easy. It’s my favorite way to cook wings, other than deep frying. The Big Easy cooks wings so easily and quickly. I usually finish off the wings over a hot grill to get a bit of a crunch on the skin. Well, no more. Crispy wings on the Char-Broil Big Easy are fantastic! This is how to make perfect wings using a Char-Broil Big Easy time after time!
Now I can get delicious, tender, moist, crunchy wings on the Big Easy without grilling them afterwards. These crispy wings are fantastic. This is it, the way to do wings on the cooker you thought was only for turkey!
Dry Skin Means Crispy Skin
The key to getting the wings crispy is to dry out the skin so that takes on a good crunch under the high heat of the Big Easy. You can (and should!) also pick up a bunk bed basket that doubles the amount of room you’ll have for cooking wings. You don’t want to crowd the wings into the cooker or they won’t cook evenly. This how to make perfect wings using a Char-Broil Big Easy, time after time!
