Here we are again. Another great wing sauce. This is not the first time I’ve been highly impressed with a wing sauce from Private Selection. I found it at Kroger. Each and every bottle has been packed with excitingly new flavors. Like this Private Selection Peach Carolina Reaper wing sauce. Oh it’s spicy. If you’re not familiar with the Carolina Reaper, it’s one of the hottest peppers in the world. I admit it, I was a bit apprehensive taking my first taste of this sauce. Oh, it’s hot, but it’s not just spicy. It’s wonderfully sweet, with a hint of peaches. I really like this sauce. Despite it being on the hot side!
Spicy. And Oh So Tasty.
I’ve found myself using Private Selection Peach Carolina Reaper wing sauce on more than just wings. I love it drizzled on fried chicken. And it makes for a crazy good crazy spicy dipping sauce for chicken nuggets too. And what goes better with pork than peaches? Yep, brush it on grilled pork chops or pork loin too!
I didn’t go into making these oven-baked Buffalo wings with the highest level of optimism. I’m not usually a fan of baked wings. It’s really a texture thing for me. They get dried out. Or the skin isn’t quite like I like. Maybe I’m too picky. Well, even picky me really liked these wings. You can’t beat them for crispy skin, moist meat and great flavor. And boy, talk about a great way to make a big batch of wings with just a bit of effort! These are great for the big game or your next party. Or just sitting on the sofa and eating a big ole batch of wings by yourself.
A Great Sauce
The sauce for these oven-baked Buffalo wings is pretty much your standard Buffalo sauce. Usually you’ll find honey or brown sugar being used to sweeten the sauce. This one uses molasses. It’s what really makes this sauce great. Any time a recipe calls for something to make it sweet, consider molasses. It adds more than just sweet, it adds flavor.
A Few Key Notes
To help these wings come out perfectly each and every time, I’ve found two things are key. First, make sure your wings are dry before adding the baking powder mixture. I don’t mean sorta dry. I mean dry dry. If you start adding the baking powder and you get a dough-like mix, your wings aren’t dry enough.
Next, make sure you get a nice even coating of the non-stick spray onto the foil. Don’t go crazy with it. Don’t create an oil slick. Just get it nice and even. I’ve not had a single wing stick with this approach. No one wants to serve wings that have been torn to bits by struggling to get them un-stuck from the foil.
The idea for these orange chicken wings came to me quite easily. I had made a big, huge batch of orange chicken on my Char-Broil Big Easy and had a good amount of orange chicken sauce leftover. Any time I have leftover sauce I think wings. The sauce has the perfect citrus flavor, with just a bit of heat and just a bit of sweetness. The perfect balance of flavors, making every wing a great taste experience. I loved it and could actually just drink the sauce.
Orange Wings. Yes, Orange.
I recommend only using fresh oranges for these orange chicken wings. After zesting one orange, juice it and then juice a few others until you get 3 cups. In a pinch, or when oranges aren’t in season, use a good quality orange juice. You want get that extra punch you get from the zest, but you’ll still end up with fantastic wings.
I store my leftover homemade sauces in squeeze bottles. If refrigerated, I set them out an hour before using so they come to room temperature. You don’t want to put cold sauce on hot wings!
As we often do when traveling down (or up) I-75, we stopped at the Kentucky Artisan Center outside of Berea. I figure most people head to the wonderful art at the center. Me, I head to the Kentucky-made sauce section. There are BBQ sauces. Jams. And yes, hot sauces. I grabbed a bottle of sauce that looked really, really good and when I got home, made some Old Angry Liberal hot sauce wings. There’s nothing fancy going on here. I didn’t want a bunch of ingredients fighting what is a great-tasting hot sauce. Simple is often best.
Just Floatin’ Around
Old Angry Liberal hot sauce ain’t messing around. You can see the goodness in the bottle. Peppers. Vine-ripened. Chunks of them. Garlic. Vinegar. You think you need more? Nope. You don’t. Not for these wings. Oops, I forgot that I added a little butter. Ok, you think you need more than these wonderful hot sauce and a little butter? Nope. You don’t.
The sauce has a nice heat level. It’s not particularly spicy. It has tremendous flavor. A lot of flavor. Good flavor. I love it when a hot sauce isn’t all about burning the roof of my mouth off. I want to taste the ingredients in every bite. This is a well-crafted sauce. Great on wings, and certainly great on other foods too!
In a small saucepan over medium heat:For a mild sauce, combine 2 tablespoons hot sauce and 6 tablespoons butter.For a medium sauce, combine 3 tablespoons hot sauce and 5 tablespoons butter.For a hotter sauce, combine 4 tablespoons hot sauce and 4 tablespoons butter.
Stir until the butter is melted.
Keep warm until ready to use.
For the wings (Air fryer. See Notes for more cooking techniques)
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).
I have been enjoying the heck out of the flavors of wing sauces I picked up from the House of Wings. Each and every one has been fantastic. Another cool thing about House of Wings is that on their website they have recipes for using their sauces and a few other simple ingredients to create all-new flavors. Like these Mexican chicken wings. They’re crazy easy and crazy delicious and definitely spicy. There’s nothing fancy going on here, just a great wing sauce. The kind you cannot stop eating.
Heat, Your Way
It’s easy to customize the heat in these Mexican chicken wings to suit your fancy. All you have to do is adjust the ratio of Southern wing sauce to the Nuclear wing sauce. Want more heat? Cut back on the Southern or just add more Nuclear. Less heat? Add more Southern and/or cut back on the Nuclear. My recommendation is that you add the Nuclear sauce slowly, stirring, tasting as you go, until you get the kick you want.
I store my leftover homemade sauces in squeeze bottles. If refrigerated, I set them out an hour before using so they come to room temperature. You don’t want to put cold sauce on hot wings!
Combine the wing sauces using a 1:1 ratio. If you want a spicier sauce, add a bit more nuclear sauce. For more southern flavor, add more southern sauce.
We live in Meijer country. Which is a good thing because I love the bottled wing sauces from Meijer . I first bought them when they were on sale, as sort of a trial run. Now I’ll pick some up any time I’m at the store. Like all of their sauces, Meijer Korean BBQ style wing sauce is mighty darned tasty. American BBQ sauces are vinegar- or tomato-based. Korean BBQ sauces are soy sauce-based. The sauce has the perfect consistency, sticking to the wings but not glopping up. Too thick is not a good thing when it comes to wing sauces. Neither is too thin.
Sweet, Savory and a little Spicy
Korean BBQ actually means a way of preparing meats. Here in the US we’ve associated the terms with flavors. That flavor is a little sweet, a little savory and just a bit spicy. Meijer Korean BBQ style wing sauce is not only great on wings, either. It’s fantastic on smoked ribs, grilled burgers, or my other favorite, grilled chicken breast sandwiches.
There are times in your life when you just kick back for a second and think ‘oh yeah, that’s what I needed’. And you smile. Hopefully that happens often for you. It did for me as soon as I took a bite of my buttery popcorn wings. I often have popcorn for a side with my lunch. It’s tasty and low-carb. And I even might squirt a little buttery popcorn oil on it. Well, the other day I was sitting there enjoying a hot-out-of-the-air-fryer dry wing and looking at my bowl of popcorn and boom! Duh! I sure love that buttery flavor, I thought. I looked at my wings. And I looked at the popcorn. The next, as they say, is history.
Extra Butter And Napkins, Please
Yeah, I’ve seen it. And I’ve done it. Asked the person at the concession stand at the movie theater to put a couple extra pumps of butter on my popcorn. You can do that with these buttery popcorn wings too. Heck, you’re at home. No one’s watching. Load up. But, really… Don’t do it. I think there is a such thing as too much butter. Just this one time. Every other time, yes, load up. Here, you’re going for the kiss of buttery flavor goodness. And a great wing seasoning, too. The two go together well. Don’t drown them. Trust me.
Keep in an air-tight container until ready to use.
For the wings (air fryer)
Lightly spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick spray. Preheat per manufacturer's recommendation to 350 F.
Lightly rub a little of the popcorn butter oil onto the wings. Don't go crazy with it, just get them wet.
Lightly season the wings on all sides with the mix.
Add the wings to the basket (be careful it's hot!).
Cook wings for 12 minutes.
Flip the wings and cook another 12 minutes.
Increase the air fryer temperature to 400 F and cook another 6 minutes.
Remove wings from fryer and place in a bowl.
Drizzle with some of the butter oil and toss to coat.
Serve.
For the wings (baking)
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Lightly rub a little of the popcorn butter oil onto the wings. Don't go crazy with it, just get them wet.
Lightly season the wings on all sides with the mix.
Place wings into a baking dish skin-side down.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Turn the wings and cook another 20 minutes or until browned.
Remove wings from dish and place in a bowl.
Drizzle with some of the butter oil and toss to coat.
For the wings (other)
You can use your favorite technique to cook the wings. Just season oil and season a bit before cooking. Then when the wings are done, toss them in a little more of the oil and serve!
I love it when I find a new hot sauce that’s just a bit different than the rest. I crave flavor in my hot sauce, and not just heat. And I love making any hot sauce into a sauce for wings. These Kinder’s Creamy Louisiana hot sauce wings are delicious with just the right heat level for me. Not overly hot, and not boring, either. These are fingerlickingly-good wings!
Make Wings. Make Sauce. And Make Yourself Happy.
This wasn’t complicated. I threw some wings into the air fryer. Or the deep-fryer. I don’t remember. It’s not really about that. I just needed some cooked-up wings. Meanwhile I made the sauce. Two ingredients. That’s it. I went for a hotter sauce, but as you can see in the recipe below, you can adjust the heat by changing the ratio of butter to hot sauce. I tossed the wings in the sauce, sat down, and got to eatin’. And I was happy. Very happy. That’s wing success right there! These Kinder’s Creamy Louisiana hot sauce wings did not disappoint!
In general, the ratio of butter to hot sauce is as below. For example, if the ratio is 3:1 that means you use 3 parts of butter for every 1 part hot sauce. For a mild sauce: 3:1For a medium sauce: 2:1For a hot sauce: 1:1
The fine folks over at Fire and Smoke Society ain’t messin’ around. When they say that this all-purpose blend is blessed by Garlic Lovers you know they’re telling the truth. But these Holy Garlic dry wings aren’t just about garlic. Charcoal, chiles, brown sugar and plenty of ground black pepper join the party to make for a fantastic seasoning for wings, be they dry or wet. Me, I went dry so I could enjoy every bite of chicken and the seasoning without ‘fighting’ a sauce.
More Garlic Flavor is More Better
My Holy Garlic dry wings were made in an air fryer. You can cook them any way you want, just don’t be shy with the spices. I put a little of the delicious seasoning on the wings before cooking the wings. Then when they were cooked to perfection, I went to town with some more seasoning. The wonderful aroma of garlic filled the house. It was time to chow down on some delicious wings! And I did!
I prefer to season my wings immediately after cooking them. The seasoning will stick to the surface of the hot wings better than if you wait until they cool off.
If you’re not a fan of oven-cooked wings, these Hidden Valley Ranch Buffalo Ranch wings are definitely going to make a fan out of you and quick. They did me. I’m usually a fried wing kinda guy. But these wings not only came out juicy and crazy flavorful, the skins were perfectly crunchy to boot. These are very addicting wings and they’re so easy there’s no excuse to not make them. Often.
Flavor-Packed Baked Wings
The packet of seasoning for Hidden Valley Ranch Buffalo Ranch Wings says it makes 2 pounds of wings. But it also says that for more flavor, use only 1 pound of wings. That’s the route I went. I figured, why would I want less flavor? Well, flavor is exactly what I got. So I recommend going the 1 pound route.
Of course, if you want to serve your wings with a dipping sauce, you’ll have to use Hidden Valley Ranch dressing!
