Eating wings at the Anchor Bar is on my bucket list, and not near the bottom of the list either. Until I can get there to devour the original, I’ll have to ‘settle’ for my homemade wings tossed with the Anchor Bar Medium Buffalo wing sauce. I don’t consider it settling at all, because these wings were fantastic. Just the right amount of heat and absolutely great seasoning. I could’ve definitely had more of these Anchor Bar medium Buffalo wings. A lot more.
A Pantry Staple
I ordered Anchor Bar Medium Buffalo wing sauce online. I found the prices to be quite reasonable as was shipping. Don’t be shy, back up the truck and get as many sauces as you can fit into your pantry. They won’t last long. These Anchor Bar medium Buffalo wings are outstanding!
Remember that if you have to refrigerate your open bottle of wing sauce to let it sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes before using. You don’t want to ‘shock’ hot, just-cooked wings with a cold sauce.
I’m pretty sure that if you make your own wings at home, by law, you have to have a few bottles of Anchor Bar Hot Buffalo wing sauce on hand at all times. The medium heat version is a great sauce to serve a crowd. But sometimes someone, maybe you, maybe not, wants some more kick. Well, say hello to the Anchor Bar hot Buffalo wings sauce. Same great flavor, more heat. Win!
Great Flavor without too much Heat
I wouldn’t call the spicier version of the classic sauce over-the-top spicy. It’s a great sauce with a great kick. It hits you then it sneaks off, leaving you with great flavor and great wings. Anchor Bar Hot Buffalo wingsare really good. Finger-licking good. Get a few bottles and keep some on hand at all times. It’s the law!
Remember that if you have to refrigerate your open bottle of wing sauce to let it sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes before using. You don’t want to ‘shock’ hot, just-cooked wings with a cold sauce.
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.
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.
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’m sitting here trying to describe how I felt when I devoured this copycat of the Buffalo wings from Applebee’s. It was more than love. It was an unstoppable obsession. An addiction. As soon as I was done eating I started to plan making them again. And again. So what makes them so different? It’s the addition of flour to what is a pretty typical Buffalo wing sauce. You wouldn’t think that it would make that big of a difference, but it helps the sauce stick to the wings. You don’t usually get that with Buffalo wings. They may be sauced, but a lot of that sauce ends up on your plate or shirt and not in your mouth.
Make Extra, They’re Great!
There’s no such thing as making too many Applebee’s Buffalo wings or making them too often. No matter how you cook them, everyone will love them. I’ll end my thoughts there because I’m off to make another batch…
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!
Crystal Hot Sauce isn’t just good. It’s amazingly good. It’s not super spicy, not at all. But it’s oh so flavorful. It’s perfect on any food, but when you make a Buffalo wing sauce from it you’ve got something wonderful. These Crystal hot sauce Buffalo wings are definitely some of the best wings I’ve ever had. They are finger-licking good.
Flat-Out Deliciously Good Wings
When you make the sauce for these Crystal hot sauce Buffalo wings you have to be mindful of two things: don’t have the heat too high and don’t cook it too long. You want just the slightest simmer. Enough to melt the butter, warm things up, and dissolve the seasonings. If you have the heat too high, or cook the sauce too long, the sauce will separate. A little separation is normal, you can whisk the ingredients and they’ll come back together. But if you overheat or overcook, it won’t get that nice consistency no matter how much you whisk.
I’m a fresh wing kinda guy. Usually. Sometimes I don’t have time to prepare wings from scratch. Or worse, I can’t find fresh wings in my grocery store. Or I just want to try something new. I was in Aldi the other day, picking up fresh wings (they have great fresh wings). I decided to check out the freezer cases before I headed to the checkout. And there they were. Kirkwood Buffalo style chicken wings. They looked good. I bought them. And I made them. And you know what? They were good!
Actual Wings. No Weird Stuff.
I’ve purchased some weird looking frozen wings. They were pre-battered, like these. But they didn’t look like wings. Kirkwood Buffalo style chicken wings are pre-battered. And they look like wings. Because they are actual wings. They’re sauced just right, in a sauce with good Buffalo flavor and a hint of heat. They’re meaty. I liked them. A lot.
Seven Servings. LOL.
The 22 ounce bag of wings I bought said it was 7 servings. Maybe somewhere in an alternate universe of really tiny people. Not me. I’d call them 4 servings at most. If you’re having a big party and need a bunch of wings, these are going to go over great. Just make sure you buy more than you think you’ll need. They’re good and people will want more. You bet I did.
I baked my wings on a silicone mat. I tried what the instructions on the bag stated and sprayed a baking pan with non-stick spray, but found that the wings still stuck. The silicone mat was much better.
If you have a silicone baking mat, line a baking sheet with the mat and add the wings. If you do not have a silicone baking mat, liberally spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and add the wings. I prefer to start with the bone-side of the wings down (for flats). For the drums it doesn't matter.
Bake for 15 minutes. Gently turn the wings. I use a fork or rubber spatula for this. I've found that tongs will tend to tear the coating/skin if the wings stick any.
Bake another 10-15 minutes or until turning lightly golden in color and the wings internal temperature is 165 F.
Let the wings rest for 5 minutes before serving. They will still be piping hot so be careful!
Uh oh. The folks over at Old Bay have done it now. Wasn’t it enough that I was already addicted to Old Bay seasoning? Now they have a hot sauce too. Oh, yes! Glorious Old Bay flavors in a sauce! That means that I can make the most amazing Buffalo wings day after day! Lightly spicy, wonderfully tasty, these Old Bay Buffalo wings are the wings dreams are made of!
Be Still My Old Bay-Loving Heart!
When you make the sauce for these Old Bay hot sauce Buffalo wings you have to be mindful of two things: don’t have the heat too high and don’t cook it too long. You want just the slightest simmer. Enough to melt the butter, warm things up, and dissolve the seasonings. If you have the heat too high, or cook the sauce too long, the sauce will separate. A little separation is normal, you can whisk the ingredients and they’ll come back together. But if you overheat or overcook, it won’t get that nice consistency no matter how much you whisk.
If you love Old Bay seasoning as much as I do, you gotta make my Old Bay dry wings too!
I was craving some battered, deep-fried wings with some serious kick to them. My cravings were more than satisfied with these spicy fried Buffalo wings. With no lack of flavor, these wings packed great traditional wing sauce and crunchy, perfectly-fried wings. These wings are finger-licking good, so make extra.
Don’t Toss. Brush.
I like to brush the sauce onto my spicy fried Buffalo wings. That may seem a bit odd. And it takes a few minutes to do. But, I think it’s better than tossing the wings in the sauce for one simple reason. Tossing the wings knocks that delicious, crunchy batter off the wings. I don’t want that. Nobody does. So I prefer to brush them with the sauce. Or, I’ll just put the sauce in a sauce dipping cup and serve it on the side, for dipping just like I would blue cheese dressing.
If I’m cooking for a crowd, I’ll break out my big deep fryer. But, if it’s just the two of us, I’ll fire up my Fry Daddy fryer. It’s the perfect size for both of us. It fries everything perfectly. And as an added bonus, it doesn’t use a lot of oil, which saves me money.
Combine all of the seasoning ingredients, breaking up any clumps.
Place wings in a baking dish or bowl. Sprinkle with the seasoning and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Heat 2-3" of oil to 350 F in a deep fryer or Dutch oven.
Whisk together the eggs and the hot sauce in a shallow bowl.
Place flour and salt in a shallow bowl and stir to combine.
Remove wings from fridge. Dip the wings in the egg mixture and coat well. Shake off any excess.
Roll wings in the flour mixture and shake off any excess.
Working in batches if needed, fry the wings for 8-10 minutes, rotating gently to ensure they get cooked evenly. The wings will be golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
You can toss the wings with Buffalo wing sauce if desired. I prefer to brush the wings with the sauce to keep from knocking the batter off of the wings. Or I serve the sauce on the side and dip the wings in it as I go. Click here for our guide on how to sauce your wings.
Serve with your favorite dressing for dipping, if desired.
