I recently spent a few days in lovely Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania while attending a conference. I made sure I had my ‘to-eat’ list down before leaving, because one thing you can be sure of finding in Pittsburgh: good food. At the top of my list was dry Ranch chicken wings.
No, not dry like ‘ewww, this meat is dry’. Dry as in the wings aren’t tossed in sauce after being cooked. Instead they are dusted with seasoning. The end result is almost like roasted chicken, but with much more pronounced flavors. Now that we are back home, I had to make some of the favorites that I devoured in Pittsburgh, like these wings, which I first experienced in our hotel bar.

The Perfect Dry Wings
I went with Ranch dressing for the dipping sauce for these wings, but seriously, you can eat them dry, as-is, with no sauce. There’s no need to drown them in sauce, the flavor stands on its own.
I am now permanently addicted to dry wings. As much as I do love my sauced wings, there are a lot of advantages to dry wings. First, the flavor combinations are endless. They’re not messy at all, making them perfect for big game parties or picnics. And a really big plus, the wing skin stays super-crazy crunchy longer. A lot longer. A wet sauce starts to soften it up the moment it touches the skin. Not with dry wings.
You can also serve your dry wings ‘sauce on the side’. Cook them dry but put some sauce in condiment cups for dunking. I really like this approach. I can enjoy a few bites of my wonderful dry wings, and I can enjoy a few bites of wonderful sauce. That’s a big win. Also, I can enjoy a whole bunch of different sauces with just one plate of wings. Just put a different sauce into each cup. Boom! Instant wing happiness!
- DELICIOUS FLAVOR WITH THE ORIGINAL RANCH: Four…
- RANCH DONE RIGHT: Hidden Valley dry ranch dressing…
Also try my spicy Buffalo Ranch wings!
Check out my always-growing list of over 100 homemade wing recipes, including sauces and seasonings!
Ranch Wings
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds chicken wings flats and drumettes separated, tips saved to make stock
- 2 packets Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Place the wings into a resealable bag or container.
- Add the oil. Seal and shake to coat. Add 1 packet of the Ranch seasoning, seal, and shake to coat.
- Let wings marinate for 1-4 hours.
- Transfer cooked wings to a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining packet of Ranch seasoning. Toss gently to coat.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate and will not include any store-bought wing sauce or seasoning nutritional values.
- MIld Sauces
- Made for wings and more



















