This is how I do it. I make a batch of this sauce, toss in some right-out-of-the-fryer wings, and get to it. Heck, the wings can be cooked in any way as long as I’ve got this sauce to toss them in. Air fryer. Baked. Grilled. I don’t care. Just give me some sauce and big ole stack of napkins. I love me some three ingredient Buffalo wings. I want sauce dripping down my arms and I want it on my shirt. And all in my beard. Yeah, it’s not pretty, I know that. But it’s good. Darned good.
Just Good. Really Good.
No one is going to judge you when you devour some three ingredient Buffalo wings. They know you’re eating the best there is. The classic. Buttery. Crazy good cayenne flavor with yummy spices added in. And a hint of garlic. So good and yet so simple.
Pro tip: I like to dip fries or potato chips in any sauce that drips down onto my plate.
3-4poundschicken wingsflats and drumettes separated, tips saved to make stock
Instructions
For the sauce
To make the sauce, combine the butter, garlic powder and hot sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until melted. Keep warm until ready to use.
Toss wings in sauce until ready to use: Note: I prefer to NOT toss deep-fried battered wings in sauce as it knocks the coating off the wings. Instead, I prefer to dip the wings in the sauce or brush it onto the wings. Click here for our guide on how to sauce your wings.
Oh how I do love dry wings. Normally, that means ‘just’ seasoning wings hot out off the grill or out of the air-fryer. This time I decided to up my game and try deep-fried dry wings. There’s nothing fancy or complicated going on here. Just a simple coating with tons of flavor, fried until crispy golden, and tossed in more seasoning. Every bite is full of flavor. I love these wings.
Simple. And Delicious.
I like to keep my deep-fried dry wings as simple as possible. Most of the time I’m making these for lunch so I don’t have a lot of time for fru-fru batters or complicated techniques. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want great wings. If I’m making wings you can bet they’re going to be great.
Have It Your Way
You can use just about any seasoning you want for these wings. It doesn’t have to be a wing seasoning either. Burger seasonings, chicken, you name it, they all work here. As long as you like the seasoning, you’ll like the wings!
Can it be this easy? All those years of standing in front of an open fridge, trying to decide… Will it be Ranch? Or blue cheese? What shall I dip my wings in today? Well, Ranch blue cheese dressing is the correct answer! I love blue cheese. Sometimes I want it funkier than other times. And Ranch? Well, I can drink it straight out of the bottle.
These are happy days indeed my fellow wing lovers. Both tastes in one easy ready-to-dip mix.
A Little More Funk, Please
Want a bit more of that classic funkiness in your Ranch blue cheese dressing? Sure, you could just adjust the ratio of one dressing to another, though I’m a big fan of equal parts of both. Nope, just add some finely crumbled blue cheese, stir, and serve. Done.
Good On More Than Wings
And yes, this dressing is absolutely fantastic on a garden salad, too. Or use it for dipping vegetables. It’s a winner. An easy winner.
Check out my new site, Dress My Salad, for more great salad dressing ideas!
I’m a fan of dipping wings (specially spicy ones) into a nice cooling dressing. Blue cheese, Ranch, either will do. But, when I go for the blue cheese I am a tad bit picky. I can’t do the big cheese crumbles. I love them on salads, but they aren’t really for wings. For one reason: they fall off. Smaller crumbles stick to the wings and make for a better experience. That’s why I like making a copycat Wingstop blue cheese dressing at home. I can get those crumbles just like I like them.
The Right Crumble
Now as much as I said I like the crumbles in my copycat Wingstop blue cheese dressing to be small and not huge, there’s a limit to it. Too small and you lose that great texture. Sure you’ll still get great blue cheese and Ranch flavors, but that’s about it. So don’t go crazy. We aren’t making blue cheese soup here. We do still want some thickness to it!
Check out my new site, Dress My Salad, for more great salad dressing ideas!
Hot Ones hot sauces makes a number of tremendously tasty hot sauces. They aren’t all over-the-top spicy, either. More, they concentrate on flavor over heat. I am addicted to their chili maple hot sauce. It has a low eat level. It’s a little sweet thanks to maple syrup, which also adds an amazing flavor. The spiciness comes from Fresno chilis. With just the right amount of vinegar, this sauce makes for tremendous chili maple wings!
Easiest Sauce Ever
While my wings are cooking up, I like to just mix a little hot sauce with butter. That’s it. It’s the world easiest wing sauce. With such a wide selection of hot sauces available, it’s the best way to make totally different-tasting wings every day of the week! These chili maple wings are a great example! I made mine the ‘mild way’ but all variations are great!
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
I’ve been wanting to make these charcoal grilled crispy Cajun wings for a while. It’s not that I don’t make wings over charcoal often. I do. But I use a thing called a Vortex BBQ. 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. And boy did I. These great wings take just little effort, just a little time, and come out fantastic. And the sauce is nothing to sneeze at either! These are great tasting wings too!
It’s Super Easy
There are just two simple steps to making charcoal grilled crispy Cajun wings. 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 a pile of super-hot coals on just one side of your grill. 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. And of course charcoal adds such a great flavor that you just can’t get in an air fryer, deep fryer or oven!
Don’t Forget The Sauce
Sure, you can use any sauce you want on these wings. But you’ll want to keep that Cajun theme going and make a batch of the sauce below. It has a nice spicy kick to it with a great flavor that compliments the seasoned wings perfectly.
I do still highly recommend a Vortex BBQ. It’s not only great for wings but also ‘fried’ chicken, ribs and oh so much more!
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.
Load up the charcoal chimney about 3/4ths of the way with charcoal and light. Once the charcoal is all lit and lightly covered in ash, dump the coals into the grill along one side. This will create two zones: a hot direct heat zone over the coals and a cooler indirect heat zone for the wings.
Add the charcoal grate and close the grill. Oven the top and bottoms vents all the way. Let the grill preheat for 5.
Place the wings on the indirect heat side of the grill. Close the lid and turn so that the vent is above the wings.
Cook until the wings are lightly browned and crispy, usually 45 minutes. While the wings are cooking make the wing sauce.
The simplest of wings can often be the best. Like these Buffalo teriyaki wings. Just a few ingredients and a little cooking time and I’m enjoying great wings. No fancy batters or marinades or anything. Just cooked plain wings tossed in a great sauce. I cooked my wings in the air fryer but any technique will do. I make the sauce while the wings are cooking since it doesn’t take long to prepare. The end result is lightly sweet and lightly spicy. It’s a great combination of Asian-inspired and traditional wing flavors. These are finger-licking good wings!
Step Up Your Teriyaki Game
You can use whatever teriyaki sauce you like to make these Buffalo teriyaki wings. But for me, my go-to teriyaki sauce is from the fine folks over at Bourbon Barrel Food. They have two versions actually. The Kentuckyaki sauce is a wonderfully bourbon-infused sauce that has such a great, deep flavor. It’s great anywhere I need a teriyaki sauce. And of course their spicy version is … spicier! It also makes for a great sauce for these wings!
While the wings are cooking, combine the remaining ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once the sauce begins to simmer, reduce heat to low to keep the sauce warm.
It’s not uncommon for me to have wings two days in a row. It is uncommon for me to have the same wings two days in a row. These baked hoisin wings hit the spot for me. Lightly sweet, the lightly sweet and smoky sauce is finger-licking good. I could not get enough of it. These savory wings are baked until the chicken is cooked and the sauce is nicely brown. You won’t find crunchy skin here, but it does have a clean bite-through and great flavor.
Twice-Sauced… Or Thrice-Sauced?
I admit that I do ‘triple sauce’ my baked hoisin wings. The recipe (from the fine folks over at Kikkoman) calls for saucing them up front using half of the sauce. Then halfway through the baking, brush the wings with the remaining sauce. I always found that there was a bit too much sauce to use it all at once for that second saucing. Instead, I like to use half of the remaining sauce for the first brush, then I sauce them for the third time about 10 minutes before they are done. You don’t have to do that, the recipe is great as it is written. With my approach I always use up every ounce of the sauce.
I usually make a sad face when someone says ‘baked wings’. The flavor is usually there. But oh, that skin! Too many times it’s rubbery. I can’t think of an another word for it. You can’t get a nice clean ‘bite’. Well, these Creole-Cajun wings up the baked wing game big time. They’re fried and baked. Yep. You read that correctly. And they are delicious. All the way through, too. The flavor’s not just resting on the skin. And second, the skin produces a perfect bite. It’s not rubbery and it doesn’t all come off in one bite.
Worth The Effort
Making these Creole-Cajun wings isn’t as easy as just throwing some wings in a pan and into the oven they go. They take a little extra work, including some quality time spent in a deep fryer. But it’s worth it. You could easily make a double batch or more and feed a small crowd. The hard work is done the day ahead. On the day you want to serve them just pop them into the oven for 30 minutes or until nice and hot.
I’m going to be straight up honest. Baked buttermilk wings are not something I had a lot of optimism in when I first started. I prefer my wings fried or grilled, nine times out of ten. Not to say I don’t like baked wings. But marinated and baked… I just wasn’t sure. I knew the skin wouldn’t come out super crispy. I was hoping for a clean bite and a lot of flavor. Well, happy me. I got that and more. They turned out deliciously moist and tender. Packed with flavor. And after a little time under the broiler, a little bit of a crispy skin.
No Coating Required
When I first thought about making these baked buttermilk wings I thought about fried chicken. I marinate my chicken for fried chicken the same way. But I then toss it in a bit of seasoned flour and deep fry it. These wings are not quite that same experience. You get that moist deliciousness just like fried chicken. Without the deep frying you don’t get that crunchy exterior but you do you get a bit of crunchy skin. My brain had a hard time with that at first but I ended up devouring a plate of these wings so obviously I wasn’t complaining!
Seal the container and give it a few shakes to combine the ingredients.
Place in fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours. Shake the container every few hours to keep the ingredients well-combined.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Remove wings from marinade, shaking off any excess, and transfer to the parchment paper.
Bake for 30 minutes. Flip.
Bake another 20-25 minutes or until starting to brown.
If desired, you can place the wings under the broiler to help crisp up the skin. I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS ON PARCHMENT PAPER. First remove the wings to a piece of foil or place directly on the baking sheet. Then place under the broiler for 5 minutes, checking on them every minute.
