Vinegar (the quality stuff). Butter (the real stuff). Cayenne (the spicy stuff). Combined they make for a delicious wing sauce. Lillie’s Q Buffalo wing sauce is just that. Just the right consistency to stick to your wings without being, well, gloppy. And not so thin that none of the sauce sticks to the wings. What would be the point of that?
Buffalo-Inspired Greatness
I will point out that even though the bottle doesn’t specifically state ‘hot’ on it, these Lillie’s Q Buffalo wing sauce wings are pretty spicy. Not like screaming hot, but you’re gonna feel it. It’s a very flavorful sauce, and I’d expect a little kick from just about any Buffalo sauce. Just letting you know!
I’m always a big fan of Kroger’s wing sauces. They have a wide range of flavors and spice levels, all at good prices. I recently picked up a bottle of Kroger’s Cajun wing sauce and proceeded to immediately make a batch of wings for lunch. Hot out of the air fryer, tossed in sauce, I was ready for some serious wing devouring. I found this sauce to be a bit different. It’s like a traditional Buffalo wing sauce, but seasoned with Cajun seasonings. Like oregano. Smoked paprika. Thyme. You’re not going to find those flavors every day in a wing sauce.
Buffalo-Inspired, Cajun-Flavored
Kroger’s Cajun wing sauce is different in a really good way. It has just a little hint of spiciness to go with those Cajun flavors. If you love vinegar-based Buffalo wing sauces packed with flavor, grab a bottle and get to making some wings!
If you’re looking for a tropical wing sauce that packs a nice little kick, June Moon Mango Habanero wing sauce is the right one for you. It’s a bit fruity, has just the right consistency to stick to your wings, and is flat-out yummy! I’ve had a ton of different mango wing sauces, and I’ve even made a good number of them, and none of them had such a great mango flavor as this one.
Deliciously Fruity with a bit of Heat
I picked up a variety pack of June Moon wing sauces. This creamy mango habanero is the first one I’ve tried and I loved it. It’s got great ingredients in it (I can pronounce them all!) and it screams fresh. I cannot wait to try the remaining sauces from the fine folks at June Moon Spice Company.
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.
When I first came across Joey Chestnut’s Nashville Hot Chicken wing sauce it was on a display at Jungle Jim’s outside of Cincinnati. The flavors all sounded intriguing and different, so I grabbed a few bottles and rushed on home to make some wings. Every sauce has been fantastic, different, and just flat-out tasty. I love Nashville hot chicken, so the idea of putting that same great kicked-up spicy flavor on wings was a must-do for me. Man, was it good!
Just Like The Real Thing
Joey Chestnut’s Nashville Hot Chicken wing sauce is great all around, and not just in taste. It has the perfect consistency, the right stick-to-the-wingsness. This sauce would be great on more than wings too. Heck, drizzle it all over fried chicken and get instant Nashville hot chicken with a twist!
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.
Start with a really great BBQ sauce. Add hot sauce and butter. Boom! You’ve got a great wing sauce! That’s essentially what Hogs ‘N Heat did when they created their crazy-good hot wing sauce. This unique sauce (with a nice spicy kick!) really makes for a delicious batch of wings. Hogs ‘N Heat hot wings sauce is also great as a BBQ sauce, so put it on everything!
Buffalo-Inspired BBQ Wings
Hogs ‘N Heat hot wing sauce got me to thinking more and more about taking any bottled BBQ sauce I can find in my pantry (or the store) and turning it into a wing sauce in just seconds. What a great, simple idea!
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.
This sauce got me to thinking more and more about taking any bottled BBQ sauce I can find in my pantry (or the store) and turning it into a wing sauce in just seconds.
Prep Time1 hourhr
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: barbecue, BBQ, Buffalo wings, wings
Servings: 6
Calories: 503kcal
Ingredients
3-4poundschicken wingsflats and drumettes separated, tips saved to make stock
This here is proof positive that you should not poo-poo grocery store-brand wing sauces. You might want to grab that $8 bottle, but believe me you don’t have to spend that much to get a mighty good wing sauce. The Great Value Caribbean Jerk wing sauce has just the right amount of Jamaican-inspired flavors. And just the right amount of heat, too.
A Nice Island-Inspired Wing Sauce
The Caribbean Jerk wing sauce from Great Value isn’t too thick and it isn’t too thin. Neither of those would be good things. It’ll stick to your wings but it’s not so thick as to be gloppy. I really liked the consistency. But I liked the spiciness even more. Just the right amount of allspice, something I watch out for in Jerk seasoning. Too much can be … too much!
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 checked. It’s actually legal in all 50 states to drink a wing sauce directly from the bottle. You’ll want to, too, when you get a taste of Croix Valley Pineapple Habanero wing sauce wings. The fine folks at Croix Valley way out-did themselves this time, and that’s saying a lot because they make a bunch of great sauces and seasonings. Slightly sweet, with a nice slow spicy burn, this sauce reminds me a bit of a Asian chili sauce, but fruit-based instead. It’s so good I put more sauce on the side for dipping my already-sauced wings.
Pineapple Sweetness with a Bit of Heat
Croix Valley Pineapple Habanero wing sauce is delicious on a whole heck of a lot more than ‘just’ wings, too. Shrimp, grilled or deep-fried, are big winners when tossed in it. Chicken nuggets too! And the pineapple sweetness really shines on anything pork, specially grilled or smoked pork ribs. And yeah, it’s great straight out of the bottle too!
I usually cook wings on my Char-Broil Big Easy or on my charcoal grill using the Vortex. I have to admit, I was pretty pessimistic about the idea of cooking wings in a slow cooker. Would I like the texture? Would they taste as great as wings off the grill?
One thing’s for sure, making Buffalo Ranch wings in a slow cooker really couldn’t get any easier. It was the perfect recipe for my working-from-home lunch. Toss everything in first thing in the morning and at lunch, enjoy some wings!
The Verdict Is In…
So how were they? Well, mighty tasty for starters. In fact, I loved the flavor. Big time. Texture-wise, they got barely crispy but the meat was oh-so-tender and juicy. For truly crispy skin you’ll have to leave them under the broiler for a good bit of time, but keep an eye on them. I found the skin to be melt-in-my-mouth tender and I didn’t actually miss not having super-crunchy wings. In fact, it was a nice change. I loved them!
They’re Easy. And Good!
Although not traditional Buffalo wings to a purist, I still enjoyed these slow cooker Buffalo Ranch wings more than I actually thought I would. No mess, no fuss and very tasty. Certainly much easier than firing up a grill or even deep fryer to make a batch of the wings you normally expect.
Place the wings into the bottom of your slow cooker.
Combine the wing sauce, Ranch dressing mix and salt and pepper and pour over the wings.
Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours – 3 hours until the meat is starting to pull back from the bones.
Carefully transfer the wings to a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray. Place under a hot oven broiler and broil until just starting to crisp.
I kind of feel like maybe my luck has run out. I enjoyed my first experience with the air fryer wings from Perdue. The hot and spicy wings were yummy and definitely packed a bit of heat. Now I’ve moved on to Perdue Lemon Pepper Crispy Air Fryer wings. Just like the first ones I tried, the wings cook up nice and crunchy. No complaints there. But I felt these lacked in the flavor department. I didn’t get much of the lemon pepper that is advertised on the front of the bag.
They’re Crunchy!
Now, despite the lack of lemon pepper flavoring, I still like the crunch of these Perdue Lemon Pepper Crispy Air Fryer wings. Whatever batter they are tossed in cooks up nice and yummy. If they’d sell just the batter I’d be in for a good jug or two of it for sure! I also felt that this bag contained a number of smaller wing segments while also containing a few drumettes that could’ve used a bit of trimming first. Anyways, not bad… just not great!
Ranch dressingoptional, for serving. Or use your favorite
Instructions
Preheat your air fryer to 400 F per the manufacturer's instructions.
Add the wing pieces and cook for 16 minutes. Note: I prefer 14 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 with your desired sauces.
Notes
Blue cheese dressing is great for dipping these wings too!
The temperature outside dropped below 50F and my thoughts turned to Thanksgiving. I can’t help it. I was definitely looking forward to roasting a turkey in my oil-less fryer. But then, I thought, I love wings. How about taking that wonderful turkey seasoning and putting it on a batch of wings too? “Brilliant!” I exclaimed. So I made some Thanksgiving air fryer chicken wings and by golly, the holiday came early! Not only did these wings taste great, they made the house smell fantastic too!
Back For Seconds
I made these Thanksgiving air fryer chicken wings two days in a row. I had to. They were great. I’ll let you in on a little modification that makes them even more Thanksgiving-y. I seasoned the wings upfront, like the recipe states. And I seasoned them when they were done, also like it states. But I also snuck in another round of seasoning. Before the last 6 minute cook, where the air fryer temp is increased to get that great crunchy skin, I placed the wings into a bowl and seasoned them some more. Back into the air fryer they went. Boy, were they ever finger-licking good!
Sprinkle about half of the seasoning over the wings. Get them well-coated. Use less if you want, or more.
Cover the wings and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Lightly spray the basket of your air fryer with non-stick spray. Preheat per manufacturer's recommendation.
Toss the wing flats and drumettes with the seasoning.
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).
Remove wings to a bowl and sprinkle with more of the seasoning. Toss to coat.
