Buffalo Chicken Wings

Oven-baked wings that come out shatteringly crisp, tossed in the classic hot sauce and butter glaze. Serve with celery and blue cheese.

Prep

10 min

Cook

1 hr 15 min

Total

1 hr 25 min

Yield

4 servings

Ingredients

2 lb chicken wings, split, tips removed
1 tbsp aluminum-free baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
For the sauce:
½ cup Frank’s RedHot or similar cayenne hot sauce
4 tbsp unsalted butter
½ tsp garlic powder
To serve:
4 ribs celery, cut into sticks
Blue cheese dressing

Method

Heat the oven to 250°F (120°C) with racks in the lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Line a rimmed sheet with foil and set a wire rack on it.
Pat the wings very dry. Toss with the baking powder and salt and spread on the rack without touching.
Bake on the lower-middle rack for 30 minutes to render the fat.
Move the pan to the upper-middle rack, raise the oven to 425°F (220°C) and bake until deep golden and crisp, 40 to 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter with the hot sauce and garlic powder in a small pan.
Toss the hot wings in the sauce and serve right away with celery and blue cheese dressing.

Kitchen note

Baking powder raises the skin’s pH so it browns and blisters like fried skin. Use aluminum-free to avoid a metallic taste.

Where it comes from

The Anchor Bar in Buffalo first served wings in hot sauce in 1964. The city now holds a wing festival every Labor Day weekend.