[Photographs: J. Kenji López-Alt, Morgan Eisenberg, Shao Z.]
Chicken wings are probably the single most iconic sports food there is, but a lot of people don’t eat them outside of sports bars. I get it—anything deep-fried can intimidate home cooks. But if you’re willing to face the hot oil, it’s really not hard to make chicken wings at home. And if you don’t want to deal with frying, you can also make awesome wings in the oven or on the grill. Here are 16 recipes to check out for Super Bowl, from classic Buffalo wings to baked Xi’an-style chicken wings.
Fried Wings
[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]
There’s really only one way to start a chicken wing roundup: the perfect Buffalo wing. That means moist, tender meat and crispy skin, which we achieve with a two-stage cooking process—we fry the wings at a low temperature to break down the collagen and then finish them in hotter oil to crisp the skin. As for the sauce, you can’t improve on the classic Frank’s and butter.
The Ultimate Extra-Crispy Double-Fried Confit Buffalo Wings Recipe »
Sweet Chili Chicken Wings
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
If you’re going to use a single-fry technique, 375°F (190°C) oil is the way to go. That’s how we cook these wings, which get tossed in a sweet and spicy chili sauce flavored with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. We also add tahini, an unexpected ingredient that adds a sesame flavor and works perfectly in the Asian-inspired sauce.
Sweet Chili Chicken Wings Recipe »
Extra-Crispy Thai Sweet and Spicy Wings
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
Chicken wings don’t need a coating to be crispy, but there’s nothing wrong with battering your wings if you want extra crunch. Here we go with a double dredging in a flour, cornstarch, and baking powder batter. After the wings come out of the oil, we dress them in a spicy vinegar-based sauce.
Extra-Crispy Thai Sweet and Spicy Wings Recipe »
The Best Korean Fried Chicken
[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]
Buffalo doesn’t have a monopoly on chicken wings. Korean fried chicken is less traditional for game day but just as delicious. What sets it apart is an eggshell-thin crust, which comes from a batter made with flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and vodka (which inhibits gluten formation).
The Best Korean Fried Chicken Recipe »
Baked Wings
Really Good Oven-Fried Buffalo Wings
[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]
If you’re still not sure about deep-frying, you can make baked wings that are less messy and taste almost indistinguishable from fried ones. All you need to do is let the wings air-dry overnight after tossing them with baking powder and salt, which lets the skin get crispy fast enough that the meat doesn’t dry out.
Really Good Oven-Fried Buffalo Wings Recipe »
Strawberry-Chipotle Wings With Avocado–Blue Cheese Dip
[Photograph: Morgan Eisenberg]
Of course, you can toss oven-fried wings with traditional Buffalo sauce, but that’s far from your only option. For something more unusual, try this sweet and tangy sauce made with strawberries, chipotles, and balsamic vinegar. As if that’s not flavorful enough, we serve the wings with a creamy blend of avocado, blue cheese, and sour cream.
Strawberry-Chipotle Wings With Avocado–Blue Cheese Dip Recipe »
Hot and Numbing Xi’an-Style Chicken Wings
[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]
Standard Buffalo not spicy enough for you? If you want your wings to have a serious kick, ditch the sauce altogether and toss them in this mouth-numbing mix of Sichuan peppercorns, cumin, fennel seed, and dried red chilies. It’s a little more work than using ground spices, but starting with whole spices that you toast and grind yourself gives the wings a much better flavor.
Hot and Numbing Xi’an-Style Chicken Wings Recipe »
Zesty Chicken Wings With Alabama White Sauce
[Photograph: Morgan Eisenberg]
These wings also get tossed with baking soda and salt and spend a little time in the fridge drying out, but they also get a flavor boost from elements you’d find in a barbecue rub: garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, brown sugar, mustard powder, and a little bit of zest and smoked paprika. As if that’s not enough, we also whip up an Alabama-style white barbecue sauce to serve alongside.
Zesty Chicken Wings With Alabama White Sauce Recipe »
Chicken Wings With Tamarind-Ginger Glaze
[Photographs: Vicky Wasik]
A combination of Kashmiri red chilies, tamarind, and palm sugar gives these wings a balanced sweet, tart, and lightly spicy flavor. The wings come out of the oven tender and crisp, with a sticky, sweet glaze.
Chicken Wings With Tamarind-Ginger Glaze Recipe »
Grilled Wings
Hoisin-Glazed Chicken Wings
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
If the weather’s not too cold come Super Bowl Sunday, you have a third option for preparing your wings: grilling. The key is to start them over indirect heat, and then move them to direct heat when you apply the glaze—in this case, a combination of hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, and five-spice powder.
Hoisin-Glazed Chicken Wings Recipe »
Honey Chipotle Wings
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
No, there’s not a mistake in this recipe—it really does use three chipotles and a tablespoon of adobo sauce for half a cup of honey. While it’ll taste brutally spicy before cooking, the honey’s sweetness intensifies and the heat mellows slightly as the glaze caramelizes on the grill
Cajun Chicken Wings
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
Grilling allows for the opportunity to give wings even more flavor by coating them with a spice rub before cooking. In this recipe, we use a Cajun-style blend of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, cayenne, and cumin. We keep the Cajun theme going with the sauce, made with Louisiana-style pepper sauce, butter, and Worcestershire.
Sriracha Hot Wings
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
These grilled wings are coated in a Sriracha-based sauce made with soy sauce and vinegar and sweetened with honey. We also add butter to replicate that Buffalo sauce richness. We apply the sauce twice, using some as a glaze and the rest after the wings come off the grill.
Spicy Cumin Wings
[Photograph: Joshua Bousel]
New York City’s Xi’an Famous Foods is, well, famous for its spicy cumin lamb noodles. The combination of cumin and more typical Chinese flavors works incredibly well, so we borrow it for these wings. We rub them with cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, and baking powder, and then glaze them with soy sauce, sherry, rice vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes as they cook.
Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken Wings
[Photograph: Morgan Eisenberg]
Sticky, sweet, smoky, and tangy—you can’t ask for much else from a chicken wing. The wings spend a little time in a flavor-packed sauce made up of pineapple juice, soy sauce, light brown sugar, chicken stock, ginger, and garlic, with a little bit of sriracha added for good, spicy measure. Once they’re done marinating, we throw them on the cool side of the grill and baste them every once in a while with some of the reserved sauce. You may think the grilled pineapple is optional (and, sure, that’s what the recipe says), but it really is the perfect accompaniment.
Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken Wings Recipe »
Spicy Chicken Wings With Soy and Fish Sauce
[Photograph: Shao Z.]
Marinating wings before grilling lets you add flavor and makes them extra juicy. This spicy Chinese-style marinade is made with Shaoxing wine, black pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, granulated garlic, and chili peppers. The recipe calls for a formidable 15 chilies, but you can use as few as five if you don’t want quite so much heat.
Spicy Chicken Wings With Soy and Fish Sauce Recipe »
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