No false promises here: these are seriously crispy baked buffalo wings, made entirely in the oven! Using a world-famous chefs’ illustrated technique, the skin is so incredibly crispy it’s hard to believe they aren’t fried.
You do not believe me? I don’t blame you! Watch it and feel it for yourself in the video recipe…
Super crispy baked buffalo wings!
The great thing about the internet is that there are tons of options for any recipe you want.
The bad thing about the internet is sifting through all those Google search results to find a recipe that actually works as promised and is exactly what you’re looking for.
So here’s what I promise you: If you love perfectly seasoned, crispy buffalo wings, tossed in a classic tangy, buttery buffalo sauce with a hint of sweetness, and you’d rather avoid the mess and calories of frying, this is The One.
These are not only “pretty crispy but not like they’ve been fried.” These wings are really crispy. Read hundreds of testimonials from people who have tried it!
You can’t see how crispy the skin is when I coated them in that wonderful buffalo sauce, so here’s a simple photo of them, fresh out of the oven. And if you have 90 seconds, watch the recipe video below the recipe so you can listen how crunchy they are!
The recipe is ridiculously simple and is a brilliant discovery from the amazing folks at Cook’s Illustrated who used science to figure out how to make truly crispy oven-baked wings.
How to prepare ultra crispy baked buffalo wings
The 2 unique steps in this recipe that make the difference are:
1. baking powder (secret ingredient!) – toss the wings in baking powder which draws moisture to the surface of the skin and helps crisp it up. Rest assured that you won’t taste the yeast at all; AND
2. cook over low and then high heat – usually, the fat under the skin is one of the reasons why baked wings don’t get truly crispy. In this recipe, we start on low first to melt the fat under the skin, then turn up the oven to get the skin super crispy!
What do you need for crispy baked buffalo wings
And here’s a picture for what you need.
1. Crispy baked wings
2. Buffalo sauce
That perfect combination of spiciness from Franks hot sauce, buttery goodness and a hint of sweet.
3. Blue cheese sauce
I know some people aren’t fans of blue cheese dip, but I agree!! In fact, I love blue cheese sauce so much, I like to keep mine a little lumpy so you get little squirts of blue cheese. But restaurants usually serve it completely plain. Go with what rocks your boat!
Celery?? YES!
Crispy Wings + Spicy, Buttery Buffalo Sauce + Earthy, Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce + Fresh, Crispy Celery = MAGICAL COMBINATION
I don’t know who discovered this, but they deserve a Nobel Prize. I remember the first time I tried it, I looked at the celery sticks and thought, “who would care about them?” But they work! It’s like the perfect way to reboot your taste buds between each wing!
You will make a total mess eating them. It is not possible to eat wings elegantly. You’ll find your entire mouth smeared with buffalo sauce. You’re doing well if your shirt stays clean.
But it’s all part of the Buffalo Wings experience, right?? The dramatic noise as you toss the bare bones into a bowl. He smacks his lips. He sucks each finger clean.
Dive for another.
YES PLEASE. – Nagi x
Crisp Buffalo-style braised chicken wings
See how to do it
TURN UP THE VOLUME so you can hear how crunchy they are!!
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Really crispy baked buffalo wings
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooked: 1 Now 10 minutes
Total: 1 Now 25 minutes
Chicken wings, party food
American
Portions8
Tap or hover to resize
Instructions
Crispy baked wings
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Dry overnight (optional) – If planning ahead, spread the wings on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet and let them dry uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. Alternatively, pat dry them with absorbent paper.
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Preheat the oven at 250°F/120°C (all oven types). Place one rack in the bottom quarter of the oven and one in the top quarter.
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Line the tray with foil. Place a rack on the baking sheet, then grease it with oil.
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Throw your wings – Place the wings in a large bowl. Sprinkle with yeast and salt. Use your hands to shake well (or shake in the ziplock bag) to coat the wings evenly.
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Cook 30 minutes at low temperature – Place the wings on the grill skin side up (ok if they are snug, they will shrink). Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 minutes.
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Cook 40 minutes at high temperature – Move the baking sheet to the highest shelf and turn the oven up to 425°F / 220°C (all oven types). Bake for another 40-50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking. There is no need to turn the wings. They will be ready when they are golden brown and the skin is crispy.
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Season with sauce – Transfer the wings to a large bowl. Pour sauce over and toss to coat. (Alternatively, serve plain wings with buffalo sauce for dipping.)
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Serve immediately with Blue Cheese Dip (dunk both wings and celery sticks)!
Sauce with Gorgonzola
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Mash blue cheese with sour cream until smooth (or to your taste).
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Add remaining ingredients and mix well until smooth, using milk to achieve desired consistency. Store in the refrigerator until consumed. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before serving.
Notes on the recipe:
2. Baking powder – Use aluminum-free yeast if you can find it, the flavor is neutral. If you can’t find it, that’s totally fine – just make sure to toss the wings really well to coat them evenly, you don’t want thick spots of yeast anywhere.
Baking powder is the secret to outrageously crispy baked wings, discovered by Cooks’ Illustrated / America’s Test Kitchen. DO NOT confuse with baking soda /baking soda (not edible).
3. Franks Hot Sauce – If you are in Australia, you can find Frank’s Hot Sauce at Coles and Woolworths in the tomato sauce, tabasco etc section. It costs about the same as other hot sauces. If you can’t find Franks, then any other hot sauce will do. Sriracha works too: just add 1 teaspoon of sugar.
4. General notes:
* Salt: Only a small amount is needed, it’s a phenomenon I can’t explain, but this small amount perfectly seasons 2kg of wings using this cooking method.
*These shrink when cooked because the fat under the skin melts (melts), and that’s how they get super crispy. So they can be conveniently placed on the shelf.
* I am JUICY, not dry, despite the long cooking time. This is because first cooking them at a lower temperature barely cooks them, it just melts the fat.
*These cook until golden brown, not a deep golden brown. You’ll know they’re cooked because the skin will be nice and crispy.
5. Source: The recipe for the wings is from Cook’s illustrated “Meats Book” cookbook. The sauce recipe is mine.
6. To heat: Let the wings cool (don’t toss in the sauce), then cover and refrigerate. The skin will wrinkle and soften. Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F. Spread the wings on the baking sheet, skin side up, and bake in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until the skin puffs up so that the wrinkles flatten out and become crispy again. It works 100% perfectly!
7. Go ahead: They will stay crispy until the wings are hot, so about 20 – 30 minutes. The skin stays crispy for about 10 – 15 minutes after adding it to the sauce, then begins to soften but not soggy, until about 30 minutes. If you reheat them after topping them with the sauce, they will become soggy.
8. Complete FAQ is available in the original Truly Crispy Baked Wings.
9. Nutrition for plain crispy wings (419 cal) and including hot sauce (476 cal), both assuming 8 servings. Note that the wings have been adjusted to reflect the amount of fat that comes out (I measured the fat that I poured off the tray :)).
Nutritional information:
Serving: 247GCalories: 476cal (24%)Carbohydrates: 3.1G (1%)Protein: 63.3G (127%)Fat: 22G (34%)Saturated fats: 8.1G (51%)Cholesterol: 210mg (70%)Sodium: 1195mg (52%)Potassium: 934mg (27%)Sugar: 1.3G (1%)Vitamin A: 100UI (2%)Soccer: 200mg (20%)Iron: 2.9mg (16%)
Originally published June 2015. Republished February 2020 with improved videos and photos, then updated with reorders in 2023. NO CHANGES TO THE RECIPE. I wouldn’t dare: it’s perfect the way it is!
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