For the perfect party dish, learn how to get sauce to stick to chicken wings.
Image Credit: Sarsmis/iStock/GettyImages
A good chicken wing recipe is a must-have for any successful viewing party or cookout. But no one loves a poorly coated wing — especially if the T-shirt-threatening sauce drips everywhere!
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Here, Claudia Sidoti, head chef at HelloFresh, explains how to get the sauce to stick to chicken wings. Then, learn how to cook chicken wings with hot buffalo sauce that will stain your guests' fingers and napkins — not their clothes.
You're not the first person to wonder how to make buffalo sauce stick to wings.
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The key to getting the sauce to stick to your wings is the flour, Sidoti says.
Before you toss your chicken in sauce, coat them with enough flour or dry mixture (aka a seasonings mixture or dry rub). Make sure to dredge the entire wing before tossing it in your chosen sauce — this will help ensure an even distribution of sauce, too.
How to Make Buffalo Sauce
Homemade buffalo sauce isn't difficult to make. Here's exactly how to make it, according to Sidoti.
Melt 3 ounces of butter and add one minced garlic clove.
Pour the garlic butter into a large bowl and add 1/4 cup of hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a dash of cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste.
Mix the sauce thoroughly.
How to Make Baked Chicken Wings
Follow this foolproof recipe for perfect, saucy chicken wings every time:
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Things You'll Need
Chicken wings
Flour
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Dry rub (like jerk seasoning, blackened/barbecue seasoning or southwest seasoning)
Preheat your oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit as you begin preparing your wings.
Mix the ingredients: Place the oil, flour and seasonings in a large bowl and mix together. Then add the wings, tossing and coating them completely.
Bake the wings: Divide the wings evenly on baking sheets. Bake until they are cooked through and the skin is crispy. This should take about 45 minutes.
Make your sauce (optional): You can always use store-bought sauce for your wings, but if you want to make your own, use the buffalo sauce recipe above. Remember to mix until well combined.
Add sauce to the wings: Add the wings to the sauce in a bowl and toss them to evenly coat. Place the wings on a baking sheet and bake until the glaze appears lightly caramelized, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Once your wings are covered in sauce and ready to be served, Sidoti recommends coupling your chicken wings with celery, beans, pasta or even potato salad. She also loves serving her wings with a side of roasted potato wedges or onion rings for a real treat.
"Don't forget the ranch, blue cheese and honey mustard," Sidoti says.
Tossing your wings in flour before frying will give them a slight crust that will absorb sauce more readily. If not using flour, try using a thicker sauce, I've seen Franks Red Hot came out with a thick sauce. If you're using regular hot sauce, add melted butter to the sauce and let sit at room temp.
Whether you're working with breasts, thighs, drumsticks, or wings, pat the meat dry. This is especially important for skin-on chicken or marinated pieces, as this can help sauce to stay put. Applying a rub can also be useful, much like working with a thicker sauce.
Thoroughly pat the wings dry with paper towels before seasoning them with salt and placing them on a baking sheet. Bake at 375˚ until the wings are crisp and brown, about one hour. If you have sauce to put on your wings, do so just before serving to keep them from getting soggy.
To make sure that every wing is evenly covered in hot sauce you throw the wings in a big (warm) bowl. Stainless steel would be the best choice. Now pour the sauce of your choice over the desired wings and cover the bowl with a plate or lid. Then it's time to shake the bowl with the wings and sauce.
Once the pasta is in the sauce, add pasta water. This is the most vital step in the process. Starchy pasta water doesn't just help thin the sauce to the right consistency; it also helps it cling to the pasta better and emulsify with the fat and cheese you're going to be adding.
The key to getting the sauce to stick to your wings is the flour, Sidoti says. Before you toss your chicken in sauce, coat them with enough flour or dry mixture (aka a seasonings mixture or dry rub).
Add a little sugar. Sugar doesn't thicken in quite the same way as starch or fat, but it does make your sauce stickier, and getting your sauce to stick to the food is the entire point. Adding sugar to water creates a solution that is thicker than water, and further heating (boiling or simmering) makes it even thicker.
It's best to marinate your chicken overnight to give the flavours plenty of time to infuse. A faster way to add flavour is to simply brine your chicken in salty water prior to cooking. This will help tenderise the meat and add extra flavour.
After you've coated the wings in the salt-baking powder mixture you have to lay them out on a tray and place them in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. This will ensure the wings dry out even more (dry = crispy) and “it'll let the baking powder do its magic”, says Matt.
This was the easiest of the hacks: Just toss the wings in a teaspoon each of salt and baking powder before baking. The wings came out of the oven quite crisp, and were the only wings that came out matte – with no oil sheen – which seemed to help them absorb the sauce, in both good and bad ways.
Food stylist Richmond Flores' go-to method is marinating the wings and then steaming them before frying. This method, he says, imparts tremendous flavor and tenderizes the meat, but more importantly, the steaming helps render the fat from the skin which then allows the wings to crisp up perfectly.
Butter adds richness and creaminess to the sauce, balancing out the heat from the hot sauce. This richness helps to coat the wings evenly and provides a smooth texture to the sauce. And finally, it acts as a binding agent, helping to bring together the other ingredients in the sauce.
Buffalo sauce is typically added to wings after they're cooked to preserve the texture of the wings. If the sauce is applied before cooking, it can break down and lose its consistency due to the high heat of the cooking process.
If you want to add sauce, you will do so during the last 30 minutes of baking (and then again when they come out of the oven, if you want them extra-saucy).
When grilling or broiling, brush the glaze with a pastry brush, or when cooking in a pan, pour the glaze in, allow it to simmer and reduce until it becomes sticky in the pan.
Introduction: My name is Arline Emard IV, I am a cheerful, gorgeous, colorful, joyous, excited, super, inquisitive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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