I’m not the type of person to deem any cooking project too big to try at home– just ask Brooke. But if you ask any of my good friends from college, they’ll happily tell you about Super Bowl 39, hosted in my apartment in Birmingham. Long story short- I made chicken wings. There was a fire. And we’re talking real flames shooting out of the bottom of an electric oven. There mayhave been some quantity of bourbon involved in that evening as well.
Fast forward 15 years. My love for football, and for chicken wings, is as strong as ever. (The only person I know that loves chicken wings more than I do, is Brooke. Needless to say Brooke’s not big on oven fires…)But these days, Super Bowl Sunday means a quiet evening at home while August sleeps in the next room and we share a bottle of wine or I whip up bourbon co*cktails. For that,take-out wings just won’t do. So over the past weeks I set out to devise a recipe for chicken wings that is not only fire-proof, but also simple enough that I could confidently hand the recipe off to my sister-in-law and know that she’ll be turning out wings as good as any sports bar in town. Sloane, see what you think…
Brine-g it On
Our wings start out with an overnight brine. By soaking the wings in a mixture of water, salt, sugar and hot sauce the pick up tons of flavor and stay super-juicy throughout the cooking process. Brining chicken is nothing new, but the real genius comes when the wings are cooked in the brine beforefrying. Simply soak the chicken wings for 24-48 hours then bring them to a boil on the stovetop. Best of all the wings and be cooked up to two days before frying- one less thing to worry about come party time.
No Fear in Frying
The hardest part of the chicken wing is getting it fried correctly- if your oil is too hot the wings will burn before they’re cooked through (there’s no greater party pooper than medium-rare chicken!); if the oil is not hot enough they’ll come out greasy and pale. And even if you get your oil temperature just right, what the heck are you going to do with all of that oil when you’re done cooking?
Since our wings are brined and fully cooked before frying,you’ll only use a small amount of hot oil to quickly crisp the wings. No stressing over cook times to insure proper doneness or trying to devise a way to keep them hot and crisp while you cook batch after batch for 12 minutes a piece. See? We’ll get your chicken wings on the table so fast you won’t even miss your favorite commercial.
Some Like it Hot
Once your chicken wings are golden brown and crispy (less than 5 minutes) they take a quick bath in a traditional buttery hot sauce. You can make you sauce as spicy as you like. Our recipe would pass for medium on most menus, but mix it up and give a taste for yourself. If you want wings with more kick, just keep adding hot sauce until your taste buds catch fire.
Jamie’s Ultimate Chicken Wings
Brine
4 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot or TabascoPepper Sauce
4 cloves garlic
4 branches fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dry thyme
2 lbs chicken wings
Sauce
1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot or Tabasco Pepper Sauce
2 ounces butter, cut in to smal pieces
Combine the water, sugar and salt in bowl and whisk until disolved. Add the hot sauce, garlic, thyme and chicken wings. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight, up to 48 hours.
Transfer the chicken wings and brine to a mediumsauce pot. If the wings are not completely covered, add water to the pot until they are. Place the pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. When the pot reaches a boil, turn off the heat and allow the wings to cool in the liquid for 15 minutes. Remove the wings from the liquid and store in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to serve.
To serve, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and set aside at room temperature while you prepare the oil and sauce. Place a large saute pan on the stove and full with canola or vegetable oil to a depth of approximately 3/4 inch. Turn the heat to medium.
Pour theTabasco Pepper Sauceinto a small sauce pot and place over high heat. Add the butter and whisk until melted and fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl or a second large saute pan and hold next to the stove.
Place the flour in a mixing bowl or baking pan and season well with salt and pepper. Roll the chicken wings in the flour to coat completely. To test the oil sprinkle a pinch of flour into the pan. If the oil sizzles immediately it is ready to fry. Remove the wings from the flour one-by-one and pat off any of the excess flour. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil- the oil should only come half way up the side of the wing.
Let the wings cook until golden brown, 1-2 mintues, then turn with a pair of tongs and brown again on the second side. Transfer the browned wings to the bowl of hot sauce. Keep the pan of oil full of wings but try not to let the wings touch one another. Every time you remove one wing, replace it with another until the wings have been browned.
Toss all of the wings in the bowl coat with the sauce and serve immediately.
**Leave the oil to cool on top of the stove. When cooled, pour the oil into a bottle with a screw on lid and discard.
5.0 from 2 reviews
The Ultimate Make-at-Home Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- Brine
- 3 cups water
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup Frank's Red Hot or Tabasco Pepper Sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 branches fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dry thyme
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- Sauce
- ¼ cup Frank's Red Hot or Tabasco Pepper Sauce
- 2 ounces butter, cut in to smal pieces
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar and salt in bowl and whisk until disolved. Add the hot sauce, garlic, thyme and chicken wings. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight, up to 48 hours.
- Transfer the chicken wings and brine to a medium sauce pot. If the wings are not completely covered, add water to the pot until they are. Place the pot on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. When the pot reaches a boil, turn off the heat and allow the wings to cool in the liquid for 15 minutes. Remove the wings from the liquid and store in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to serve.
- To serve, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and set aside at room temperature while you prepare the oil and sauce. Place a large saute pan on the stove and full with canola or vegetable oil to a depth of approximately ¾ inch. Turn the heat to medium.
- Pour the Tabasco Pepper Sauce into a small sauce pot and place over high heat. Add the butter and whisk until melted and fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl or a second large saute pan and hold next to the stove.
- Place the flour in a mixing bowl or baking pan and season well with salt and pepper. Roll the chicken wings in the flour to coat completely. To test the oil sprinkle a pinch of flour into the pan. If the oil sizzles immediately it is ready to fry. Remove the wings from the flour one-by-one and pat off any of the excess flour. Carefully place the chicken in the hot oil- the oil should only come half way up the side of the wing.
- Let the wings cook until golden brown, 1-2 mintues, then turn with a pair of tongs and brown again on the second side. Transfer the browned wings to the bowl of hot sauce. Keep the pan of oil full of wings but try not to let the wings touch one another. Every time you remove one wing, replace it with another until the wings have been browned.
- Toss all of the wings in the bowl coat with the sauce and serve immediately.
- **Leave the oil to cool on top of the stove. When cooled, pour the oil into a bottle with a screw on lid and discard.
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23 Comments
akinJanuary 30, 2012 at 6:35 pm - Reply
for the record (as I was the chef’s roommate at the time), he also attempted to batter and fry his own hand….. Bourbon wins again….
BaileyFebruary 11, 2017 at 10:54 pm - Reply
How can Bourbon be so good yet so evil. It’s simple, it expands the mind into hero status!
I’m going to try this with some alterations then grill. I think the boiling thing maybe the over the top part I’m looking for a BBQ contest win! Wish me luck…Leslie KennisonMarch 21, 2017 at 9:24 pm - Reply
Super good and very easy. My only issue with this is the patience required to brine but oh so worth the wait!
Sous Vide Buffalo Wings | DICED: The Official Blog of ICEFebruary 1, 2012 at 3:03 pm - Reply
[…] field and more about what I’m going to eat during the game. Recently I’ve been working on the Ultimate Make-at-Home Buffalo Wings. It’s the perfect recipe for your own Super Bowl party, guaranteed not to set your oven fire […]
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I was looking for some wedding tips when I found your blog. Extremely helpful!!
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[…] Jalapeno Margaritas GeniusBuffalo Chicken Wings Creamy Bacon Mac n’ Cheese Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas […]
Killer RabbitsFebruary 2, 2015 at 1:39 am - Reply
Sick recipe. Thanks!!!
PJMarch 11, 2015 at 12:05 am - Reply
Just made these for dinner tonight. Found the recipe this morning and got the wings out right away and got them started in the brine. I did not have Tabasco so i used a combo of Frank’s Red Hot and a Jamaican hot sauce. They only spent 9 hours in the brine. Let me tell you how absolutely delicious these wings were!! I can’t wait for next time to let them brine overnight. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing!
JamesMarch 23, 2015 at 9:24 pm - Reply
Thanks so much PJ! It’s never a bad times for wings 😉
NatalieMay 12, 2015 at 8:40 pm - Reply
Can these wings be cooked on the grill after the brine boil or is it best to fry them?
JamesMay 13, 2015 at 1:57 am - Reply
Absolutely, fire up that grill!
tonyfieldsav@aol.comMay 19, 2015 at 2:05 am - Reply
would just like to print out recipe
JamesMay 19, 2015 at 2:18 am - Reply
Hi! We’ve added an easy print format at the end of the post. just click the tab! Hope you enjoy
VinnyApril 27, 2016 at 9:45 pm - Reply
Can’t wait to eat them
BylinAugust 3, 2016 at 10:39 am - Reply
Hello from Sweden.
Really nice recipe, a tip would be to use Tiger Sauce (Brand: Try Me) instead when coating them.VeeAugust 18, 2016 at 11:59 pm - Reply
It was way to salty for our taste…Next time I will use only half the salt…
LandonOctober 13, 2016 at 1:02 am - Reply
Be sure to use Kosher Salt. If you use this much iodized salt in your brine (I did) you won’t be able to eat the wings.
KevinOctober 27, 2016 at 9:51 pm - Reply
I was very intrigued by this wing recipe and just finished cooking a batch. I used about 1 1/2 lbs wings, bribed for 24 hrs, then deep fried them. The cooking in brine is fantastic and deep frying is so fast. The wings looked great but were a bit salty even for my taste and I like salt. I’m thinking next time…and there WILL be a next time, reducing either the salt in the brine or unseasoned flour for dredging. Love the way the hot sauce soaked into the meat when brining!
JamesJanuary 8, 2018 at 7:15 pm - Reply
You absolutely can double the brine! Let us know how they turn out…
John kearnsSeptember 22, 2018 at 9:17 pm - Reply
Recipie was fantastic, you don’t have to figure if your wings are done or not.
Can you use this recipie for a whole cut up chicken.
I can figure out the brine ratio but how long should I boil the chicken and how long to let it sit.Thanks
JasonMarch 24, 2019 at 2:26 pm - Reply
I’ll try this recipe but the way it’s written up makes no sense. Also flour and oil are ingredients but they aren’t listed in the ingredients list. Very difficult to understand this recipe
EricAugust 16, 2020 at 6:04 am - Reply
There is a discrepancy with the amount of water to be used in the brine between the original article and the printable recipe. The original article says to use 4 cups of water. The printable recipe says to use 3 cups of water.That discrepancy might be why some of these comments are saying that the wings are too salty. Just a thought. I’m going to try them tonight.
EricAugust 16, 2020 at 6:20 am - Reply
I am trying the brine recipe with 4cups of water instead of 3 cups.
