Baked Buffalo Wings, Because Deep-Frying Is a Hassle

When it comes to game-day eats, dips are convenient, chili is comforting, and pizza is a crowd-pleaser, but none of them hold a candle to the reigning champion of football food: fiery, tangy buffalo wings.

While it's a Sunday Night Football requirement, buffalo chicken isn't the most ideal to make; even with special cooking equipment, its deep-fried preparation can be dangerous, messy, and laborious. Leave it to the king of food science, Alton Brown, to come up with an alternative cooking method for this classic.

His recipe calls for steaming, chilling, and then baking the chicken wings to a crisp. It's lighter, less messy, and even my sports fanatic boyfriend can't tell the difference!

Buffalo Wings With Blue Cheese Dip

Adapted from Alton Brown

Notes

For much easier cleanup, opt for a silicone steamer rather than a folding metal one.

Ingredients

1. For the wings:
   12 whole chicken wings
   3 ounces unsalted butter
   1 small clove garlic, minced
   1/4 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot
   1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. For the blue cheese dressing:
   4 ounces blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola
   1/3 cup sour cream
   1/3 cup buttermilk
   1/4 cup mayonnaise
   1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
   1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
   1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Celery sticks, for serving

Directions

1. Make the wings: Place a 6-quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1 inch of water in the bottom over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil.
2. Remove the tips of the wings and discard, or save for making stock. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels, and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Replace the paper towels with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook for another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.
4. While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl along with the garlic. Pour this along with hot sauce and salt into a mixing bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken, and whisk together to combine.
5. Make the blue cheese dressing: Put the blue cheese in a small mixing bowl and mash it with a fork. Add the sour cream, buttermilk, mayonnaise, white wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce, and black pepper and whisk to combine.
6. Remove the wings from the oven, transfer to the mixing bowl, and toss with the sauce.
7. Serve hot with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

Information

Category

Appetizers, Poultry

Cuisine

North American

Yield

Serves 4 as an appetizer