Who doesn’t like Buffalo wings? Crispy, spicy and just flat-out delicious. Believe it or not though, there is a secret to truly good Buffalo wings.
This secret is known as twice cooking. Twice cooking provides a way for restaurants to cook wings orders quickly (in about 10 minutes), while achieving the all important crispiness.
The First Cooking
Essentially, the first cooking removes excess fat and moisture from the wings. This is important because excess moisture will cause the wings to be chewy.
While many restaurants par-fry their wings for about 10 minutes, this method is not practical for the home cook. Instead, wings can be baked for about 20 minutes to achieve the same results.
The Second Cooking
Once the wings have been pre-cooked and cooled, they are deep fried for about 10 minutes. The second cooking is what gives the wings their wonderfully crisp exterior.
The Recipe
2 lbs. Chicken wings, sectioned
12 oz. Bottle of Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce
2 tbs. Butter
2 tsp. Distilled vinegar
1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper
Pre-cook the wings
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a straight-sided sheet pan with non-stick foil and arrange wings, skin side down, in a single layer.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove wings from oven and flip them over. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Wings should be just slightly browned. You will notice how much fat and moisture has accumulated in the pan.
Transfer wings to a clean sheet pan to cool, leaving all excess moisture behind. If cooking wings at a later time, cover and refrigerate.
Make the wing sauce
Melt butter in a small saucepot.
To the butter, add hot sauce, vinegar and cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.
Fry the wings
Following your manufacturer’s directions, heat deep fryer to 350 degrees.
Carefully add wings, being sure not to overload the fryer baskets. Cook for about 10 minutes or until wings begin to float. Once floating, cook for an additional 3 minutes or so.
Remove wings from fryer and place them in a large bowl. Add a half cup of the wing sauce and toss until wings are thoroughly coated.
Enjoy with bleu chesse dressing, celery sticks and cold beer.