Everyone loves tasty chicken wings with a flavorful sauce. Whether you like them mild or mouth-burning hot, everyone has their favorite style. If you order them through a take-out service, they can become an expensive treat. Frozen chicken wings are a little cheaper, but they never taste quite the same. However, these delicacies are so easy to make, there is no reason that you can’t enjoy fresh chicken wings at home at a fraction of the cost. As a bonus, when you make your own chicken wings, you can tailor the sauce choices to your exact taste. Make them as hot or as mild as you like. .
Choose Your Wings
You might be thinking that chicken wings should be easy to choose. When you go to the grocery store, there are many choices. Sometimes, you can find the tiny drummette-sized chicken wings. Those are a good choice if you like the miniature wings. If you like a little more meat on your chicken wing, choose a full-size wing. Make sure they look fresh and check the date on the package. Sometimes, grocery stores may not have much to choose from in their meat section. This is especially true when there is a holiday weekend or special sporting event coming up. While fresh is usually better than frozen, you can find some chicken wings in the frozen section that will work. The frozen wings are usually sold in five or ten pound bags. Look for wings that have been individually flash frozen. This prevents freezer burn and prevents the wings from sticking together. The wings will come in complete sections or they will come pre-cut. Choose the pre-cut frozen wings when possible to eliminate the next step.
Prepare Your Wings For Cooking
If you have frozen wings, you should thaw them before proceeding with this step. Cut your wings into individual sections. If you’ve purchased the little drummette wings or pre-cut frozen wings, this step isn’t necessary. The whole wings should look like they have three individual sections. Use a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors to snip the joints. You may have to cut quite hard, and the kitchen shears make this an easier task. Discard the end of the chicken wing, and keep the two meaty portions for baking. After the wings are thawed and cut into sections, it’s a good time to add a little seasoning. This can be as simple as a few shakes of salt and pepper or you could coat them with a more complicated blend of seasonings. There’s no wrong way to season them, and it varies according to personal taste.
Bake Your Wings
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a heavy baking dish with aluminum foil to minimize clean-up. Although it’s not absolutely necessary, a little non-stick cooking spray can keep your wings from sticking to the foil. Place the wings on the pan in a single layer. It may be necessary to use multiple pans or cook in batches. Place the pan in the oven on the center rack. Allow the chicken wings to bake for about fifteen minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the wings over. Return the pan to the oven and allow the wings to cook for fifteen additional minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and allow the wing to cool so that you can handle them.
Sauce Your Wings
While the wings are cooking, you should prepare your sauce. A classic hot wing sauce involves mixing equal parts of melted butter and hot sauce. Dip your wings in the sauce and place on a paper-towel covered plate to drain. With a thicker sauce, a quick dip will do. For thinner sauces, allow the wing to sit in the sauce for a few moments.
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