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Fried to a golden brown and tossed in a buttery hot sauce, Buffalo wings are about as far from health food as you can get. However, we found a way to slash the fat and calories by about half—turning this barroom and game-day staple into a guilty pleasure we no longer feel so guilty about. We based our numbers for this dish on the Traditional Wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, which clock in at 670 calories for a mere six wings. Ours? They have only 370 calories. We also cut the fat from 55 to 25 grams. And above all, our streamlined version tastes so, so good.
MAKEOVER SPOTLIGHT: BUFFALO WINGS
1. Cutting up the wings made it easier to work with them and made them easier to eat, too. Using kitchen shears or a sharp chef’s knife, cut through the wing at the two joints and discard the wingtip (sometimes your butcher will even do this for you).
2. Before cooking our wings, we tossed them with baking powder and salt. The baking powder helped draw moisture from the skin so that it became super crispy in the oven; the salt simply added flavor.
3. To cook our Buffalo wings, we bypassed the vat of hot oil called for in traditional recipes and roasted them in a 475‐degree oven instead. Cooking them on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet ensured that the wings cooked through evenly and made it easy for the rendered fat to drain away.
4. After roasting our wings in a hot oven, we turned to the broiler to guarantee crisp, well‐browned skin before tossing them in our sauce. Though most recipes call for at least half a stick of butter in the sauce, we found that just a pat provided plenty of richness and sheen. Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce offered a mild, vinegary tang, while a bit of molasses added complexity.
About the Author: America's Test Kitchen
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Did they smoke in the oven at 475 F? I would think so with the fat rendering out at such a temperature.
We steam our wings for 5-8 mins before popping them into the oven. This melts off the fat and makes the baking part less smokey.
I remember seeing almost this exact recipe on Serious Eats. Here’s the link, dated February 2010. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/02/the-best-buffalo-wings-oven-fried-wings-recipe.html
It appears to have been researched, photographed, and written by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. Is ripping off the work of others without credit standard operating procedure for ATK? This is disappointing, to say the least.
Hi voicemomma,
This is just my opinion, but it’s a variation of a classic recipe. In comparison to the recipe you linked to, you’ll notice less salt, less butter and the addition of molasses. And a different sauce to wing ratio.
The recommendation to use Frank’s is because it’s the best. A gold standard in my opinion.
I’m sure this sort of variation on a classic method happens a lot all over the place. But if you completely change the recipe, then it’s not really a classic.
Hi everyone, just to clarify. This recipe was developed by the Test Kitchen books team for Comfort Food Makeovers. The salt and baking powder technique was inspired by our Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Crisp Roast Chicken in 2008: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=12318
I’ve never had totally baked wings with tender tendons/cartilage, the best parts of the wings.
Good Eats’ steamed-then-baked wings are a pretty huge hassle but the connective tissue is quite tender.
I’ve been baking my wings for years, I usually go to about 375 degrees, skip the wire rack, and pour off the fat about halfway through, and they don’t smoke at that temp. It will take a good hour for them to get crisp at that temp but they don’t dry out. It’s also great to try a dry rub on them, next time I think I’ll try adding cornstarch to the rub. The rub isn’t traditional of course…
I don’t know why anyone would ever fry wings at home. They come out so much better baked on my opinion. Mine are better than most I get in restaurants, which usually aren’t at all crispy.
@voicemomma I’m not surprised by the similarities between recipes, although they are certainly distinct enough to stand on their own. After all, do you realize that J. Kenji Lopez-Alt used to work for America’s Test Kitchen?