Crispy Restaurant-Style Chicken Wings (Printable Version)

Perfectly crispy wings with buttermilk marinade, served with Buffalo, Thai sweet chili, or BBQ sauce options.

# What You'll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2.5 lbs chicken wings, separated at joints with tips removed

→ Marinade and Coating

02 - 1 cup buttermilk
03 - 1 teaspoon salt
04 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
05 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
06 - 1 teaspoon onion powder
07 - 1/2 teaspoon paprika
08 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
09 - 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
10 - 1/2 cup cornstarch
11 - 1 teaspoon baking powder

→ For Frying

12 - Sunflower or peanut oil for deep frying

→ Buffalo Sauce

13 - 1/3 cup hot sauce
14 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
15 - 1 teaspoon honey

→ Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

16 - 1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
17 - 1 tablespoon lime juice
18 - 1 teaspoon fish sauce, optional

→ BBQ Sauce

19 - 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

→ Garnish

20 - Fresh chives or scallions, sliced
21 - Celery sticks
22 - Blue cheese or ranch dressing

# How to Make It:

01 - In a large bowl, combine chicken wings with buttermilk, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Toss until evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight for optimal flavor development.
02 - In a separate bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and baking powder until thoroughly combined.
03 - Remove marinated wings from refrigerator and allow excess buttermilk to drip off. Working in batches, dredge each wing thoroughly in the flour mixture, pressing gently to ensure the coating adheres properly. Transfer coated wings to a wire rack and let rest for 10 minutes.
04 - Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot or deep fryer with sunflower or peanut oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat oil to 350°F, monitoring temperature with a cooking thermometer for accuracy.
05 - Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot, fry wings for 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crispy throughout. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer fried wings to a wire rack positioned over paper towels to drain excess oil.
06 - For Buffalo sauce: whisk together hot sauce, melted butter, and honey until combined. For Thai sweet chili sauce: combine sweet chili sauce, lime juice, and fish sauce if using. For BBQ sauce: use directly as is or warm if desired.
07 - Divide fried wings into portions. Toss each portion with desired sauce or serve sauces separately for dipping. Arrange on serving platter and garnish with fresh chives or scallions. Serve alongside celery sticks and blue cheese or ranch dressing.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The buttermilk soak keeps the meat juicy even when the outside shatters like glass.
  • Three sauces mean you can please the heat seekers, the sweet tooths, and the tangy BBQ loyalists all at once.
  • You control the oil, the temperature, and the crunch, no sad takeout sogginess here.
  • Leftoads reheat beautifully in a hot oven, and cold wings straight from the fridge at midnight hit different.
02 -
  • Resting the coated wings before frying is not optional, the first time I skipped it, half the coating floated off into the oil and I ended up with pale, sad wings.
  • Don't fry straight from the fridge, let the wings sit at room temp for 15 minutes so the inside cooks through without burning the outside.
  • If your oil smokes before it hits temperature, it's too hot, turn it down and wait, patience saves your coating and your smoke detector.
03 -
  • Pat the wings completely dry with paper towels before marinating, excess water dilutes the buttermilk and makes the coating slip.
  • For extra crispy wings, double fry them, once at 150 degrees C for 7 minutes, cool for 10, then again at 190 degrees C for 2 to 3 minutes until they shatter.
  • Always fry a test wing first to check your oil temperature and timing, better to sacrifice one than ruin the whole batch.
  • Keep a bowl of warm water and a towel nearby, sticky hands and hot oil don't mix.
Go Back