Are you ready for some football?! Then let’s fry up some chicken wings! Add cold beer and it’s a party!

I am a fan of Hooter’s wings, so I like to recreate their breaded buffalo chicken wings by deep frying my own wings. I use their wing breading and wing sauce so that the wings always taste just like the Hooter’s wings at the restaurant. However, any flavored wing sauce will taste just as great with this recipe.

The wife tends to favor more of the barbeque flavored wing sauces, so we usually make a separate batch of wings using Sweet Baby Ray’s honey barbeque wing sauce. If you’re like us and decide to use multiple wing sauces, then you’ll want to have a separate bowl or plastic bag for each sauce.

What Frying Equipment to Use –

When frying wings, I normally fry in a cast iron or aluminum pot as both can handle high heat but using a fry appliance also works just as well. Fry appliances have the advantage of creating less mess while having the ability to precisely control your heat. Frying in small pots is also easier as it only requires a small burner, like the side burner on a gas grill, or just using your stovetop cooking range. For large batches of wings, I like to cook outside using a 10-quart aluminum fry pot along with a propane burner. 

Types of Oil to Use –

Another important component to frying your wings is what type of oil to use. Refined oils have a higher smoke point and therefore are best for high temperatures and deep-frying. Some refined oils that are most commonly used are peanut oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil. I typically use vegetable or peanut oil and fry at 375 degrees F.

Fried buffalo chicken wings pair well with a side of carrot sticks or celery sticks and also makes a great side to your favorite pizza pie.

Let’s get to fryin’! Here’s what you’ll need…

Equipment:

• 1 large sharp knife
• 2-3 large bowls with lids or 1-gallon storage plastic bags
• 1 large pot with basket (basket optional) or fry appliance
• 1 long-stem thermometer
• 1 long pair of tongs

Ingredients:

• 4-5 lbs. bone-in chicken wings
• 1 cup Hooters wing breading
• vegetable or peanut oil, enough to fill a pot by 1 ½ inches
• ½ cup wing sauce
• ranch or bleu cheese dressing, for dipping

Instructions:

Prepping & Breading the Chicken Wings –

1. With a large sharp knife, cut and break apart the wings separating the drumettes and the flappers.

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2. Place your wings and wing breading into a large bowl (or plastic storage bag). Cover with the lid and shake the bowl until the wings are completely coated with the breading.

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3. Put the wings into the refrigerator for 60-90 minutes. This will help the batter stick to the chicken when fried.

Frying the Chicken Wings –

4. Add oil to a large pot, filling to about 1 ½ inches deep, and heat at 375 degrees F.

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5. Place the wings into the basket and carefully drop the basket into the hot oil, or place the wings directly into hot oil with a long pair of tongs.

Try to keep the oil temperature between 350 and 375 degrees F while frying. It’s ok if your oil cools for a bit after adding the meat as this is normal of all frying.

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6. Fry the wings for 10 minutes, or until golden brown, with an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

7. Remove the wings from the hot oil and let them drain from the basket for a few seconds or use a long pair of tongs to place each wing in a large pan lined with paper towels.

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Saucing the Chicken Wings –

8. After the wings have drained place the wings in a large bowl (or plastic storage bag) and add the wing sauce. Cover with the lid and shake the bowl until the wings are completely coated with the wing sauce.

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9. Immediately serve with ranch or bleu cheese dressing for dipping and enjoy!

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