The Best Chicken Wing Recipe Ever

Name: The Best Chicken Wing Recipe Ever
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken wings (tips removed, flats and drumettes separated); 6 tablespoons butter (clarified); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Wings are not just for football season anymore. Around here, almost any occasion is an excuse to make up a batch of wings.

This recipe starts off similar to some of the traditional hot wing recipes out there, but then adds one crucial step at the end that makes them unique. I’m not one to throw around superlatives lightly, but this really is the best chicken wing recipe ever, if I do say so myself.

Once you try this method, I’m sure you’ll be looking for excuses to make up a batch just like me.

Here’s the lineup of ingredients. Nothing fancy or out of the ordinary, but used the right way will produce the best wings you ever ate.

There is a constant debate going on with food bloggers on the best way to precook wings to get the crispiest skin. Some swear by parboiling before baking, others endorse coating the wings with baking powder.

I can tell you that none of this will make any difference to our finished product. Just put the wings on an oven safe rack over a disposable foil tray and put them in a 450° oven for about an hour. You can thank me later when you throw away the foil tray instead of spending all day cleaning a sheet pan.

While the wings are in the oven, clarify 6 tablespoons of butter. Clarifying butter is super easy, click here for a step by step guide. Return the clarified butter to the pan and add the garlic.

Most of the Myers clan likes our wings with a little zip, but not crazy hot, so I usually go with a couple of cloves. Feel free to add more garlic to the butter if you want more heat. Keep warm on the stove to let the garlic infuse the butter.

Why Clarified Instead of Melted Butter? Clarified butter is just butterfat – all of the milk solids and water have been removed. This creates a higher smoke point, making it perfect for high temperate grilling.

When the wings are finished baking, remove from the oven and let sit for 5 or 10 minutes. Then place them in a large bowl.

Toss to coat wings with the garlic butter.

Add your favorite hot sauce and toss again. At this point, we’ve just made a pretty good batch of wings, not unlike most you ever tried – not that there’s anything wrong with them. But let’s make them even better…

Something magical happens when we throw the sauced wings on the grill. The hot sauce caramelizes, some of the vinegar cooks away, and we are left with the most amazingly good spicy sweet tangy wings.

Serve immediately with veggies, ranch and some more hot sauce on the side. Enjoy!

The Best Chicken Wing Recipe Ever

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5 from 10 votes