Crispy Restaurant-Style Chicken Wings (Printable)

Golden fried chicken wings with your choice of Buffalo, Thai sweet chili, or BBQ sauce. Crispy perfection in 45 minutes.

# Components:

→ Chicken

01 - 2.5 lbs chicken wings, separated at the joint, wing tips removed

→ Marinade & 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
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

→ BBQ Sauce

19 - 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

→ Garnish

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

# Directions:

01 - In a large bowl, combine chicken wings with buttermilk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight for optimal flavor development.
02 - In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder until evenly distributed.
03 - Remove marinated wings from the refrigerator and allow excess buttermilk to drip off. Dredge each wing thoroughly in the flour mixture, pressing gently to ensure even coating adheres. Transfer coated wings to a wire rack and rest for 10 minutes.
04 - Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot or deep fryer with oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat oil to 350°F using a thermometer to monitor temperature accurately.
05 - Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, carefully place wings into hot oil. Fry for 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crispy throughout. Transfer fried wings to a wire rack positioned over paper towels to drain excess oil.
06 - For Buffalo sauce, whisk hot sauce, melted butter, and honey together. For Thai sauce, combine sweet chili sauce, lime juice, and fish sauce. BBQ sauce requires no preparation beyond selection.
07 - Divide fried wings into three portions. Coat each portion with desired sauce by tossing gently, or arrange sauces separately for individual dipping. Garnish with fresh chives or scallions and serve with celery sticks and blue cheese or ranch dressing on the side.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The coating gets impossibly crispy while the meat stays juicy inside—no rubbery wings here.
  • Three sauce options mean you're never bored, and everyone at the table gets to play favorites.
  • Once you master the technique, you'll make these for every gathering and suddenly become the person people call for wings.
02 -
  • Oil temperature is everything—too cool and your wings absorb grease instead of crisping, too hot and the outside burns before the inside cooks through, so invest in a thermometer and trust it.
  • The double-fry method (frying once at 300°F for seven minutes, letting them cool, then frying again at 375°F for two to three minutes) sounds like overkill until you taste the results—the first fry cooks the meat through, the second fry cranks up the crispiness to another level.
03 -
  • Pat your coated wings dry with paper towels right before frying—any moisture on the surface creates sputtering oil and uneven cooking, plus wet wings steam instead of crisp.
  • If you're making wings for a crowd, fry them first without sauce, then toss them just before serving so they stay crispy and crunchy all the way through the meal instead of getting soggy from sitting in sauce.
Return