Speaking of photography, if you want to grow your food blog fast, there is no better way out there right now than getting your photos accepted by Foodgawker and/or Tastespotting. If you have tried and been rejected, don’t give up! And don’t be bitter – get better! Nobody wants to hear you whine (on your blog, twitter, or to anyone else who will listen) repeatedly about how they only accept a certain type of photo, or from certain blogs, or whatever it is you tell yourself to soften the blow of their rejection! I’ve been rejected so many times I’ve lost count!!! I STILL get rejected way more often than I get accepted – especially by Tastespotting!! But when I do make the cut, my blog traffic spikes dramatically. We have a love/hate relationship (love to get accepted, HATE to get rejected!), and I credit their exposure for getting me to this point so quickly. Though I have cussed them out mentally many, many (many many many many many…a LOT ok?) times, I’m grateful to them both! So work harder, learn the basics of lighting and exposure (again, Plate to Pixel people!) and keep submitting! Oh and do yourself a favor and pore over the submission guidelines and do your research! Sarah G. over at Tastespotting finds photos of half eaten food gross, hates cilantro, and won’t accept your photo (even if it’s amazing) if your post is boring or too personal (Uh oh, this post is toast! ha ha!!) (see Sarah, I have been paying attention!) Keep abreast of what’s trendy or popular and blog about it – it will raise your chances of getting accepted by a lot!
And so I’m finally moving on to the food which is why most of you are here! Sorry it took so long, guess I had a lot to say today! If this is your first time here I swear I’m not usually quite this wordy! But cut a girl some slack, it’s a big day for me! So, the chicken wings! Who doesn’t love them?? Nobody I’ve ever met that’s for sure! And since it’s playoff season and no Superbowl party worth attending is without a big platter of wings, this seemed like as good a time as any for this recipe! There are a million delicious variations on chicken wings but since I’m doing low carb this week I kept it simple and sugar free – though a sticky, sweet, teriyaki chicken wing is hard to beat! The classic buffalo wing (at least in CT where I’m from) is generally Frank’s red hot sauce and butter. I added a quartered habanero for more heat but that was my only flavor enhancement. One thing I don’t do is deep fry my wings. It’s completely unnecessary in my opinion. There is enough fat in the skin and wing to fry itself when you bake it in the oven.
The trick is to bake them with no sauce first until they are crispy and cooked through. Then a bath in the sauce and back in the oven where they will get nice and crisp and the sauce bakes on – yum!. There isn’t much worse than a soggy chicken wing. But if you put the sauce on while they are raw and then try to bake them, by the time they get crisp (if ever) the meat will be completely dried out and barely palatable. So bake first, then sauce, then bake – repeat if you like them really saucy! And another thing – do yourself a favor and don’t pay extra for the bags of frozen winglets! Fresh wings are cheaper and all you have to do is make two cuts per wing to get the same product! Cut off the tips (I use them to make stock) and then cut through the joint to separate the “wing” from the “drumette.” It’s cheaper and better quality than those freezer burned thingy’s they sell in a bag!
Classic Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 lbs of fresh chicken wings
- 1 lrg bottle of Frank’s Red Hot sauce
- 1 stick of unsalted butter
- 1 habanero, seeded & quartered (optional)
Instructions
- After you trim the chicken put the pieces onto a cookie sheet (preferably foil covered, it took me forever to scrub mine clean last time!). Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until golden and crisp – longer if you like them really crispy.*
- Meanwhile in a medium saucepan melt the butter and add the entire bottle of hot sauce as well as the habanero, if using. Simmer over low heat while the wings are in the oven.
- Remove wings from the oven and dump into the sauce, toss until well coated. Take them out and put them back on the cookie sheet – back in the oven for another 30 minutes or more.
- If you love them really saucy you can repeat this step. Or if you are cooking them for a party later, refrigerate the sauce and wings and then re-dunk and blast for 20 minutes in the oven right (375 F) before your guests arrive.
- Serve with lots of celery sticks and good quality blue cheese dressing! Nom, nom, nom!
Notes
*I seasoned mine with salt and pepper before baking and the finished product turned out a bit too salty. I didn’t use unsalted butter which may have been the problem. So if you season them before baking, use a light hand with the salt and make sure you use unsalted butter in the sauce!
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Chicken
Gloria says
Garlic powder,onion powder, peprika then bake.
sindhuliina says
Absolutely love this recipe! Specially good on the next day when wings have had time to soak in the sauce. Will make it again!
mandy lebleu says
I love this site! thanks so much.. do you have the nutrition facts for the buffalo wings?
Thanks!!
Modijo says
I made these wings tonight for some diehard hot wing eaters and they loved them! This will definitely become a football Saturday staple. They loved not having breading on them! Great success! Thank you!
Marike says
My boyfriend and I did your Keto meal plans a few months ago and did really well, but got busy and fell off the wagon. Started again today with the three week kickstart to get ready for South African summer. First time making these wings and they were great. I had to improvise with the hot sauce and found a copycat recipe on the interwebs using cayenne peppers. However, we could only find bird’s eye chillies so our chicken was very spicy but delicious. Very happy I read the tip of putting foil on the cookie sheet otherwise I might have well thrown mine out now! Also made my own blue cheese dressing – melted a piece of blue cheese into a splash of cream and mixed it into homemade mayonnaise. Looking forward to continue this journey.
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you enjoyed the wings! I have been on and off the wagon many times and for many reasons – welcome back! :)
Anne says
I LOVE Buffalo chicken wings, and can eat and eat them. Is there a number of wing pieces that make sense as a portion? I use the larger wingettes & drumettes. Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I usually eat 6 to 8 pieces along with celery and blue cheese but it’s really different for everyone!
jackie says
8 was my last one!! I was full and satisfy:) so yummy..I’m on day 6 of your wonderful egg diet and following every step on your menu, so far I lost 7.9 lbs couldn’t be more happier ;)) I was stall for about 3 weeks and really needed some kick! thanks for this blog and your wonderful delicious recipes looking forward for the next soup stall on your blog ;) ….
Betsy says
Any substitute for the hot sauce? I can’t handle the heat but would like to make this with some other sauce without the heat.
Mellissa Sevigny says
You can try Teriyaki sauce Beth – totally different flavor and a few more carbs but delicious!
Annette Secoy says
I was looking specifically for this question and answer! Thank you so much!
Sherry says
Made these wings for a group of my husband’s hunting buddies. What a success!! Not one left and begging for more
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad the guys liked them Sherry – we never have leftovers either!!!!
Susan says
These are better than I’ve ever had in a restaurant!!! I’ve lived outside the US for 10 years now, and one thing I really miss (in addition to Mexican food) is buffalo wings. I was so surprised to find my local grocery store carries Frank’s sauce, so had to make these right away. I loved them!!! I noticed that the store also carries Frank’s Buffalo Sauce, but it has a bunch of unnecessary crap, including sugar and butter flavor, so just using the original stuff and adding butte is the way to go. There’s no way to get habanero chilis here but I find my ‘hot’ taste buds can’t handle much more than this sauce is on it’s own ;-). Anyway, everything I’ve tried on your site is amazingly good, so thank you, and keep up the good work! I’ll have to buy one of your books (or more) :-)
Cynthia says
These were great! Loved loved loved them! Is it possible for you post the net carbs per serving?