How to Cook Chicken Wings

Co-authored by JoAnna Minneci

Last Updated: January 13, 2023 References

Chicken wings are a truly versatile dish that can be prepared using a wide variety of different sauces and different cooking methods. You can use a commercial wing sauce, if desired, but this article will provide a few different homemade sauces you can try instead. You will also be provided with instructions on how to bake, broil, grill, and slow cook your chicken wings to perfection.

Ingredients

Makes 2 to 6 servings

2 lb (900 g) chicken wings (about 10 whole wings)
Wing sauce (see below)

Buffalo Sauce

Makes 2 cups (500 mL) sauce

14 oz (440 mL) tomato sauce
2 oz (60 mL) hot sauce
1 cup (250 mL) butter
1 tsp (5 mL) garlic powder
1 tsp (5 mL) onion powder

Barbecue Sauce

Makes 3.5 cups (875 mL) sauce

2 cups (500 mL) ketchup
1 cup (250 mL) water
1/2 cup (125 mL) apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsp (75 mL) light brown sugar
5 Tbsp (75 mL) granulated white sugar
1/2 Tbsp (7.5 mL) ground black pepper
1/2 Tbsp (7.5 mL) onion powder
1/2 Tbsp (7.5 mL) ground mustard
1 Tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1 Tbsp (15 mL) Worcestershire sauce

Sweet and Sour Orange Glaze

Makes about 2.5 cups (750 mL) glaze

2 cups (500 mL) sweet orange marmalade
5 Tbsp (75 mL) rice vinegar
4 Tbsp (60 mL) soy sauce
2 Tbsp (30 mL) chile sauce

Honey Mustard Sauce

Makes 1 cup (250 mL) sauce

1/2 cup (125 mL) whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup (125 mL) honey
4 Tbsp (60 mL) finely diced shallots
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ground black pepper
2 tsp (10 mL) chopped fresh thyme

Part 1

Part 1 of 6:

Preparing the Sauce

1
Use your favorite wing sauce. You can use a bottle of your favorite commercial wing sauce, or you can make a homemade wing sauce.
- Note the wing sauce recipes provided.
2
Prepare a buffalo wing sauce.^{[1]
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Research source} This sauce needs to simmer on the stove for 2 hours before use.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Carefully add the tomato sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stir well to mix. More hot sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder can be added if desired.
- Simmer uncovered, on low heat, for two hours. Stir occasionally.
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3
Make your own barbecue sauce.^{[2]
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Research source} This sauce is ready to use after simmering for a little over an hour.
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir well to mix.
- Heat the sauce over medium-high heat until it boils. Reduce the heat to low or medium-low so that the sauce continues cooking at a low simmer.
- Cook, uncovered, for 75 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the sauce from burning.
4
Mix together a sweet and sour orange glaze.^{[3]
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Research source} This glaze can be prepared without the use of a stove.
- Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
5
Whisk together a honey mustard sauce.^{[4]
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Research source} This is another sauce that can be prepared without heating the ingredients.
- Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients in a small to medium bowl until well combined.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.

Part 2

Part 2 of 6:

Preparing the Wings

1
Remove the wing tips. Use kitchen scissors or a sharp kitchen knife to cut off the tip of each chicken wing.^{[5]
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Research source}
- Place each chicken wing on a cutting board and hold it steady with your non-dominant hand.
- Use your dominant hand to cut between the joint at the top end of the tip.
- Discard the wing tip.
2
Separate the wings into two parts. Cut the remaining part of the wing into two pieces by cutting between the joint with a sharp kitchen knife or kitchen scissors.
- Spread the remaining portions open so that you can clearly see the joint.
- Carefully cut each wing at this joint.
3
Marinate the wings in sauce. If baking, broiling, or grilling the wings, marinate them in 1/2 cup (125 mL) of your chosen sauce for at least 30 minutes.
- Do not use your entire batch of sauce since you may want to use some later for basting or dipping.
- It is not necessary to marinate the chicken wings if you plan on slow-cooking them.
- To marinate, place the wings inside a resealable plastic bag and set the bag inside a shallow dish. Pour the marinating sauce into the bag and seal. Turn the bag several times to coat the wings, and set the bag inside the refrigerator as it marinates.

Part 3

Part 3 of 6:

Baking

1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.
- You could also spray the pan down with nonstick cooking spray. Aluminum foil is less messy, but the cooking spray will still prevent the chicken wings from sticking to the baking sheet.
- Choose a baking sheet or dish with shallow sides.
2
Transfer the wings to the prepared baking sheet. Allow the excess marinade to drip off before lining the wings up.
- Hold each wing above the bag of marinade for 30 seconds, or until you no longer notice any marinade dripping off.
- Arrange the wings on your baking sheet in a single layer. Do not stack or pile the wings.
- Discard the excess marinade.
3
Bake the wings for 30 minutes. After the first 30 minutes pass, baste the wings using another 1/4 cup (60 mL) of the same sauce before returning them to the oven.^{[6]
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Research source}
- The oven must be completely preheated before you can begin cooking the wings.
4
Cook for another 30 minutes. Baste the wings every 10 minutes until done, using up to another 1/4 cup (60 mL) of sauce.
- When done, the chicken should no longer be pink in the center.
- Use an instant read thermometer to check if the chicken wings have reached 165 °F (74 °C).
5
Serve hot. Transfer the wings to your serving dish shortly after removing them from the oven.

Part 4

Part 4 of 6:

Broiling

1
Preheat the broiler. Allow the broiler to preheat for 5 to 10 minutes so that it has enough time to come up to temperature.
- Most broilers only have "On" and "Off" settings. If your broiler has "Low" and "High" settings, however, preheat it to the "High" setting.
2
Remove the wings from the marinade. Transfer the wings to an unheated broiler pan.
- A broiler pan is specially designed so that fat drips off meat as it cooks, so it is important that you use a broiler pan and not a regular baking sheet. Do not line the pan with aluminum foil or cooking spray, as doing so may pose a fire hazard.
- Allow the excess marinade to drip off the wings before placing them on the broiling pan. Discard the marinade.
- Arrange the wings in a single layer. Do not stack or pile them on top of one another.
3
Broil the wings for 20 to 25 minutes. Cook the wings in your preheated broiler, turning once halfway through the cooking time to promote even browning and even cooking.
- As the wings cook, they should be 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) away from the heating element.
- Use tongs to turn the wings.
- Turn the wings after they become light brown on one side.
4
Toss with additional sauce and serve. After removing the wings from the broiler, you can toss or baste them with an addition 1/4 to 1/2 cup (60 to 125 mL) of your chosen sauce. Serve hot.

Part 5

Part 5 of 6:

Grilling

1
Heat your grill to medium-high. Rub the grill grate with a little cooking oil to prevent the wings from burning as they cook.
- If using a gas grill, preheat the burners to medium-high.
- If using a charcoal grill, prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire. Coat the bottom of the grill in a single layer of coals, but pile more coals toward the center.
2
Remove the wings from your marinade. Drain the excess marinade from the wings and pat dry.
- Allow most of the excess marinade to drip off each wing. The remaining moisture should be dried off with clean paper towels.
- The wings should be quite dry when you add them to the grill. Chicken wings are known to cause flare-ups, even without a wet marinade, so you need to minimize the dripping by wiping away as much of the marinade from the surface as possible.
3
Transfer the wings to your prepared grill. Arrange the wings in a single layer on the grill.
- Do not pile or stack the wings, since doing so will prevent even cooking.
- Do not cover the grill.
4
Grill for 20 minutes. Cook the wings until they are brown and crisp on the outside and no longer pink on the inside. Flip the wings every few minutes to promote even charring and even cooking.^{[7]
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Research source}
- If the fire flares up or if the wings begin to burn, transfer the chicken wings to a cooler part of the grill.
5
Serve hot. Transfer the wings to a large bowl and toss them in another 1/2 cup (125 mL) or more of your chosen sauce.
- You can also coat the wings with your sauce by basting them.
- Serve immediately after coating the wings.

Part 6

Part 6 of 6:

Slow Cooking

1
Preheat your broiler. Let your broiler preheat for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, arrange un-marinated chicken wings on a broiler pan in a single layer.
- Note that the chicken wings do not need to be marinated for this recipe, but you should still separate them into parts.
- The broiling steps can be skipped, if desired, but doing so will prevent the wings from developing their trademark crunchy skin.
- Most broilers only have "on" and "off" settings. If your broiler has a "high" and "low" setting, use the low setting. You only need the broiler to brown the wings, not to cook them fully.
- Do not line the broiler pan with aluminum foil or cooking spray.
2
Broil for 10 minutes on each side. Place the wings in your preheated broiler and cook for a total of 20 minutes, flipping them over with tongs at the halfway mark or once you notice browning on the top side.
- Broil the chicken wings roughly 4 inches (10 cm) away from the heating element.
3
Transfer wings to slow cooker. As soon as the chicken wings finish browning, arrange them in a slow cooker.
- You will need to stack the wings in order to make them fit. This does not pose an obstacle to even cooking when using a slow cooker, however.
- If desired, you can line the slow cooker with cooking spray or with a specially-designed slow cooker liner to minimize sticking and make cleaning up easier.
4
Cover with 2 cups (500 mL) sauce. Pour two cups of your preferred sauce over the chicken wings in the slow cooker.
- If desired, you can give the wings a quick stir in order to coat them with the sauce. This is not often necessary, though, since the sauce will usually find its way from the top to the bottom of the slow cooker, coating each wing as it passes through.
5
Cook for 4 to 5 hours on Low.^{[8]
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Research source} Cover the slow cooker and cook until the chicken wings are no longer pink on the inside and begin falling off the bone.
- You could also cook the wings on High for 2 to 2.5 hours.
6
Serve immediately. Transfer the wings to individual serving platters directly from the slow cooker.
- Keep the slow cooker set to Low as you dish out the wings. If your slow cooker as a "Warm" setting, you could also use that.

Community Q&A

Question

I do not care for crispy chicken skin. I like it soft. How do I get it that way without overcooking?

Community Answer

Crispy skin is caused from frying or baking on a higher temperature, or by adding oil to "crisp" the chicken. Follow the directions for cooking chicken properly, or lower the heat and extend the cook time. Ensure the meat is thoroughly cooked before eating. If you have a meat thermometer, use it.
Question

Can I fry them in a pan?

ray

Community Answer

Sure, but you'll need to use a deep pan. Use a lot of oil and make sure everything is cooked through.