Rio’s Chicken Wings

Buffalo Sauce & BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Hot Sauce:

  • ¼ - ½  cup unsalted butter

  • ½ cup Texas Pete’s or Louisiana hot sauce

Note:  the more butter, the less spicy the hot sauce

  • 1 dash of ground black pepper

  • 1 dash of garlic powder

  • Optional: 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (for extra tang)

  • Optional: 1 Tbsp honey (for a slight sweetness and balanced heat)

For the BBQ  Sauce:

  • ¼ - ⅓ cup unsalted butter

  • ½ cup Robin’s homemade BBQ sauce

Note:  BBQ sauce alone is too thick to coat chicken wings. They get gelatinous and soggy. You're adding the butter to thin  the sauce. Adjust the amount of butter needed to the thickness of the barbecue sauce.

For the Chicken Wing Coating:

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour

  • ¼ tsp paprika

  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

  • ½ tsp salt

  • Optional: ¼ tsp black pepper

  • Optional: ¼ tsp garlic powder

  • Optional: ½ tsp baking powder (optional, for crispier wings)

For the Chicken:

  • 3 to 4 pounds approximately 36 wings

Note: Buy the kind that have the wingtips cut off (Whole Foods has them)

  • 1 gallon of vegetable oil (or peanut oil for better frying)

  • Blue cheese or ranch dressing, for serving

  • Celery and carrot sticks, for serving

Instructions:

Prepare the Chicken:

  1. Pat the wings dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. This helps achieve crispiness when frying.

  2. In a bowl, mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, (optional garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and baking powder).

  3. Toss the wings in the seasoned flour mixture, ensuring they are evenly coated. 

  4. Refrigerate the wings for at least 60 minutes to help the coating stick better. This step is key for crispier wings. Recoat with flour before frying.

Note: Keep the wings you aren’t cooking in the refrigerator. Warm wings = soggy

Make the Hot Sauce:

  1. While frying the wings, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the ½ cup Texas Pete’s or Louisiana hot sauce, add 1 dash of ground black pepper,

  2. 1 dash of garlic powder. Optional: 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (for extra tang) and Optional: 1 tbsp honey (for a slight sweetness and balanced heat)

  3. Keep warm

Make the BBQ Sauce:

  1. While frying the wings, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add BBQ sauce. Keep warm

Fry the Wings:

  1. In a deep fryer or large pot to 375°F. Use a deep-fry thermometer to maintain the temperature.

  2. Fry the wings in batches of about 10-12 at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pot. 

Note: I create a layer of Drumsticks and then layer flats on top

  1. Fry each batch for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through (internal temp of 165°F).

  2. Transfer the cooked wings to a paper towel-lined plate or a wire rack to drain excess oil.

Toss and Serve:

  1. Toss the hot wings in the warm sauce until well-coated in the (side-by-side) saucepans on the stove

  2. Serve immediately with blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery and carrot sticks on the side.