The Challenge - Can I make Baked Buffalo Wings that Taste as Good as Fried ?

I was up to the challenge. Took out the trusty fryolator and loaded it up with canola oil. To prevent the sauce from making the difference I used Texas Pete's Chicken Wing Sauce.

The next step was to prep the chicken wings.

Remove the wing tips from 6 lbs of chicken wings set them aside for stock. Using a knife separate the wings at the joint.

Place a 6-quart saucepan, with a steamer basket and 1 inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Place half of the wings in the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay out the wings on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator to dry, about 1 hour. This is the start to the baked wings.

Meanwhile mix together the coating for the fried wings.

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients is a resealable bag and mix well. Coat a few pieces of chicken at a time in the flour mixture and place on a lines baking pan. Place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour or until ready to cook.

For the baked wings:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the paper towels on the pan and replace with parchment paper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven, about 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook 20 to 30 more minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

For the fried wings:

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees.  Cook the wings into the hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes or until some parts of the wings begin to turn dark brown. Remove the wings from the oil to a paper towel to drain.

Put the wings one type of at a time in a large bowl. Add wing sauce and coat well. Keeping the baked seapared from the fried, place the coated wings on baking sheets and return to the oven until the sauce dries onto the wings. Serve with Blue cheese or Ranch dressing.

And the verdicts is .........

 

Baked just can not compare to fried!