Why is this the BEST Buffalo Wing Recipe? Because I’ll show you how to make CRISPY hot wings that are FULL of flavor – using my Dad’s secret ingredient! I’ll share my Buffalo Sauce Recipe & also discuss the RATIO of Hot Sauce to Butter (it’s a ‘hot’ topic!).
Cook this Buffalo Wing Recipe on Any Grill or Oven
Today I’m cooking Buffalo wings in an Ooni Pizza Oven for a wood-fired effect but u can make this buffalo chicken wing recipe on any grill or oven. Best of all this Buffalo Wing Recipe is EASY to make, easy to customize to your tastes, and so much fun to eat!
Give it a try & let me know what tips YOU have to share.
Best Buffalo Wing Recipe – The Video
SKIP AHEAD in the video with these timestamps:
- 00:38 Kamado & Ooni Pizza Oven views
- 01:10 Fuel Source (lump charcoal + cooking wood)
- 01:20 Wings in Marinade
- 01:50 Getting the Ooni Oven up to temp (watch the temp gauge climb!) 02:20 FIRE – it’s a beautiful thing!
- 02:35 Wings are ready to cook WITHOUT sauce
- 03:30 Buffalo Sauce Recipe Ingredients. Discussion on Hot Sauce to Butter Ratio
- 06:40 Buffalo Sauce Mixed (see below for recipe itself)
- 07:10 Wings at 10 Minutes
- 07:30 Wings at 20 Minutes
- 07:38 Wings IN SAUCE
- 07:55 Sauced Wings ready to CRISP
- 08:09: Wings back in oven to CRISP
- 08:37 Wings DONE
- 09:00 Let’s Eat!
- 10:00 Bonus: The Drippins!
- Share this vid: https://youtu.be/N1mR_M31MB8
Best Buffalo Wing Sauce Recipe
Before we get into the recipe for the Buffalo Wing Sauce, let me give you a few notes:
- This recipe is so freaking easy I didn’t show the actual melting of butter or mixing of ingredients in the video because I figured you are smart enough to know how to do that.
- IMPORTANT:we do NOT cook the wings with the sauce on to start. Instead we cook the wings WITHOUT sauce first.
- U can make the Buffalo Sauce Recipe after you get the wings started cooking. See Step 4 in the Buffalo Wing Sauce Recipe below for more on how & when to sauce the wings.
Buffalo Wing Sauce Recipe Step-by-Step
Step 1: Marinate the Wings (OPTIONAL)
- Put defrosted wings into zip lock bag with a combo of rub of your choice (I used Paul Prudhomme’s Red Magic which is great on chicken too) + 1 TB of EVOO + 1 TB of Kosher Salt.
- Mix the wings around in the bag with the marinade ingredients so wings are well coated
- Marinate the wings for up to 24 hours.
- I did 12 hours for the vid, but you can do it in as little as 1 hour if you don’t have time.
- Although u can skip this step, if you do it, you’ll get an extra ‘depth’ of flavor beneath the buffalo sauce so do the marinade if you can.
Step 2: Gather Ingredients for Buffalo Sauce
- Franks Red Hot Sauce (ORIGINAL not the “Buffalo” version)
- Butter
- Good Season’s Italian Dressing Dry Mix (1 Packet) – the SECRET Ingredient!
- My vid only used 3 basic ingredients in the sauce itself (salt was added later), but you can experiment next time with a little Lemon Juice, Fresh Basil, Worcester Sauce, Smoke Paprika, other Rubs, or whatever you like
Step 3: Decide YOUR Ratio of Hot Sauce to Butter
The ratio of hot sauce to butter that produces the best Buffalo Wing Recipe it a ‘HOT’ Topic and one that’s full of controversy. But the answer is really quite simple – the correct ratio of Franks Red Hot Sauce to Butter depends on YOUR preference.
What’s the “Official” ratio of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to Butter?
On the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce website you’ll find this answer…
The Official ratio is 3 parts butter to 2 parts hot sauce
But that’s NOT my preference.
Instead I like to use a ratio of hot sauce to butter that’s MY preferred ratio is the opposite…
3 parts hot sauce to 2 parts butter.
In my opinion, this will give you a nice MEDIUM heat buffalo wing that looks like this when sauced…(BUT do NOT sauce the wings yet – we’ll do that later in the recipe AFTER the wings cook). This pic is must a little preview 🙂
But that’s my preference. YOURS may be different so change the hot sauce to butter ratio depending on what you like.
What’s the Math on 3: 2 hot sauce to butter like in my vid?
- For 2 tablespoons of butter, use 3 tablespoons of Hot Sauce.
- In this vid I used 1/4 cup melted butter (4 TB) to 1/3 cup hot sauce (6 TB).
HOT OFF THE PRESSES – My “Buffalo Insider” says here are the TRUE ratios from hoods of his town…
- MILD Wings: 3 parts butter to 2 parts hot sauce
- MEDIUM Wings: 4 parts hot sauce to 2 parts butter
- HOT Wings: Only Frank’s, no butter (and find the Frank’s Xtra Hot version if you can)
- NUCLEAR Wings: 1 Cup of Frank’s Xtra Hot to 2 TB of Habanero Mash (but be careful – it’ll put hair on your chest for sure!)
How much sauce do you need?
In my vid, I had enough sauce for 12 wings + extra to dip in. If you are making more wings, make more sauce.
Step 4: Mix Buffalo Sauce Ingredients:
- Melt Butter
- Add ingredients to a medium size mixing bowl and mix
- Do NOT put the wings in the mix until AFTER you cook them to temp (165F)
It will look something like this…
Step 5: AFTER wings are cooked at or near temp (165 F), THEN…
At this point YOU have a decision to make. Do you want your Buffalo wings WET or DRY? I.E. do you want the Buffalo sauce dripping on the wings or do you like the Buffalo Sauce cooked onto the wings?
The answer to that question will determine if you are done cooking or not. If you like WET Buffalo Wings then sauce them & either serve them immediately. If you like DRY Buffalo Wings then you’ll put them back in the oven. In BOTH cases you’ll put cooked wings in sauce for this step…
It’s YOUR CHOICE:
- If you like WET wings, sauce wings AFTER they are cooked & serve immediately.
- If you like CRISPY wings, sauce wings AFTER initial cook to temp & then put them back in oven for 5 mins with sauce ON so wings will crisp up with sauce on them.
If you do like CRISPY Buffalo Wings like me, then here’s what they’ll look like if you cook the sauce onto them.
Step 6: EAT & ENJOY
Congratulations, you’ve just made the best Buffalo Wing Recipe on the planet. Now grab a beer (if you don’t already have one) and enjoy eating your awesome Buffalo Wings.
I’m guessing when you’re done, it will look something like this…
These wings are AWESOME. They are the Best Buffalo Wings you will ever have because they are easy to make and have the perfect combo of FLAVOR + HEAT AND the wings are CRISPY.
It’s time for YOU to try this recipe. Give it a shot and let me know what you like or what you might do different.
About the Products used:
Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, chicken wings are in short supply so I could only find I Costco Party wings – normally I’d cook the whole wing with all 3 sections (drumstick, wing, and tips).
Here are the other products I cooked with if you are interested…
- Franks Red Hot ORIGINAL Sauce: https://amzn.to/2zwpKQ3
- Butter of your choice
- Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix: https://amzn.to/2VDxkRG
- Maldon Smoke Sea Salt: https://amzn.to/356yVCu
- Ooni Pro: https://amzn.to/2QV3hBW
- Lump Charcoal: https://amzn.to/33RJGbg
- Weber Wood Chunks: https://amzn.to/39tyOBB
- Smoak Cooking Wood: https://amzn.to/2xxOdDw
- Hand Protection: https://amzn.to/2QWf96L
- Lodge Cast Iron Serving Pan: https://amzn.to/2xB0yqp
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