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Classic Buffalo Wings Recipe with Creamy Buttermilk Blue Cheese Sauce – Perfect Game Day Snack
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Get ready to make the ultimate game-day snack! These classic buffalo wings are crispy, spicy, and perfectly paired with a creamy, tangy homemade buttermilk blue cheese sauce. Whether it’s for a Super Bowl party or a casual gathering, this recipe is a crowd-pleaser.
There are so many different variations of buffalo wings, possibly one of the best game day snacks, from varying spice levels, battered or not battered, cornstarch or flour, fried or baked. For this version I fry them after lightly dusting them in a seasoned cornstarch. My perfect wing is crispy but without a thick coating! I serve my wings in a homemade buffalo sauce (it’s easy I promise!) with a homemade dipping sauce.
Buffalo wings originated in Buffalo, New York but from the start the iconic sauce has spread far and wide – and these bad boys don’t just have to be for the Super Bowl or game days. I love turning anything into a buffalo style dish, whether it be cauliflower, salad, sandwiches, tots, or pizza, but nothing beats the original!
Classic Buffalo Wings with Homemade Buttermilk Blue Cheese Sauce
Table of contents
Buffalo Sauce vs. Hot Sauce
Buffalo sauce is extremely easy to make and you may have all the ingredients already in your pantry. It just takes a combination of butter, hot sauce, white vinegar, Worcestershire and a little garlic powder for a kick.
For those who are confused – hot sauce and buffalo wing sauce are not the same thing. Buffalo sauce is the toned down version of hot sauce that keeps the flavor along with of butter and the other seasonings. Even as I am writing this recipe I can smell the stinging of the spicy sauce in my nose (ok that might be weird – I may need to grab something to eat – I’m imagining smells).
For a shortcut use store-bought sauce and store-bought dressing although nothing beats making it yourself! Now that I know how easy it is – I’ll never go back.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Chicken wings – You can serve a lot of people cheaply with chicken wings. They are such an inexpensive cut of meat. While there isn’t much meat on chicken wings, the flavor of the skin more than makes up for the small amount of meat! I recommend planning about 4 wings per person as an appetizer.
- Hot sauce – The recipe for the sauce is at a mild spice level (which I guess is relative) – it comes with a kick without being too spicy. If you like it on the spicier side, add additional hot sauce. While you can use any favorite hot sauce of choice I recommend using a vinegar-based hot sauce like Franks.
- Worcestershire – This fermented condiment adds a lot of concentrated flavor – a little goes a long way. The flavor of Worcestershire comes from a mix of vinegar, molasses, anchovies, garlic, tamarind extract and chili pepper.
- White vinegar – Vinegar adds the tangy, acidic quality to the buffalo sauce in this recipe.
- Blue cheese – Blue veined cheese have a characteristic sharp, salty flavor. If you aren’t a big fan of blue cheeses try this recipe with Gorgonzola dolce, which is a young, milder and creamy variety of the cheese.
How to Make Classic Buffalo Wings
For the buttermilk blue cheese sauce:
- Mix the buttermilk blue cheese. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, buttermilk, garlic and pepper until thoroughly combined.
- Add the blue cheese. Gently stir in the blue cheese and refrigerate until ready to use. Sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. The
To make the classic buffalo wing sauce:
- Whisk the buffalo sauce. Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt. Whisk in the hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic, sugar, salt and chili until combined.
- Use or store. Remove from heat and set aside. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Heat through and whisk to combine before tossing with wings.
For the chicken wings:
- Let the wings sit. Preheat oven to 250ºF (130ºC). Let the wings stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, so that the wings cook evenly.
- Heat oil. Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with enough oil to reach 2-inches up the side of the pot. Heat oil to 375°. Add the cornstarch to a shallow mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Dredge and fry wings. When the oil is hot, work in batches and dredge the wings in cornstarch shaking off the excess. Lower the wings into the oil and fry, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the outside is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Drain on a wire rack. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain. Place the rack in the oven to keep warm and repeat with the remaining wings.
- Assemble and serve. Once all wings have been fried add to a large bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve immediately with the blue cheese sauce and carrots and celery sticks on the side.
Tips for Perfect Buffalo Wings
Swaps and substitutions
- The homemade buffalo sauce can easily be swapped for store-bought.
- For a boneless version, try serving the buffalo sauce over these homemade chicken nuggets.
- For a mild version, give these lemon pepper wings a try.
- For extra-crispy wings, serve the sauce on the side as a dip.
How to Make Ahead
If serving a crowd, it can be easier to fry the wings ahead of time and reheat just before serving. I recommend to wait to dress the wings in the sauce until just before serving. The wings can be refried quickly to heat them through and make them extra crispy. They can also be reheated on a baking sheet in the oven at 375ºF (190ºC) for 10 to 15 minutes, until warmed through.
If frying a lot of wings I recommend heating the oven to 250ºF (130ºC) and arranging the wings on a baking sheet to stay warm while frying.
How to Air Fry Chicken Wings
Toss the wings in the cornstarch as directed in the recipe below. Set the airfryer to 380ºF (190ºC) and cook the wings for 12 minutes. Flip the wings then increase the heat to 400ºF (200ºC) and cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes.
How to Bake Chicken Wings
Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Toss the wings in the cornstarch as directed then place a wire rack inside a baking sheet. Arrange the wings in an even single layer and bake until cooked through, about 40 minutes, rotating about half way through cooking. Heat the oven to broil high and broil until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes on each side.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy these classic buffalo wings, I recommend checking out these recipes:
Classic Buffalo Wings with Homemade Buttermilk Blue Cheese Sauce
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Ingredients:
For the buttermilk blue cheese sauce:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese
For the buffalo sauce:
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup hot sauce of choice (I use Frank's RedHot® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce)
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
For the chicken wings:
- 3 pounds chicken wings, tips removed, drumettes and flats separated
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Vegetable oil, for frying, as needed
- Sliced celery, for serving
- Julienned carrots, for serving
Instructions:
For the buttermilk blue cheese sauce:
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, buttermilk, garlic and pepper until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in the blue cheese and refrigerate until ready to use. Sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. The
For the buffalo sauce:
- Add the butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt. Whisk in the hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic, sugar, salt and chili until combined.
- Remove from heat and set aside. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Heat through and whisk to combine before tossing with wings.
For the chicken wings:
- Preheat oven to 250ºF (130ºC). Let the wings stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, so that the wings cook evenly.
- Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot with enough oil to reach 2-inches up the side of the pot. Heat oil to 375°F (190ºC). Add the cornstarch to a shallow mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- When the oil is hot, work in batches and dredge the wings in cornstarch shaking off the excess. Lower the wings into the oil and fry, turning occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the outside is golden brown, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain. Place the rack in the oven to keep warm and repeat with the remaining wings.
- Once all wings have been fried add to a large bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve immediately with the blue cheese sauce and carrots and celery sticks on the side.
Nutrition:
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What’s your favorite way to enjoy buffalo wings? Share in the comments below!
I was thinking of making this for Super Bowl Sunday. Does this recipe still hold up or have you developed a new one? Just wanna make sure I get the best version. Thanks!!!
This still holds up!! My favorite buffalo sauce and wings!! Hope you enjoy as much as I do
I love perfectly cooked crispy wings! These are perfection