Baked Buffalo Wings

Doesn't everyone love wings?  One of the best bar foods there are.  They are delicious and messy to eat.  I decided to make some homemade chicken wings this week. With the Super Bowl coming up I knew I wanted to test out a party food or two.  These were super simple to make and pack a ton of flavor.

While I love chicken wings I didn't think I wanted to fry mine.  I already get enough fried food in my diet from eating out so when I make things I home I try to keep them at least a little healthier.  These are baked in the oven but don't worry - they still get that fantastic crunch of the fried kind thanks to a few minutes under the broiler right before they are finished.  They cook in the oven without the sauce and are tossed in the sauce right before serving.  Leaving the sauce on too long will make them loose that fantastic crunch so be sure to do that at the very end.

We both LOVED these wings but they came at a price.  You see, my dear friends, we live in a high rise apartment building with the world's most sensitive smoke detectors.  (How sensitive?, you ask.  It goes off when I pre-heat the oven above 450. I reply.)  No joke.  Since these are cooked at a high temperature and then broiled by smoke detector had an absolute field day. There wasn't even the smallest amount of smoke in the apartment and that thing beeped like it was in danger.  Every time it stopped it waited just long enough for our defenses to go down before scaring the hell out of us again!

Oh well I suppose at least Nick got his workout in.  As the official smoke alarm pillow waver of the relationship he spent a total of probably 10 minutes waving that pillow in the air muttering swear words!

If you're looking for other fun party recipes try out a few of these favorites of mine:

Mini Corn Dogs

Homemade, Baked Chicken Tenders

Soft Pretzels

Baked Spicy BBQ Chicken Wing Recipe

Ingredients
yields 4 appetizer sized servings
2.5 lbs split chicken wings
1 T. canola (or vegetable) oil
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

1/2 c. barbecue sauce
1/4 c. hot sauce
1 T. Dijon mustard

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top (make sure the rack is oven safe first and not coated with plastic!).

2) Pat the chicken wings dry and toss in the oil, salt, and pepper.  Don't substitute olive oil here - it's low smoke point will have your smoke detector in a fit!  Place the chicken wings on the wire rack in the in the oven for 25 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.  Turn the wings at least once while cooking.

3) Turn on the broiler and broil for 5 minutes - turning once.

4) Whisk together the barbecue sauce, hot sauce, and Dijon in a large bowl.  When the wings are done toss into the barbecue mixture until well coated.  Serve immediately with your choice of dipping sauce.