Baked Chicken Wings with an Epic Dry Rub and Sweet & Spicy Sauce

Baked chicken wings are easy to make, flavorful and satisfy both appetites and taste buds in one bite. Learn how to make crispy, tender and additive chicken wings the right way!

I’m thinking that by now you all have a pretty good sense that I LOVE wings.   And with the biggest football game of the year in less than 7 days I knew I had to get these wings in your arsenal.

I usually like to serve my wings alongside some other game day appetizer recipes like our Stuffed Buffalo Chicken and Mozzarella Meatballs – I mean STOP IT! Or this Spinach Artichoke Pull Apart Cheesy Bread. Oh man!

How to BAKE the BEST Chicken Wings:

Here are a few helpful tips to get the most of your wings.

1. Do not use frozen wings.  I went to my market and got about 4 lbs. of wings and they de tipped them and halved them so I had equal parts wings to drumettes.  I’m not saying you can’t use frozen, just simply that I did not. If you do use frozen wings, it’s critical they are completely thawed and DRY.
2. Pat the wings dry with some paper towels and this next part is critical, I put the wings on a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and placed the wings in the fridge for about 1-2 hours UNCOVERED.  This will help the wings dry out and give them a nice crispy skin (a tip from Alton Brown)
   
3. Coat the wings with the dry rub.  You might want to grab some of those throw away gloves too so you can really rub the rub in and stay clean at the same time.
4. Preheat the oven to 425° F.   You want a really hot oven. Once it comes to temp, give it another 5-10 minutes before putting the wings in.
5. Bake the wings ON the cooling rack ON the baking sheet.  Another helpful tip is to line the baking sheet with foil, always go for easy clean up when you can, right?

Now you can stop right here. These wings are delicious with just the dry rub.  However, we have upped the anty with a homemade bbq sauce to slather them in.

HOW to Make Homemade Wing Sauce:

1. Melt some butter in a small saucepan and add the Franks hot sauce (not wing sauce).  Add the remaining ingredients listed in the recipe card below and simmer the sauce until thick.
2. Wing sauce is a very personal thing so my suggestion would be to continuously taste it and if it’s too hot add another tablespoon of butter.  If it’s not hot enough, add more hot sauce (or even a dash of cayenne pepper).  You get the idea.  You can also add a clove of garlic if you like garlic.
3. Pour the wing sauce all over the wings in a big ole stainless steel bowl and flip ’em around like the pros do and serve with some of your favorite Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing.

And that, my friends, will give you some of the best darn wings I’ve created thus far.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I (and my SuperBowl guests) will on Sunday!

Baked Wings w an Epic Dry Rub and Sweet & Spicy Sauce

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★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Debi

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Ingredients

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4 lbs. Organic Chicken Wings

DRY RUB:

• ½ Tbsp ancho chile pepper
• ½ Tbsp smoked paprika
• ½ Tbsp onion powder
• ½ Tbsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ – 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp dried mustard powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp dried ground thyme

WING SAUCE:

• ⅓ Cup Franks Red Hot Sauce + 2 Tablespoons Franks Hot Sauce, separated
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• ¼ cup honey (overflowing)
• 1 Tablespoon molasses

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Instructions

1. Put wings on paper towels and pat dry.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put cooling rack on top for airflow underneath the wings.
3. Add the dry rub to a large Ziploc bag (or large mixing bowl), and add the wings (in batches if needed).  Rub the bag with your hands to evenly coat the wings.
4. Place the wings on the baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered for at least 2 hrs.
5. Sprinkle with a little more dry rub (if there is any left) and bake at 425° F for 45 min, turning halfway through.  Then pop them under the broiler to desired crispiness.
6. Coat in sauce and serve with carrot and celery sticks and dressing.

SAUCE:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter, add ⅓ cup hot sauce, honey and molasses.  Stir and heat through.
2. Combine the remaining 2 Tablespoons hot sauce with organic arrowroot or cornstarch, add it to the saucepan and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat to a simmer and simmer until the sauce is thickened.

NEED MORE WING RECIPES?

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