The Ultimate Easy Wing Recipe For Super Bowl Sunday

Thank the heavens for the good city of Buffalo, New York, for putting wings on the map and on the menu in 1964. The first plate of wings served in the way we know and love today was created at the Anchor Bar restaurant in Buffalo (although some people credit John Young, a restaurant owner in the area, for serving up fried wings first).

During Super Bowl 50, viewers reportedly consumed 1.3 billion chicken wings tossed with Buffalo, barbecue, Korean, jerk, and every other sauce imaginable. If you're watching at home, there's no need to miss out: You too can have restaurant-quality wings at home; all you need is the right recipe.

Oh, and will you look at that? Here's that recipe:

Ultimate Buffalo Wings

For that hot, buttery, and crispy goodness you crave — this is your go-to recipe.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for frying

1 pound chicken wings, separated at the joints to make about 20 wingettes

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar

1 cup hot sauce, preferably Frank's RedHot

8 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Carrot sticks, for garnish

Celery sticks, for garnish

Blue cheese dressing, for serving

Directions

Fill a sauté pan with enough vegetable oil so that it reaches half way up the pan and heat to 375 degrees F. Season the wingettes liberally with salt and pepper, then when the oil is hot enough, begin frying the wings in batches. Fry until crispy and golden brown, about 15–20 minutes.

While the wings are cooking, make the sauce. Whisk together the vinegar, hot sauce, butter, and garlic powder in a bowl large enough to hold all of the wings. When the wings are done, toss them together in the bowl with the hot sauce. Serve with a side of celery, carrot sticks, and blue cheese dressing.

Some notes for wing success:

Set up everything you'll need before you send your wings into the fryer. Gather a large bowl, your sauce ingredients, and a wire cooling rack with paper towels placed underneath. When the wings emerge from the fryer, drain them briefly on the wire rack and allow the excess oil to drip off. The rack will keep the wings crispy whereas if you place the wings on a flat surface, their heat and moisture will ruin the crispy texture you worked so hard to create.

Before you fry, pat the wings dry with a paper towel. This will help the edges crisp more efficiently and your hot oil will spit less so you can avoid flying hot oil burning your forearms.

Fry the wings in small batches. If you overload your pot or fryer, it will cause the oil temperature to drop and the wings to absorb oil instead of expel air, and therefore won't earn a good, crispy crust.

If you plan to make a lot of wings, here is a tip so you won't be standing over the fryer all game long: Fry wings at 350 degrees F in batches until thoroughly cooked; about 12 minutes. Let them cool on sheet pan spread evenly apart. Then, just before serving, increase the heat to 375 degrees and fry the wings for about 2 minutes until they are very crispy. Toss with sauce and serve!