We’ve all had a platter (or eight hundred) of dud chicken wings saved only by copious amounts of ranch dressing. When it comes to wings, some recipes simply reign supreme. And who better to know the best of the bunch than professional chefs? Below, we’ve tapped culinary wing maestros for their go-to wings recipes. Whether you’re making them for Super Bowl LV or not, these wings deliver. Happy noshing—and remember to pace yourself.

1. Crispy Baked Garlic Buffalo Wings

This spin on classic buffalo wings from Jessica Formicola of Savory Experiments is wildly addictive and straightforward to prep. And who knew potato flakes could be such a win in the kitchen? “This is the best way to enjoy crispy breaded wings without all the breading,” she notes. “They provide a truly unique texture with tons of underlying flavor.”

Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds small chicken wings, drums, and flappers
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup hot sauce, such as Texas Pete
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 cups dry instant mashed potato flakes
• Cooking spray
• Blue cheese, ranch dressing, celery or carrots, for serving

How to make it:

1. Heat oven to 425 ° F. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place a wire rack(s) onto rimmed baking sheet(s), and spray with cooking spray.
2. Whisk the butter, hot sauce, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl. Place dry mashed potato flakes in a separate bowl.
3. Dip each piece of chicken into the buffalo sauce mixture, then coat in mashed potato flakes. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until chicken registers at 160° F. Time will vary based on size of chicken pieces.
5. Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a serving tray. Serve with dipping sauce and extra hot sauce, if desired.

2. Guava BBQ Chicken Wings

Servings: 2
Prep time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 2 hours minimum
Cook time: 1 hour

“If you’re looking for something sweet and spicy—and a little left of center when it comes to traditional wings—this is it,” says
Monti Carlo, Puerto Rican chef and Food Network personality. “Baking wings is healthier and easier than deep-frying, and with the addition of the baking powder and rice flour, you won’t sacrifice crispness.” If you can’t find guava paste, try quince or fig paste. Bring on the dark and stormies or Red Stripe with these bad boys, and as Carlo says, “Buen Provecho!”

Ingredients:

For the Wings:

• 2 pounds chicken wings
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ cup rice flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Sauce:

• 1/3 cup guava paste, small dice
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
• ½ teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh chives, sliced into 1/8th-inch segments on the diagonal (optional, for garnish)

How to make it:

1. The morning you make this recipe, line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set a wire rack inside. Thoroughly dry the chicken wings with paper towels.
2. Mix the baking powder, salt, and rice flour together. Place the wings in a plastic bag and sprinkle with flour mixture. Close the bag and shake until all the wings are coated. Place the wings on the rack without crowding them. Rest in the fridge, uncovered, until game time—or for a minimum of two hours.
3. One hour before game time, position a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 500° F. Add chicken wings and lower the heat to 450° F. Cook for 40 to 50 minutes, flipping your wings at least once, but preferably three times while baking. Cook until crispy and golden.
4. While wings bake, make the sauce. Add all sauce ingredients to a small saucepan, mix, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer uncovered, mixing occasionally, until the sauce thickens (about 10 minutes.) Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Cool.
5. Add wings to a large plastic bag, add the sauce, close the bag and shake thoroughly to coat. Place wings back on the rack and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, to allow the sauce to caramelize. Plate and garnish with sliced chives.

3. Fly-Off-the-Plate Rooster Wings

Finally befriend that air fryer amid quarantine life? Put it to use to crank out these superb wings courtesy of Stephanie Laska, founder and author of Dirty, Lazy, Keto No Time to Cook Cookbook. “Serve with celery stalks, ranch dressing, and lots of napkins,” she suggests. “It’s a perfect single serving size if you’re watching the game on your own.”

Servings: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces (approximately 4–6) chicken wing sections, drumette or “flat”
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground fresh chili paste
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons ranch dressing

How to make it:

1. Preheat air fryer to 400° F.
2. On a medium plate, brush chicken wings with one tablespoon oil. Generously sprinkle both sides of wings with baking powder.
3. Spread out wings on crisper tray. Cook in air fryer for 15–20 minutes, tossing once halfway through until dry and golden.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, chili paste, salt, and garlic.
5. Add cooked wings to sauce mixture and toss until completely coated.
6. Serve warm with ranch dressing in a dipping bowl on the side.

Excerpted from The Dirty Lazy, Keto No Time to Cook Cookbook by Stephanie Laska and William Laska. Copyright © 2021 by Stephanie Laska and William Laska. Photography by James Stefiuk. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings with Ranch Powder

Executive chef Anthony Keene from The London West Hollywood in Beverly Hills wouldn’t dream of a Super Bowl Sunday without these wings, which are now being offered on the Super Bowl Sunday at-home menu at Bowxood, the hotel’s restaurant because they’re that good. “These wings offer a taste everyone will enjoy with just enough spice and some sweetness,” says Keene, whose personal beer choice to wash these wings down is Almanac Beer Co.’s Vibes Hoppy Pilsner.

Servings: 4 (24 wings)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min

Ingredients:

For the Brine/Chicken Wings:

• 24 chicken wings
• 1⁄2 cup fish sauce
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 minced Thai chiles to taste

For the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeños
• 1 cup sweet chile sauce (Mae Ploy)

Optional: Ranch seasoning or dressing

How to make it:

1. Marinate wings for 30 minutes in the brine.
2. Drain and toss in cornstarch (enough to dust the wings) and fry for approximately 12 minutes.
3. If desired, sprinkle ranch seasoning mix on wings or a few spoonfuls of ranch dressing and serve.

5. Bubby’s Smoked Buffalo Chicken Wings

What we would give to sit in a crowded restaurant with friends, rubbing elbows, and watching a game on the big screen. But until then, you can at least pull off restaurant-quality buffalo chicken wings with this no-fuss recipe from Ron Silver, chef and owner of Bubby’s in Tribeca in New York City. “We smoke our wings in-house, but this twist will allow home cooks to create the same great taste in their own kitchen,” he says. “Pair with beer or try a winter paloma (mezcal, tequila, pomegranate, grapefruit, agave, and lime).”

Servings: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40-45 mins

Ingredients:

For the Wings:

• 3 lbs chicken wings
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoons sea salt

For the Sauce:

• 1 cup ketchup
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoons honey
• ¼ teaspoons liquid smoke

How to make it:

1. Preheat oven at 375° F.
2. Mix together cornstarch, paprika, and sea salt. To make the wings crispy, pat them dry after rinsing. Drying them out on a sheet pan in the fridge is the best. Coat them with the cornstarch, salt, and paprika mixture before putting in the oven.
3. Cook on a sheet pan for 20 minutes, flipping them on each side. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes total.
4. Mix all ingredients for the sauce in a big bowl and add chicken wings and toss them. Let sit for 5 minutes and serve.

6. Charity Morgan’s Cauliflower Buffalo Wingz

Celebrity plant-based chef and wife to former pro-NFL linebacker Derrick Morgan of the Tennessee Titans is all about swapping chicken for cauliflower. “This crispy and spicy plant-based take on a favorite appetizer is easy and delicious,” she says, adding that she likes serving it up with some Sabra hummus and vegan ranch.

Pair this recipe with your favorite IPA to riff on the spice profile, or opt for a refreshing margarita.

Servings: 4-6
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, separated into florets
• 1 cup gluten-free flour mix (with rice flour, which gives you that crisp)
• 1 cup non-dairy milk or water
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup hot sauce (if cauliflower is large, double to 2 cups + double butter)
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter
• Oil for fryer
• Optional garnish: cilantro, parsley, vegan blue cheese crumbles, shredded vegan Parmesan

How to make it:

1. Place butter and hot sauce in a sauce pan and allow both to melt together. Once it’s warm enough, and you see the butter melting, turn off heat and swirl (or whisk) the butter into the hot sauce. Set aside.
2. Mix all spices, flour, and liquid, and whisk until a pancake-like consistency.
3. Dip florets, then place in hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
4. Once cauliflower is cooked, place in a deep dish bowl (don’t crowd the bowl) and pour the Buffalo sauce over the wingz, starting with only 1/4 cup, around the perimeter of the bowl while gently tossing. Serve immediately with Sabra hummus and vegan ranch.

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