phuongle19
These are the crispiest Hot Honey Butter Wings you’ll ever have, and that’s why they are now a VIRAL sensation! And they actually stay crispy even after they get sauced!! Now, when people hear this, they immediately think, oh yeah, it must be double-fried like Korean Fried Chicken. Well, it is, BUT, that’s actually just one of the secrets. 😉 Once you try the second secret, your mind will be blown!!!
You can get all these ingredients at 99 Ranch, and I’ve linked some of the ingredients in case you don’t live near an Asian store.
While I haven’t worked as a chef in a professional kitchen, I do have many years of deep-frying experience at the State Fair of Texas. When I moved back to Texas from New York 14 years ago, I was really missing Korean Fried Chicken, so I was determined to open up a wings and ramen joint! Since my SIL had experience running a restaurant, I would always pitch her ideas, and she was always down to hear them. We tested so many different batters for wings, and they were GOOD, but none of them would stay crispy after getting sauced. Even my mom got involved and encouraged us to try corn starch. I love how everything was a joint family effort.
At some point, I realized that opening a restaurant was a little far-fetched at the time. I then recalled eating yakitori at a Japanese place, and it was just chicken skin!! There was no meat! It was delicious because the skin is my favorite part! Elated with this new revelation, I ran to my SIL and said, “What if we took just the chicken skin and fried it??? And instead of opening a restaurant, we can apply for the State Fair, and surely it’ll stand out!?”
And of course, my SIL excitedly agreed!! I was so happy she didn’t shut me down and call me crazy for my wild ideas! I hope you all have a chi Michelle in your life!! We then pitched the idea to my uncle-in-law, and he immediately hopped onboard. Gotta love that entrepreneurial spirit! My SIL and I spent many nights testing all kinds of fried foods, and somehow, we were accepted for a booth out of hundreds of applications!!!
When we applied, I was transitioning from my move from NY back to TX, but then I got a full-time position back in Corporate America, so I wasn’t sure how I would handle everything. Thankfully, my SIL is a boss babe and managed the whole operations and delegated a few of the tasks to my uncle and me. She brought everything to life! Of course, we also had help from friends and other family members – parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles!
I like to think we brought fried chicken skin to Texas, and maybe even the US! I am trying to get more comfortable bragging about my accomplishments instead of feeling weird about it! Oh, and I was also on a deep-frying TV competition, and I won with a French toast mac-n-cheese burger. All this to say that deep-frying and air-frying are kinda my jam! 🙂
SECRET: So the secret to wings that stay crispy is a wet batter that consists of corn starch and rice flour!! You can get all the ingredients for this recipe at 99 Ranch. Start with equal parts corn starch, rice flour, and water, and then mix it with a fork. It should be a little thick and hard to mix at this point. Add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it the batter becomes more liquidy. It should be like a runny pancake batter. Please see the video below for reference. I ended up adding 2 extra teaspoons of water to mine.
Before you start deep-frying, here are some saftey tips: 1) Don’t fill the pot more than 1/4 of the way to prevent overflow 2) Use a deep-frying thermometer to monitor the temperature 3) If the pot has a long handle, push it around so it can’t get caught on your shirt 4) Keep your eyes away from the oil 5) Keep water away from the oil 6) Use metal tongs and make sure you have a firm grip on the chicken, so it doesn’t drop. If you use chopsticks to turn, the food might slip and splatter oil. (I might be speaking from experience on that one haha)
Now, here are some tips for crispy and juicy chicken. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature is 165F. Monitor the deep-frying thermometer to make sure it stays above 325F and below 375F. For the first fry, it should stay between 325 and 350. For the second fry, it should be between 350 and 375. You might be tempted, but do not overcrowd the pot!!!! Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes in between, so the chicken doesn’t get overcooked. If you don’t care about overcooking your chicken, you can fry at a higher temperature the entire time instead of double-frying, but I don’t recommend that.
More chicken recipes:
Air-fried Vietnamese wings– you’ll never believe they were air-fried!
Air-fried sesame chicken – It’s better than takeout!
Air-Fried Five Spice chicken – the crispiest air-fried thighs with delicious spices
Crispiest Hot Honey Butter Wings
Description
These are the crispiest Hot Honey Butter Wings you’ll ever have! And they actually stay crispy even after they get sauced!! Once you try the wet batter, your mind will be blown!!!
Ingredients
Marinade
Batter
Sauce
Instructions
- Marinate the wings with garlic salt, cayenne, and black pepper whiie you prepare everything else.
- Add oil to a heavy bottom pot. Do not fill more than 1/4 of the way to prevent oil from overflowing. Turn on medium to heat oil to 360F. Use a deep frying thermometer to monitor. Please keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too hot.
- Mix together the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl, except for water, butter, and garlic.
- Mix together rice flour, corn starch, and water. You can start off with equal amounts of everything and adjust from there. I had to add a tiny bit more water to get the right consistency. It shouldn’t be so thick that it’s hard to mix. It should be thinner than pancake batter, but should easily stick to your wings.
- Right before dipping the wings, give it another mix to get the starch that settled on the bottom. Dip one wing at a time, shake off some of the excess batter, and add gently to the hot oil immediately. Repeat with a few more wings. Do not overcrowd as the temperature will drop too low. Be sure it stays above 325. Fry for 6-8 minutes, flipping halfway. Drain wings on paper towel. Turn up the temp just a bit to heat the oil to 375F. Closely monitor it.
- Before the second fry, make the sauce. Heat saucepan on medium heat and melt butter. Once the butter has melted, add garlic cook for 1 minute to release the flavor. Add the sauce and give it a mix. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes until the sauce is syrupy enough to coat the wings. Turn off the heat. If sauce gets too thick, add 1 tsp of water at a time to loosen it. Keep an eye on the sauce as it can thicken and burn easily.
- Once the oil has reached 375F, add back the wings in batches and cook for another 2 minutes, flipping halfway. Make sure you have a firm grip when flipping, so it doesn’t drop and splatter oil on you. Check that the internal temperature is 165F using a meat thermometer.
- Drain on paper towels. Add to a big mixing bowl, and toss with the sauce. You can also brush on the sauce if you prefer all the wings to be evenly coated.
Wow! Made these for Super bowl Sunday and THEY WERE A HIT! They really did stay crunchy even with the saucing and the sriracha and pepper flakes gave it a nice heat with was perfectly balanced out by the honey and sugar, so don’t be nervous to follow the recipe. My only regret is I wished I doubled the sauce for later. Sooo good.
Hi Tinu! I am so glad you enjoyed them! Makes me super giddy. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. ❤️
Saw these on tik tok and I’ll definitely have to try making them! They look soo yummy 🤤
I can’t wait for you to try them, Kailey! Please let me know how they turn out.
I want to try this. What about the 3rd item on the ingredients list. It say 1/4 cup + water. Is it flour?
Hi Ana! Sorry for the confusion! It means 1/4 cup water + 2 teaspoons of water. I can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
Can you cool them after the first fry and fry them again the next day? And if so how long would the second fry be?
Hi Ed, I haven’t tried that before, but I imagine it will be like reheating wings in the fryer! Please let me know how it turns out for you.
Tried it and the wings were amazing. I was extremely proud of myself for actually following a recipe to the letter this time.
Yay!! So glad you followed the recipe with success! Thank you for taking the time to share.
how about showing us how to make your fried chicken skin recipe 🙂
Omg. I was sent over here by ThatDudeCanCook and this is the best recipe I have ever tried for wings. I have tried so many recipes over many years and it was not crispy enough.
It felt like wasted efforts in the kitchen after hours of frying. I kinda gave up on making wings at home. But when I go out, they are not super great either. So I’m stuck between disappointment and expensive disappointment.
I ran across you recipe is GIRL. IT IS SO GOOD. it was the best I have ever done. My housemates loves it and said it was better than Vons, Wingstop, BonChon. It really stay crispy even hours later. I’m so shook.
So I’m definitely keeping my eyes out for your recipes. Thanks for being back hope.
Wow, thank you for sharing, Kadin! I’m so happy you decided to give it a try.
Can I airfry the chicken? If so how long and what’d the temperature?
For wings that stay crispy, I recommend frying them. Otherwise, you can just coat in cornstarch and air fry them.