Yes, these wings are fried. Don’t worry, I will do some hot wings later. In the south, we LOVE our fried chicken but fried chicken can be hard to prepare. Most of the time we end up undercooking it because each piece has a different frying time but wings are easy. I buy the drummettes because that’s what I like but if you like both sections, buy them instead. You will need to fry the drummettes and the other section separately, though–that different frying time thing again.

With hot wings, if they are not kept hot–or at least warm, they are not very tasty, however, fried wings are great at room temperature. Let’s face it, fried chicken is good hot, warm, room temp and even cold. These are great as a main dish, with a couple of side dishes, or even as an appetizer. If you will be serving these as appetizers for a party, plan for 2 wings per person.

Fried Wings

1 4 lb Bag of Frozen Drummettes– this makes a lot so you may want to buy a

smaller pack.

1/2 cup Hot Sauce–don’t worry, it will not be hot, just flavorful.

1 cup Milk

1 cup Flour

1 1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

Oil for Frying–I use a deep fryer. If you don’t have one, use a heavy pot on the stove. Fill pot

half way with oil and heat to 350 (you will need a thermometer to check the temperature.)

Salt

Make sure your wings are thawed. Place them in the fridge overnight or all day to do this. You can also open the pack, place in a large bowl and fill the bowl with warm water. It will take about an hour to thaw this way. Once the wings are thawed, place them in a zip lock bag. Pour the milk and hot sauce over the wings and mix well. Place the zip bag into a large bowl and place in the fridge. This will keep the bag from spilling. You need to marinate the wings for at least 30 minutes. You can also do this in the morning and let it sit all day. The longer the better.

When you are ready to fry, heat the oil to 350. Take the wings out of the fridge and leave them on the counter for 20 – 30 minutes. Frying very cold chicken will result in burnt outside and raw inside.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and bread crumbs. Take the chicken out of the marinade and put them in the crumb mixture to coat. (Shake off excess.) Do not flour the wings until you are ready to fry. If they sit with the flour on them, they’ll become soggy when fried. Next, fry them for 10 – 12 minutes. (My fryer holds about six wings at a time.) You will know when they are done. Listen to the oil when you first place chicken in it—it is loud!! When they are done the oil will not be as loud and your wings will be floating. If you are frying on the stove, you will need to flip the chicken half way through. Remove wings from the fryer and place on paper towels to drain off the grease. Sprinkle with salt right away.

When I make these as appetizers I usually serve them with some dipping sauce. Choose your favorite–ranch, honey mustard, BBQ—whatever you prefer. Let me warn you, I usually come home with no wings and all the sauce!!

The next time I will share my potato salad recipe. It will go great with these wings. Enjoy!