Boneless Buffalo Wings Recipe
If you love buffalo wings but hate dealing with the mess that follows, this boneless Buffalo wings recipe from recipe developer and food photographer Cecilia Ryu should be right up your alley. For those unfamiliar with boneless wings, they are essentially fried chicken nuggets with sauce. While some purists might scoff at the idea of referring to boneless wings as wings, they are undeniably delicious, and provide an easy way to get that Buffalo sauce taste without having to deal with chicken bones. "This is great to serve at parties, especially because they're boneless which makes it easy to eat," Ryu says.
Where does the "Buffalo" in Buffalo wings come from? While there is some disagreement about who specifically invented them, buffalo wings do indeed originate from Buffalo, New York, and they soon expanded to states far beyond. There's no denying the tasty goodness of Buffalo wings, and in boneless form, this appetizer or snack makes for the perfect pop-in-your-mouth bite.
Gather your ingredients for boneless buffalo wings
To make these boneless Buffalo wings, you'll need 2 pounds of cut-up chicken breast, buttermilk, Frank's RedHot, flour, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, unsalted butter, and canola oil. To serve the wings, you might want some celery sticks and ranch dressing.
Begin to prep the chicken
When frying chicken, you usually coat the chicken in a wet mixture and then a mix of dry ingredients, and this recipe is no different. First, combine the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of hot sauce together in a small bowl. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and make sure that they are coated in the buttermilk and hot sauce mixture.
Coat the chicken in flour
Mix the flour, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a large, shallow dish. Transfer the chicken to the flour mixture in batches. Make sure to let the excess buttermilk drip off before breading the chicken pieces.
Once the chicken pieces have been coated in the flour mixture, move them to a wire rack. Once all pieces of chicken are on the rack, put them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Fry the boneless wings
Heat the canola oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat until the oil temperature reaches 375 F. While the oil is heating up, set up a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with tin foil.
Fry the chicken in batches until it is golden brown, which should take around 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the chicken occasionally while frying. Once the chicken pieces have been fried, move them to the wire rack.
While this isn't a difficult recipe, according to Ryu, you need to be careful here. "The one thing I would recommend is to make sure not to overcrowd the pan when frying and check the temperature of the oil before frying," she says.
Sauce up the wings
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir the remaining Frank's hot sauce into the melted butter. Put the fried chicken pieces into a large bowl and pour the sauce over the chicken, making sure to mix well and evenly coat the chicken pieces.
Serve and store the wings
Once your boneless wings have a nice coat of Buffalo sauce, they're ready to eat. Ryu recommends serving them with the classic Buffalo wings sides, namely ranch dressing and celery sticks. But if you want a little more versatility, she has a few ideas. "My favorite thing about this recipe is that it can be used for so many different dishes," she says. "You can make Buffalo chicken wraps for lunch or a light dinner. You can use it as a topping for your favorite salad. For chicken rice bowls or even chicken tacos!"
These wings should last for up to three days and the refrigerator. If you freeze them, Ryu recommends defrosting them in the oven on low.
- 2 pounds chicken breasts
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons Frank's RedHot, divided
- 4 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- canola oil, for frying
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick
- Celery sticks, for serving
- Ranch dressing, for serving
- Slice the chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks.
- Mix the buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of Frank's RedHot together in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and toss them to coat with the sauce.
- Combine the flour, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a large, shallow dish.
- Working with just a few pieces at a time, transfer the chicken to the flour mixture, allowing excess buttermilk to drip off first. Coat the chicken pieces in the flour mixture and transfer them to a wire rack. Repeat these steps so that each piece of chicken is double coated. Place the coated chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat 3 inches of canola oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy pot until the temperature reaches 375 F. Prepare a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
- Working in batches, fry the chicken until golden brown, turning occasionally, for about 5-10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to the prepared wire rack.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining ¾ cups of Frank's RedHot and stir until it is combined with the butter and heated through.
- Add the cooked chicken pieces to a large bowl. Pour the prepared buffalo sauce over the chicken and stir until each piece is completely coated.
- Serve immediately with celery sticks and ranch dressing.
| Calories per Serving | 919 |
| Total Fat | 50.4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13.3 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.1 g |
| Cholesterol | 154.3 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 69.0 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.8 g |
| Total Sugars | 4.7 g |
| Sodium | 852.8 mg |
| Protein | 45.8 g |
