How to Cook Chicken Wings

Chicken wings are very popular as snack items. Be it at parties or a private dinner at home, delicious chicken wings which are cooked properly, are bound to earn you praises. Cooking them is quite easy and you may choose from any of the methods such as, oven, crockpot, stove or deep fryer method. Each of these methods is explained below.

In the Oven
The first step is to cut the tips of the wings. This is done so that the wings do not get burnt in the oven. Now take an air tight plastic bag and put the chicken wings in it. Put some hot sauce, such as Tabasco, on them and close the plastic bag. Shake the bag so that the sauce covers the chicken wings from all sides. Keep the bag in the refrigerator for the night or for at least three to four hours. In the morning before cooking them, preheat the oven preferably at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, take the chicken wings out of the refrigerator and drain them to remove the sauce. Take a bowl and mix flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper and any herb like oregano. Now take the chicken wings and rotate them in this mixture so that they are covered on all sides with this mix. Take a roasting pan and place the wings in it. Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake for about forty-five minutes. You may turn the chicken once in between so that it gets cooked properly from all sides. After forty-five minutes, the chicken gets a brownish color and its tips will become crisp. Take the chicken out of the oven, sprinkle little cheese on it as garnish and it is ready to be served.

On the Grill
Grilled chicken wings are very healthy as the fats get burned when the chicken is grilled. The first thing to do when cooking on the grill is to marinate them. You may use a marinade or any hot sauce for this purpose. Keep the chicken for about three hours in the sauce or marinade itself for a better taste. After about three hours, preheat the grill on medium temperature. Grilling should never be done on high temperature as this might result in the meat catching fire.

Now, keep the chicken wings on the grill and keep on turning them after every three minutes so that they are cooked properly. It would take approximately twenty minutes for the chicken to be grilled properly. To verify that they are cooked properly, take one chicken wing and cut it in the middle. If the meat is not pink and there is no blood in it, it means that they are ready to be served. Grilled chicken should ideally be eaten fresh as it tastes much better this way.

In a Crockpot
To cook spicy chicken wings in a crockpot, the ingredients required would be vinegar, hot sauce, melted butter and a salad dressing mix. Take a bowl and combine three tablespoons vinegar, half cup melted butter and half cup vinegar sauce in it. Take the chicken wings and put them in the crockpot. Now take the combined mixture and pour it over them. Sprinkle the salad dressing mix over it and close the lid. Cook at low temperature for about four hours.

Crockpot is a slow pressure cooking method, so though it takes time, the taste of the dishes cooked by this method equals none. To cook on the stove, the same method mentioned here has to be followed, the only difference is that on stove top, the chicken wings take lesser time, i.e. one hour to be cooked properly.

In a Deep Fryer
Whatever recipe you choose to cook chicken wings in a deep fryer, here are a few guidelines that you must follow. Firstly, the oil should be heated up to 375 degree Fahrenheit, so that the harmful bacteria are destroyed. It would take approximately twelve minutes for the chicken wings to be fried completely at this temperature. However, if the oil is fried more than 400 degree Fahrenheit, it will take around eight minutes for them to be fried.

When frying chicken wings make sure that there are spaces between the chicken wings so that each of them is fried properly. Also, do not fry for a very long time because that way, the wings will lose their moisture and will become very hard and dry. Once you notice that they have become brown, take them out using a sieve and now they are ready to be served.

Whatever method you choose for cooking, a few things should be kept in mind. Always use top quality cookware, as it makes cooking an enjoyable experience. The ingredients that you use in cooking should be healthy and as far as possible low in fat content. Lastly, cleanliness and hygiene are very important, so wash the meat or the vegetables properly, besides keeping the cooking area clean and germ free.