Baked Buffalo Wings

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This past weekend was just perfect. The weather was beautiful. The leaves all around us were gorgeous. And Georgia beat Florida 24-20 in Jacksonville! Woo-hooo. We’re big Georgia Bulldogs in this house. Really big.

Even though I love the football games, I rarely just sit and watch. I’m usually doing something around the house with the game on in the background. BeeBop, however, is glued to the television whenever the Dawgs are playing. Here’s how it goes at our house getting ready for game day. Turn the television on to the game with the volume muted. Now tune the radio receiver, which is connected to the surround sound, to the Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network for the play-by-play. Get your snacks and a drink and plant yourself in your favorite chair. All set. That’s the ritual and we wouldn’t do it any other way. There’s just nothing better than listening to that radio commentary.

Scott Howard and Eric Zeier do a fine job of announcing the game every week. But there’s still no one like Larry Munson. Munson, now retired, was the “voice of the Dawgs” for more than 40 years. His commentary was like no other. Listening to Munson call a Georgia Bulldogs game was almost better than sitting in the stands watching. In fact, lots of people in the stands were listening to Munson calling the game on the radio.

I sometimes think BeeBop liked Munson even more than the team. Years ago before we were married and BeeBop was still in the Navy on a cruise in the Mediterranean, he called me from Italy one Saturday afternoon. We talked for a little while and then he asked if I had the Georgia game on the radio. I assured him that I did and do you know what he asked me? No, not the score. He said, “could you just hold the phone up to the radio so I can hear Munson?” Homesick indeed.

Whatever your game day ritual is, here’s a great recipe to cook up for your fans. It’s a classic Buffalo Wing but it’s baked instead of fried. And I can’t tell the difference. Now, I’m not saying it’s actually healthy, but it’s way better than frying.

Start by lining a baking sheet with foil. Generously coat a cooling rack with cooking spray and place it in the baking pan. Or you could use a broiler pan. You just need something to get the wings up off the pan if possible. It will make your finished wings a lot less greasy.

Dry the drummettes well with paper towels. Don’t skip this step. It helps the flour mixture adhere to the wings better making a crispy coating instead of a wet, gummy one.

Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic power and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large Ziploc bag. Shake to mix well. Add the dried drummettes to the bag with the flour mixture and toss until well coated.

Remove the wings, shaking off any excess flour coating, and place them on the prepared cooling rack. Place the prepared wings in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the wings for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven , turn each wing over and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the melted butter, hot sauce, honey, soy sauce and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt in a small bowl.

Remove the wings from the oven and dip them 3 or 4 at a time in the sauce mixture. Place the coated wings back on the pan, return the pan to the oven and cook for an additional 6-7 minutes. Remove from the oven, place on a serving dish and drizzle remaining sauce over wings.

Serve with a side of my Bleu Cheese Dip and lots of celery sticks.

Enjoy!

Notes: This recipe yields very mild Buffalo wings. If your folks like theirs on the hotter side, you can either increase the amount of cayenne pepper in the flour mixture or add some hot pepper sauce (Tabasco or Texas Pete) to the butter-pepper sauce. Or do both. I prefer to make them mild and pass additional Tabasco for those who want to add a little spice to their wings.

Other chicken wing recipes you might enjoy from around the internet:

• Rasa Malaysia’s Honey Wings recipe
• Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Wings from Leite’s Culinaria
• My Baking Addiction’s Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings
• Buffalo Wings from Simply Recipes
• Steamy Kitchen’s Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings
• Sippity Sup’s Thai Bird Chili Wings

What I was cooking…

• One year ago: Olive-Rosemary French Toast
• Two years ago: Country Fried Steak