A fan-favorite for any gameday, this recipe for Giant Baked Hot Wings with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing is super easy to make and absolutely delicious!
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Hot wings are a fan-favorite at any gameday party. I think it’s become tradition for many to have some variety of these flavors at any given sports event, so I had to include my favorite version in my Super Bowl recipe series this year. These Giant Baked Hot Wings with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing will be a crowd-pleasing snack at any event, and they are simple and hassle-free to make.
You don’t have to point it out – I know these “wings” are actually giant drumsticks, and there isn’t an actual wing to be found. I can’t say I’m sorry about it, and I’m still going to call them wings! Honestly though, you can use whatever chicken pieces you want in this recipe – wings, drumettes, drumsticks, it’s up to you. I prefer these giant guys the most, and strangely enough, the last couple of times I’ve made this recipe I’ve found awesome deals on the big ones. Go figure. In the end, no one seems to mind when it comes to the end product, so customize as you (or your budget) prefers! It’s the sauces that really matter anyway, right?
One of the reasons I love this recipe is that it can all be done in the oven. I try to avoid deep frying at all costs. After a few past attempts that left me feeling grimy and exhausted over my stove, it just hasn’t felt worth the effort. I’m sure I’ll make another attempt at some point, but for now I love finding oven-baked versions of things you’d normally drop in the fryer. If you read my recent post on making Hawaiian Beef Sliders for a crowd, the method of cooking these chicken wings will not be new to you. Just as with that recipe, you will need a baking sheet and an oven-safe cooling or grilling rack that fits inside in order to bake these hot wings.
Even without frying, this Baked Hot Wings recipe hit all the key elements of classic Buffalo wings – crispy skin and outer layers, drippings of spicy heat from the hot sauce, and a cooling, decadent sauce to dip them in. This last part – a homemade Blue Cheese Dressing – throws any claims that this might pass as a health-conscious recipe out the window, but we all know that it’s essential to the flavor combination. After making these a few times, I can honestly say they always hit the spot for all involved.
Before jumping to the recipe, let me talk for a second about the blue cheese dressing: If you don’t feel like getting all of the ingredients or think you don’t have the time to make from scratch, you can absolutely use something pre-made. I promise you will be able to tell the difference though. This dressing is super easy to make, and unlike most store-bought varieties you will know every ingredient that goes into it, including the amazing chunks of blue cheese you can add by hand. I could practically drink this stuff, and even filled my fridge with veggies just to have something to dip into the left overs once the chicken was gone (Speaking of which, adding some cauliflower, celery, and carrots to your gameday spread isn’t a bad idea, but as you can tell from looking at this blog so far vegetables are often an afterthought for me…). I’ll be honest and say I am always tweaking this recipe, but only because I’m a perfectionist. What you have here is a combo that is really delicious, especially with the hot sauce.
Anyway. Enjoy some Giant Baked Hot Wings with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing this Super Bowl (or as soon as you have the chance). You deserve the indulgence!
Giant Baked Hot Wings
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 lb chicken drumsticks (or drumettes or wings – Your choice!)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Hot Sauce
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce (I prefer Frank’s Red Hot)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare one or two rimmed baking sheets by lining them with foil and setting oven-safe oven or cooling racks into them.
- In a large bowl, toss the large chicken drumsticks with the vegetable oil, salt, and pepper so that all the pieces are fully coated. Divide the chicken pieces across the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the chicken pieces 50-60 minutes, until crispy and cooked through to 165°F. You can test for doneness with a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat, avoiding the bone.
- As the chicken is cooking, make the hot sauce. Mix the warm melted butter, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt in a small bowl or spouted measuring cup, and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk in the hot pepper sauce and keep warm.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked, toss the pieces with the prepared hot sauce in a large bowl until completely coated in spicy deliciousness. Maybe leave a few plain if you know some of your guests don’t care for the heat. Serve on a platter immediately with a side of homemade blue cheese dressing and a heaping pile of napkins.
Notes
Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
- 5 ounce chunk of blue cheese
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp sour cream
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 3/4 tsp mild honey
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp pepper (or to taste)
- 1 Tbsp chives, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, smash up the blue cheese into the consistency you’d like (I like to get it close to a paste, which turns into tiny crumbles in the final result). If you like the dressing to be extra chunky, leave an ounce of crumbles aside to sprinkle on top at the end.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for the salt, pepper, and chives. Mix together. Taste as you go, adjusting to your preference. Add salt and pepper, and sprinkle the top with chives. Done!
Notes
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As a final note, the blog might have more one-shots than I’d originally planned coming up. A little over a week ago, I injured my knee, and for the foreseeable future I am confined to the couch (for the most part) and unable to stand long enough to work over the stove or take photographs very well. Understandably, this threw off my entire posting schedule for the next couple months. Rather than go silent in the interim, I hope to be able to bring you what I can, when I can – even if that means adding in more cookbook reviews, articles on interesting holidays or food traditions, recipe round-ups from around the web, and lists of gadgets and accessories that will help you with your own cooking and event-planning. Thank you in advance for sticking with me, and I hope to be back in full action soon!