Fresh vs Frozen Wings

Fresh wings are generally more expensive because they will perish if not processed and transported quickly to the grocery store. All of that extra effort costs money.

The fact that they are fresh alone tells you they probably aren’t that old. In the store, you can get a good idea of their condition. Since they are sold in trays with only plastic wrap on top, you can usually see exactly what you are getting.

Frozen wings, on the other hand, are much harder to judge because in the processing facility they are rapidly frozen, coated in ice and then sealed in bags to help preserve and protect them. Unlike fresh wings in a tray, you can tell very little from looking at a large bag of frozen wings.

One thing to check is whether the wings are still separate. One solid block of ice with wings sticking out of it is usually a bad sign.

They also tend to cost less than fresh because freezing gives manufacturers, distributors and grocery stores much more flexibility. Under the right conditions, frozen wings can be stored for months and transported long distances with far less urgency and less waste.

Frozen Wing Theory

After they are processed and bagged in the factory, the wings may travel through trucks, warehouses, distribution centers and grocery stores before reaching your freezer. Along the way, there are many opportunities for delays, temperature fluctuations, partial thaws, refreezes, equipment failures, human error and inefficiencies. Once in the store freezer, doors may be opened frequently or left open accidentally. Someone might even place the wings in their cart and return them an hour later before checking out.

Many partial thaws and refreezes will likely impact wing quality and could affect our ability to create the kind of Buffalo wings we spend so much time obsessing over.

Having said all that, I use frozen wings often and they frequently turn out great. The best thing you can do is find a brand you like and a store you trust. If they are good one time, there’s a good chance they will continue coming from the same place and be treated the same way.

Danger Zone

What is the danger zone? It’s the temperature range between 40°F (4°C) and 140°F (60°C) where bacteria are happiest and reproduce quickly. Raw chicken should stay out of this range as much as possible.

Don’t panic, you have some time. According to the USDA, you generally have about 2 hours to work with raw chicken while it is in the danger zone, or about 1 hour in temperatures above 90°F (32°C).

This is why refrigerator thawing is recommended and why wings should never be thawed on the counter or with hot water.

When thawing wings, store raw chicken on the bottom shelf and sanitize surfaces that come into contact with the chicken or packaging. This includes countertops, trays, utensils, refrigerator surfaces and even the sink.

Thawing

There are several ways to thaw chicken wings, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Some methods are faster while others produce more consistent results.

I recommend refrigerator thawing whenever possible.

It produces the most consistent wing quality and gives excess ice and moisture time to drain away before frying. Cold water thawing works well when you are short on time but isn't exactly quick, requires more attention, and may produce less consistent results. Microwave thawing works in an emergency but will often partially cook the wings and produce unpredictable results.

Refrigerator Thawing (Recommended)

Cold Water Thawing

Cold water thawing is my second favorite thawing method. It will thaw the wings just as well as refrigerator thawing, but it won’t remove as much water.

This just means you will want to dry them off as well as possible with paper towels before frying.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Fill a large bowl or container with cold water.
2. Put your frozen wings in a bag without holes and remove as much air as possible.
3. Put your bag of wings in the bowl of cold water. The bag may float, so weigh it down with something to keep it fully submerged.
4. Replace the water with fresh cold water every 30 minutes until the wings are thawed.

Keep the wing temperature out of the danger zone. They should not be allowed to rise above 40°F.

Also, do not run frozen wings directly under cold water as this can negatively impact skin and meat quality.

Microwave Thawing (Not Recommended)

Microwave thawing will produce unpredictable results. Microwaves do not thaw wings evenly.

No matter how low you set the power or how often you stop to flip or move the wings around, some parts of the wings will heat and cook faster than others.

In the end, you will likely be left with some wings that are partly cooked while others are still frozen. You may even have wings that are both cooked and frozen at the same time.

If your goal is to make perfect Buffalo wings, this is not the way to do it.

However, if you are still desperate enough to use the microwave, the following guidelines may help produce slightly less bad results.

Keep in mind that microwaves, depending on the make and model, have different wattages and power levels, making it impossible to create a process with repeatable results that will work with all models.

Assuming you are using party wings that are frozen but all separate:

• Spread the frozen wings over a shallow microwave-safe dish in as even a layer as possible.
• Use the lowest or close to the lowest defrost setting available on your microwave. About 20% to 30% power usually works well.
• Only thaw about 2 to 3 pounds at a time.
• Microwave for about 5 minutes, then rearrange, rotate, and flip the wings. Allow them to rest for a few minutes. If you notice overly hot spots or obvious cooking, reduce the power and time slightly for the next round.
• Repeat as many times as necessary until the wings are no longer frozen solid.
• Finish the last bit of thawing using the cold water method by putting the wings in a zipper bag and submerging them in cold water until the wings are thawed but still under 40°F. At this point, it should not take long.

This last part is important because there is more risk of cooking the wings near the end of the thawing process.

And Don’t Forget

Regardless of how you choose to thaw your chicken wings, remove as much excess water as possible before moving on to the next step, whether that is seasoning and frying or seasoning and drying in the fridge.

The less moisture the wings contain, the safer they will be to fry, and the crispier the skin can become.

Before Cutting

Start by getting your work area set up. Grab a good solid cutting board that won’t move easily and a sharp knife.

Using the Right Knife: Just about any sharp knife will work, but the sharper the better. I prefer to use a chef's knife because it's comfortable, easy to control and has enough weight to make clean cuts through the joints.

Safety and Cleanliness: Keep your chicken wing cutting operation to a dedicated, clutter free area. When finished, be sure to clean and sanitize any tools and surfaces used, including the countertop and sink

Food Safety Note:
Avoid the “Danger Zone.” Bacteria can grow at an accelerated rate when raw chicken is between 40 - 140°F. According to the USDA, raw chicken should not remain in this temperature range for more than two hours. Don’t leave your wings sitting out longer than necessary while cutting. Once finished, either return them to the refrigerator or move on to frying.

Cutting

1. Place one full, defrosted, uncut chicken wing on the cutting board.

2. Find the joint between the bones and slice through it. You will be cutting through skin, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. If you hit the bone, you’ll know it right away. It takes some practice but once you know where to cut, a sharp knife will almost slide right through.

Drum/Flat:

1. Hold the wing stable on the cutting board.
2. Expose the joint between the drum and flat sections by straightening the wing slightly.
3. Cut through the skin, down from the drumstick and through the joint’s connective tissue.

Remove the tip:

1. Hold the wing stable on the cutting board.
2. Expose the joint between the flat and tip sections by straightening the wing slightly.
3. Cut through the skin and through the joint’s connective tissue.

Chicken Wing Tip:

Discard the tips or use them to make chicken stock.

Next Steps

Once separated, the wings are ready for seasoning and then drying or frying. Don’t forget to properly clean and sanitize all tools and surfaces exposed to raw chicken.

Drying time depends heavily on your refrigerator conditions. A brand new refrigerator in a dry climate with very little inside will not have to work as hard as an older refrigerator in a humid climate that is packed with food and constantly being opened.

Your refrigerator’s airflow and ability to remove moisture will absolutely affect drying time. If wings don’t appear to get any drier after 24 hours, you may need to make some adjustments.

You can use a hygrometer to monitor the humidity in your refrigerator. You can find a link to the one I use in my Buffalo Wing Kitchen Tools article. It’s inexpensive and connects to an app on your phone via Bluetooth, allowing you to monitor humidity without opening the refrigerator door and letting more humidity in.

Lower humidity generally means faster drying. Around 40% humidity seems to work very well for drying wings. Once humidity climbs above 60%, drying slows noticeably.

Don’t worry too much if the humidity shoots up after adding the wings. They are wet, so that is normal. The humidity should slowly drop as the wings dry.

Things You Can Do to Reduce Humidity

• Seal or remove moisture-heavy foods like soups and uncovered vegetables. Keeping these foods in the bottom drawers should also help reduce humidity.
• Defrost the fridge ahead of time. Refrigerators, even new ones, benefit from occasional defrosting to help remove moisture.
• Consider adding a padlock to the refrigerator door so family members are unable to disrupt the very important business.

Why Drying Works

Why does drying wings improve Buffalo wings? When done right, drying allows the fryer to crisp the skin while the skin protects the meat underneath from overcooking and drying out.

Removing Water

This may seem obvious but drying wings removes water mostly from the wing’s outer layer, otherwise known as the skin, before the wings ever hit the oil. This gives the fryer a head start and helps crisp the skin without extra time in the oil that could overcook and dry out the meat underneath.

Obviously there is a lot more happening during frying than just water removal. Fat is rendering, proteins are changing and all kinds of other reactions are taking place. For those interested, very nerdy wing science articles are coming in the future. For now, understanding water and skin texture is what matters most when it comes to making better Buffalo wings at home.

Skin Protection

Wet chicken skin is loose and floppy in the fryer, allowing hot oil to move around underneath more easily.

During the drying process, the skin shrinks and tightens against the meat underneath. At the same time, moisture trapped between the skin and meat condenses and starts acting like a glue, helping the skin cling more tightly to the meat. This prevents oil from getting underneath the skin.

You can actually see the difference. Before drying, the skin hangs loosely from the wing. After drying, it tightens against the meat and naturally clings in place.

The skin acts as a protective barrier between the hot oil and the meat, helping keep the meat moist and juicy while the outside crisps.

What Good Texture Looks Like

Honestly, I’m not sure I can fully articulate what perfect texture is supposed to be. It’s more of a spectrum we want to stay within.

For me, the perfect crisp skin looks (or sounds) something like this. I want to hear a crunch as my teeth bite into and tear through the skin of a hot Buffalo wing. The skin should be light and airy with tiny blisters and bubbles that create crispness without becoming tough.

There are good and bad ends of that range. On one side: undercooked, rubbery skin with no crisp at all. On the other side: skin that is unpleasant because it is dense and more like fried cardboard. Even if it is dry and crunchy, if it becomes hard to bite through or difficult to tear, it has gone too far.

Drying Wings at Scale

Drying wings at scale at home creates problems restaurants rarely have to think about. Commercial kitchens often have dedicated refrigeration, more airflow, more space and equipment designed for food production. At home, you are trying to dry trays of chicken wings in the same refrigerator your family opens every five minutes looking for juice.

My wife loves coming home to find the entire fridge compressed onto the top shelf while the middle and bottom shelves are filled with racks of chicken wings. Eventually, I came up with a solution.

Some people have kegerators, wine fridges or cigar humidors. I have a Buffalo wing drying fridge and I’m proud of it!

Pro Tips

• Watch for condensation: Cover wings with plastic wrap or place them in a zipper bag after removing them from the refrigerator and before frying. This prevents condensation from forming on the skin and reducing the benefit of all your drying efforts.
• Dry wings are also less likely to stick to fryer baskets and baking trays.
• Water and hot oil don’t mix: The wetter your wings are, the more splatter and overflow risk you create during frying. More on this in the Frying Wings article.
• Short on time? Do your best to get the wings as dry as possible before frying. Paper towels work well. At the very least, wings should never be wet enough for water to drip off when dropping them into the fryer. Water can be dangerous in hot oil!

Drying Skin is Not a New Idea or Unique to Buffalo Wings

Drying poultry skin before cooking is not unique to Buffalo wings. Peking duck is another famous example of skin preparation being critical to texture and has reportedly been prepared this way since the 1300s. Different methods are used, but the goal is similar: dry the skin enough for it to become thin and crisp during cooking.

The same basic principle shows up in everyday cooking too. Many chicken recipes suggest drying skin-on thighs, breasts and drums before broiling or grilling to help crisp the skin.