Chicken Wing Bar Night

Name: Chicken Wing Bar Night
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 lb chicken wings; 1 3/4 tbsp baking powder; 1 3/4 tbsp kosher salt; 7/8 tbsp black pepper; 3/4 cup hot sauce; 3/8 cup unsalted butter; 1 1/4 cups BBQ sauce; 1/4 cup honey; 5 cloves garlic cloves; 2 bunches celery sticks; 1.6 lb baby carrots

Crispy baked wings with three sauce options for ten

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 50 min
Serves 8
Difficulty: easy

Wings are baked on racks until skin crisps, then tossed in separate bowls of buffalo, honey-garlic, and BBQ sauce. Celery, carrots, and ranch complete a classic wing bar that scales to any appetite.

Why crews like it: Wing bars let everyone pick their heat level without cooking three separate batches from scratch. Baking keeps the kitchen cleaner than deep frying while still delivering crisp skin.

490Cal

36gProtein

14gCarbs

34gFat

Ingredients

6 lb chicken wings
1 3/4 tbsp baking powder
1 3/4 tbsp kosher salt
7/8 tbsp black pepper
3/4 cup hot sauce
3/8 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups BBQ sauce
1/4 cup honey
5 cloves garlic cloves
2 bunches celery sticks
1.6 lb baby carrots

Instructions

Dry and season wings: Pat wings completely dry. Toss with baking powder, salt, and pepper until evenly coated. Arrange skin-side up on wire racks with space between each piece.
Bake until crisp: Bake at 425°F for 25 minutes, flip, then bake 20–25 minutes more until skin is golden and thickest drum hits 175°F internal. Target oven/smoker temperature: 425°F.
Build the three sauces: Simmer butter with hot sauce for buffalo. Warm BBQ sauce separately. Sauté minced garlic 1 minute, stir in honey and a splash of soy for honey-garlic.
Toss and line up the bar: Divide wings into three bowls and toss each batch in its sauce. Arrange on a long board with labeled sauce ramekins for second passes.
Set the wing bar: Lay out celery, carrot sticks, and ranch dressing. Verify all wings hit 165°F minimum before service—even sauced wings must be safely cooked.

Tonight's spread

Three-sauce wing bar with celery, carrots, ranch, and blue cheese dressing.
Waffle fries or tater tots from the oven for a full sports-bar spread.

Hall tips

Baking powder dries the skin—do not substitute cornstarch; results differ.
Hold unsauced wings at 200°F and toss to order if you need maximum crunch late in the game.
Save wing tips for stock or discard—flats and drums portion cleaner for a hall feed.

Meal prep

Dry wings overnight uncovered in the fridge for maximum crispness. Sauce can be mixed ahead and held warm. Bake in two batches on double racks if your oven is standard size.

Leftovers

Re-crisp sauced wings in a 400°F oven 5 minutes on a rack.
Pull meat for buffalo chicken mac and cheese tomorrow.

Wire cooling racks
Sheet pans
Large mixing bowls
Instant-read thermometer
Serving platters