Q: We're having a Super Bowl party with about 12 people, and our tiny Manhattan kitchen has a miniature oven. In past years it hasn't been much of a problem but this year we're making baked buffalo wings, a tried and true recipe.
However, the wings are supposed to bake for 45 minutes and we're afraid to use both racks of our oven as we think the bottom tray would burn.
Is there a way to pre-bake the wings a few hours ahead of time so that they only need to go for maybe 20 minutes the second time around while still maintaining their deliciousness and crunchiness?
Sent by Seth
Editor: Mmmmm baked buffalo wings! We haven't made them in a long time and can't speak to this question directly, but we think that yes, there must be some way to make them ahead and reheat them.
Readers? Any advice?
Related: Go Beyond Wings This Sunday: 5 Other Recipes with Buffalo Sauce
(Image: National Chicken Council via Off the Clock)

Comments (10)
If it were me, I'd either rotate the trays halfway through to ensure more even cooking or serve the wings at room-temp.
i have no idea, but if you want to share your recipe that would be fine by me.
The key issue is going to be the crispness of the skin, as the moisture in the meat might make them soggy over time.
As long as the reheating is hot enough, you should be able to crisp them up again. Maybe warm them through, then broil or use higher heat to crisp the skin? And of course keep the moisture off them (no sauce) until you're just about to serve them.
Here's the recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 chicken wings
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (such as Frank
's RedHot®)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Place the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix. Add the chicken wings, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the wings onto the prepared baking sheet, and place into the refrigerator. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Whisk together the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the wings into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.
Seth
thanks!
Steam them first and leave them on a rack or tray uncovered in the refrigerator so the skin drys out (this can be done the night before). Then just crisp them up in the oven at 450. It should only take 15-20 min.
I would think you would lose a little bit if crisp but should be fine, maybe use the boiler or a hot skillet to reheat? My advice would be to not sauce them until you are ready to serve, as you lose all of the sauciness if you do that.
I have absolutely done this before. I had ordered hotwings from a pizza place and they were soggy when they arrived. I was going to toss them in the trash but decided to heat them up in a very hot oven. They crisped right back up and were very tasty.
cook's country just did a recipe for sticky wings that involved cooking the wings for 3-4 hours in a slow cooker, then broiling them for 10 minutes before serving. here's the link, but i'm not sure if it works if you're not registered: http://bit.ly/gsyuPg
thanks for the help guys. I pre-baked them for 40 minutes, let them cool and then broiled them for another 5 right before serving. Could have given them a few more minutes under the broiler but they came out DELISH. 13 people downed 10lbs of wings!