How Long To Cook Chicken Wings In Grease

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Go ahead and splurge. Deep fry those chicken wings. Here's a handy guide showing you how.

Deep-frying is the standard way that wings are cooked in restaurants. While we stand by ourselves totally when we say our method for baking chicken wings is just as crispy and way easier, if you really want to go for it, you've gotta deep-fry restaurant-style.

It's actually not very hard to do. If you already own a deep-fryer, well, I'm guessing you know how to use it. If not, you can get one like this or follow the instructions below for frying wings using your stove top, a large pot, some oil, and a candy thermometer.

Here's A Video Showing The Process:

How To Fry Chicken Wings

Here's how to deep-fry chicken wings at home without a home deep-fryer:

Step #1

In a large pot, pour in 1 and 1/2 inches of vegetable or canola oil. Attach candy thermometer so it's in the oil, but not touching the pot. Heat on medium to 350°F.

Step #2

Cut 4 wings into drummettes and flaps, if they aren't already cut. Learn how to cut wings here. Then, once oil is heated, use tongs to lower wings carefully into the oil.

The oil may sputter and spatter. Be careful. The oil temperature will drop when the wings are added.

Step #3

Place a maximum of 8 wing pieces in oil at one time. Try to keep oil at 350-375°F or if temperature keeps rising, take off heat to a cool element for 1 minute. Monitor.

Step #4

Flip wings occasionally until well-browned and internal temperature as read on an instant read thermometer is at 165ºF, about 8-10 minutes.

Check the internal temperature of the wings.

Step #5

Use tongs to remove wings from oil. Transfer them to a plate with a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Step #6

Toss with sauce.

Step #7

Eat!

Vegetable or canola oil, enough to fill a pot by 1 and 1/2 inches
4 chicken wings
Sauce (like Buffalo)

In a large pot, pour in 1 and 1/2 inches of vegetable or canola oil. Attach candy thermometer so it's in the oil, but not touching the pot. Heat on medium to 350°F.
Meanwhile, cut wings into two pieces each. Learn how here.
Use tongs to carefully lower the 8 wing pieces into the oil. The oil temperature may drop when the wings are added. Try to keep oil at 350-375°F. If it drops too low, increase heat. If temperature rises, reduce heat. If it keeps rising, take the pot off of heat and transfer to a cool element for 1 minute. Monitor.
Flip wings occasionally until well browned and the chicken's internal temperature reaches 165° F on an instant-read thermometer, 8-10 minutes. Place on a plate with a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Toss with sauce. Serve immediately.

Video by Leigh Olson.

This post originally appeared in January 2016 and was revised and republished in March 2017.

How To Fry Chicken Wings At Home