Buffalo Oven Wings with Shay's Ranch Dip

Buffalo Hot Wings with Shay's Ranch Dip

Proper buffalo wings with a glossy, sticky homemade sauce — sweet, tangy and as fiery as you dare. Crisped first with Shay's Magic Dust for that moreish savour underneath, then tossed in a from-scratch sauce that beats anything from a bottle.

Serves 4 · About 40 min

Ingredients

  • 1kg chicken wings, split into flats and drums
  • 3 tsp baking powder (not baking soda)
  • 2 tbsp Shay's Magic Dust
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 60g butter
  • 1 tbsp honey (or sugar)
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 100ml hot sauce (Frank's-style)

Method

  1. Season the wings. Pat completely dry, then toss with the oil, baking powder, and Magic Dust until evenly coated — the baking powder gives you crackly, restaurant-style skin.
  2. Cook until crisp. Spread on a rack over a lined tray and bake at 220°C / 200°C fan for 30-35 minutes, turning once, until deep golden. (Air fryer: 200°C for 20–25 minutes, shaking halfway.)
  3. Make the buffalo sauce. Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the honey - cook till slightly golden. Then a squeeze of ketchup - keep it going until it blends well. Add the hot sauce and simmer for 5 minutes until glossy and thick.
  4. Rest — don't skip. Let the crisp wings rest for 5 minutes after you take them out of the oven/air frier before they go near the sauce (see Shay's Touch of Magic).
  5. Toss & serve. Tip the rested wings into a bowl, pour over the warm sauce and toss to a glossy coat. Serve straight away with a cool ranch dip.

Shay's Touch of Magic

Here's the one nobody tells you — let the wings cool for a few minutes before they go near the sauce, you want the steam out. Toss them straight from the oven and the heat thins the sauce and softens that hard-won crisp. Give them five minutes to firm up, then toss: the sauce clings in a glossy coat and the crunch survives. Patience is the secret ingredient. — Shay

Heat level: this is a medium — add more or less hot sauce to taste.

Serve with a cool ranch dip — we used Shay's. Get yours here.

Made with Shay's Magic Dust — the everyday blend. Cook bold. Eat well. Share often.

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