This recipe for pan-fried chicken wings is one of those deceptively simple preparations with an insanely high reward to effort ratio. Just 3 ingredients and a few minutes of prep is all it takes for irresistible, tasty wings that you can serve as a meal or party appetizer!
This is also a great recipe for city dwellers who don’t have a BBQ grill or perhaps even an oven. Try these pan-fried wings—they might be better than BBQ wings!
Chinese People Love Chicken Wing Flats
This recipe works best with the flat part of the chicken wing. Not only do they cook very evenly because of their flat shape, they also brown super nicely and look stunning lined up on a serving platter.
Chinese people really prefer that piece of the chicken wing. The meat is very juicy and tender. Although the drumette is also technically dark meat, the texture of the meat can be more similar to chicken breast. In Chinese grocery stores, that flat part of the chicken wing is often more expensive than the drumettes!
If you want to use both flats and drumettes for this recipe, you can. The drummettes will just require more turning in the pan, and a few minutes longer to cook, as they are thicker and meatier.
However, if you want to buy a party pack of wings and just use the flats for this recipe, you can save the drummettes for something else!
You can make Kaitlin’s Oyster Sauce Baked Wings, Sarah’s Three Cup Chicken or Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, or my Coca Cola Chicken Wings. You could even make Air Fryer Buffalo Wings, and have only meaty drumettes for dipping into your blue cheese sauce.
The Power of Salt
This recipe highlights how far a simple seasoning of just salt can go. Here, it allows the flavor of the crispy chicken to really shine through.
Bill took one bite of one of these wings and said, “this is better than fried chicken!” I don’t know if I would go quite that far, but they are pretty dang close. And compared to fried chicken, this recipe takes a lot less effort!
Pan-fried Wings Recipe Instructions
Add the chicken wing pieces to a medium bowl along with the salt. Toss the wings to coat them evenly in the salt. Cover and marinate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
1 hour before you’re ready to cook the wings, take them out of the refrigerator and leave them on the counter (this will help them cook through more evenly).
Heat a nonstick or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and the wings.
Pan-fry the wings for 6-7 minutes per side (no need to move them while pan-frying each side), until they’re a deep golden brown.
Serve immediately.
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Recipe
Pan-fried Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken wing flats 1 ½ pounds = about 15 pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
Instructions
- Add the chicken wing pieces to a medium bowl along with the salt. Toss the wings to coat them evenly in the salt. Cover and marinate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
- 1 hour before you’re ready to cook the wings, take them out of the refrigerator and leave them on the counter (this will help them cook through more evenly).
- Heat a nonstick or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and the wings. Pan-fry the wings for 6-7 minutes per side (no need to move them while pan-frying each side), until they’re a deep golden brown. Serve immediately.
