The sweetness from the Vidalia onion makes these Southern Spicy Vidalia Hot Wings pleasantly different from their tart Northern Buffalo cousins.
We’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately, especially fried chicken. That’s because I finally make excellent bacon fried chicken, and don’t like seeing good shortening go to waste. One of my favorite ways to have chicken is Buffalo Wings. Spane’s father, Douglas, gave me a recipe from the bar where Buffalo Wings originated when he was frequenting the establishment and became friends with the owner.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Most Buffalo wings are made with a Louisiana hot sauce, quite often Franks. It’s good, but, I wanted to experiment a little. There is a nice Southern company, Glory Foods, that makes wonderful canned Butter Beans. I love ’em. When I was at the market buying wings, I saw that they also make Spicy Vidalia Hot Sauce. Spicy and slightly sweet, I thought that would make an interesting change from the usual Louisiana-style hot sauces associated with this dish. I was right, that sauce was perfect, and it has not become my favorite hot sauce.
Vidalia Hot Sauce
Sadly, Gloria Foods no longer makes Vidalia hot sauce, but there are plenty of other vendors at Amazon that have *Vidalia hot sauce. If you are tired of Siracha sauce, and Frank’s Hot Sauce isn’t doing it for you anymore, try the Vidalia hot sauce. It’s mixed with those lovely, sweet Georgia peaches, so it’s sweet and hot at the same time. Because there is sugar in the sauce, the heat level is not as hot as vinegar-based sauces like Tabasco. Sugar has a calming effect on capsaicin. Next time you are out eating spicy foods, grab a packet of sugar to calm your tongue – beverages, except dairy, do not help.
Email Me the Recipe
Southern Spicy Vidalia Hot Wings
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 2 pound chicken wings, about 16 drumettes or pieces
— Batter/Marinade —
- 2 cups Plain Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon *Poultry Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne
— Coating —
- 2 cups Flour
- ½ cup Cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne
- 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
— Fat —
- ¼ cup Bacon fat
- 2 cups Safflower Oil
— Sauce —
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons *Vidalia hot sauce
- 1 egg
Instructions
- 2 cups Plain Yogurt, 1 teaspoon Onion powder, 1 teaspoon Garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning, 1 teaspoon Paprika, 1 teaspoon Cayenne, 2 pound chicken wingsPut the yogurt in a deep bowl and add the ingredients to the batter. Mix well, and drop the chicken in, coating them well—Marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour, preferably overnight.
- 2 cups Flour, 1/2 cup Cornmeal, 1 teaspoon Onion powder, 1 teaspoon Garlic powder, 2 teaspoon Paprika, 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne, 1 teaspoon Herbs de ProvencePut the coating ingredients in a large bag and shake them about to combine them. Have ready a sheet pan with a baking rack to hold the chicken.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and drop the pieces into the bag. Don’t crowd them too much. Shake the bag to coat the chicken, remove the pieces, and put them on the baking rack. When all the pieces have been coated, put the chicken in the refrigerator to settle for about 30 minutes. Throw out the coating and batter.
- 1/4 cup Bacon fat, 2 cups Safflower OilIn a heavy skillet, put the bacon fat and oil. The oil should go about 1/3 up the side of the pan; if you need more, add more. Heat the oil until it reaches 325 °F (163 °C). Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, and have a second sheet pan with a baking rack ready.
- Place chicken skin side down into the pan. The oil should come halfway up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be right around 160 °F (71 °C) degrees. (Be careful to monitor the shortening temperature every few minutes.)
- Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don’t drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags.
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons Vidalia hot sauce, 1 eggWhile the chicken is frying, melt the butter. Whisk the hot sauce into the butter, mixing thoroughly. You want to whisk the mixture to reduce the temperature so the egg does not coddle when you add it. Whisk in the egg and make it into a smooth sauce.
- Put the chicken wings into a large bowl, preferably with a cover. Pour over the sauce and toss to coat. If you have a cover for your bowl, shake it until all the pieces are coated.
- Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks on a nice platter. Enjoy!
For the Air Fryer
- Add the hot sauce to the marinade to make these in the air fryer. Then, after coating the chicken, put it on a rack in the air fryer and set it to 400 °F (204 °C) for 12 minutes or until the wings reach 160 °F (71 °C) on an instant-read thermometer. You can sprinkle more hot sauce on them if they are not spicy enough for your liking. Sorry, there isn't any skinny for the dipping sauce.
