These keto buffalo wings skip the deep fryer entirely: you steam them, dry them in the fridge, then bake them crisp and toss them in a butter and hot-sauce coating with no flour. The result is about 2 grams of net carbs and almost no mess, and most of the work happens before your guests show up.
Well with Super Bowl around the corner I figured it was about time to share with all of you my Low Carb Buffalo Wings recipe. Honestly the only reason I watch the Super Bowl is for the commercials and of course a day full of snacking. This year instead of a pile of nachos, why not make your own Low Carb snacks. Starting with these wings. I prefer just using a drummets. They have the most meat on them and are the easier part to eat. The cheapest place that I have found for the drummets at are at Smart and Final. I know there is a wing shortage this year, but my Smart & Final had plenty of bags of drummets left. Aside from being Low Carb this recipe is also a lot healthier since it is not deep-fried. I really hate deep-frying it's messy, dangerous, and you always end up with a big pot of peanut oil that you can't decide whether to keep or throw out. Simply steam the wings before hand and bake when your guests start to arrive. This process is so much simpler and your guest wont know the difference.
Where buffalo wings come from
The buffalo wing was born at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964, when Teressa Bellissimo fried up a batch of wings and tossed them in cayenne hot sauce and butter for a late-night plate. That original sauce is the whole reason the dish is keto-friendly: it was never breaded and never thickened, just fat and chile heat. So the keto version is not a substitution, it is the wing the way it started. Most of the carbs people sneak in later, through a flour dredge before frying or a bottled "buffalo" sauce sweetened with sugar and thickened with starch.
Low mess: steam, then bake
Deep-frying is what makes wings a hassle, the spitting oil, the cleanup, the leftover pot of grease. Steaming first solves it. The steam renders some of the fat under the skin and, once you dry the wings in the fridge, the skin bakes up crisp without a drop of frying oil. Dust them with dry ranch mix for a seasoned layer, bake them hot, and toss them in butter and Louisiana hot sauce. Cook them through to 165 degrees F, the USDA mark for poultry. Serve with my ranch dressing for dipping, set them next to my no-bean chili for a Super Bowl spread, and find them among the appetizers in my keto chicken recipes guide.
Sources
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, safe minimum temperature for poultry.
Anchor Bar and buffalo wing history references, on the 1964 Bellissimo original.
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, low-carb wing notes.
