Name: Superbowl Fried Chicken Wings
Ingredients: 3 Pounds chicken wings (16 to 18); 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons coarse salt; 2 onions; 3 cups buttermilk; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons cracked black peppercorns; 1 teaspoon cayenne; 2 cups vegetable shortening; 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter

Why it works: Chicken and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,814 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓

Superbowl Fried Chicken Wings

Ingredients

Directions

Brine the wings

Cut off chicken wing tips, reserving them for another use (such as stock).
Arrange wings in one layer in a 13- by 9-Inch glass baking dish.
Sprinkle wings evenly with ½ cup kosher salt, turn wings over, then sprinkle wings with ½ cup more salt.
Chill wings 2 hours.
In a colander rinse wings under cold running water and drain.
Arrange wings in one layer in baking dish.
Thinly slice onions and arrange them over wings.
Pour buttermilk over onions.
Chill wings, covered, at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.
Discard onions and in colander drain wings.

Coat the wings

Have ready an 18-inch sheet of wax paper.
In a large shallow bowl whisk together flour, peppercorns, cayenne, and remaining 2 tablespoons salt.
Working with no more than 2 wings at a time, dredge wings evenly in flour mixture and shake off excess.
Arrange wings flat sides up and a few inches apart on wax paper.
Let wings stand 15 minutes.
Generously sprinkle remaining flour mixture over wings, pat flour mixture to adhere, then let wings stand 15 minutes more.
Have ready a rack set over a baking pan.

Fry and drain

In each of two 10- to 11-inch heavy skillets melt 1 cup shortening and 4 tablespoons butter over high heat just until butter begins to turn golden.
To each skillet add 8 or 9 wings, flat sides down, and reduce heat to moderately high.
Cook wings, covered, until deep golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
Turn wings, then cook wings uncovered until deep golden, about 8 minutes.
With tongs transfer wings to rack set over pan to drain.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1047Calories

54 gProtein

38 gFat

120 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,721 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together42,912 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together13,902 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken wings: Provide the meat that is brined, coated, and fried until crisp.
Coarse salt: Seasons the meat deeply during the brine and seasons the flour coating.
Buttermilk: Its acidity and enzymes tenderize the meat during the long soak.
All-purpose flour: Forms the dry coating that browns and crisps in the hot fat.
Vegetable shortening: Heats to high temperature to fry the wings evenly and crisp the coating.
Unsalted butter: Adds richness and a golden color and flavor to the frying fat.

The step that matters

Let the coated wings stand before frying. The 15-minute rests let the flour hydrate and adhere so the coating stays on in the hot fat instead of sloughing off and burning.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, buttermilk, flour, butter):

Chivefits better
Potatofits better
Onionthe original
Asparagusfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, buttermilk, flour, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Chicken Broth257 recipes

Chicken Soup156 recipes

Creamed Chicken89 recipes

Chicken Panada75 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Superbowl Fried Chicken Wings