Ingredients

  • 2 cups hot sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot here)
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • ½ cup unsulphured molasses
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 ounces ranch dip powder (usually 4 packets, I like Hidden Valley Dips Mix, Original Ranch)
  • 3 pounds chicken wings, drums separated from flap, tip trimmed if preferred*
  • Cooking spray

Prepare

1. Make the marinade. In a measuring cup stir together the hot sauce, ketchup, and molasses. In a medium bowl add the powdered sugar and the ranch dip powder. Add ½ cup of the hot sauce mixture into the bowl and whisk until the dry ingredients are completely blended without any tiny lumps showing. Pour this mixture back into the remaining hot sauce mixture in the measuring cup and whisk to combine.

 

2. Marinate chicken. Add chicken parts into a large resealable plastic bag (if needed, use two bags). Reserve 1 cup of the marinade in a resealable container and refrigerate. Pour the rest of the marinade over the chicken in the large plastic bag(s). Press out all the air from the bag(s) and seal. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

 

3. Rest chicken and make glaze. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Remove the chicken parts from the bag and shake off excess marinade before placing on the prepared baking sheet skin side facing up at least 1-inch apart (just like the bags, you may need two baking sheets to do this, or bake them in batches). Discard marinade in plastic bags. Rest the baking sheet at room temperature for one hour before you plan to bake them.

 

4. Bake and glaze the chicken. Preheat the oven to 350?F. Bake 20 minutes on the center rack, if using two baking sheets use the middle rack and the one just above it. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring reserved marinade from the container to a boil. Reduce by 1/3 until it thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove chicken from oven. Brush chicken with the glaze. Raise the oven temperature to 400?F and bake chicken until cooked through, another 20 minutes.*

*If you’re not using the wing tips in the recipe, freeze them and use later for chicken stock or a quick single serving of homemade chicken soup to ward off the first signs of a cold!