The Flavor-Packed Dipping Sauce Your Chicken Wings Need Tossed In
Tangy, spicy, cayenne-kissed Buffalo sauce may be the original (and arguably most renowned) sauce for coating fried chicken wings, but fans of the football fave know there are dozens of sauce options for these tasty bites. Teriyaki sauce, hot honey, garlic parmesan, and sweet chili are also amongst the most well-known, but if you haven't yet tried coating your wings in cowboy butter, you're missing out.
Cowboy butter, a dipping sauce for steaks and seafood when melted, is basically a flavorful compound butter. It hits all the right notes: butter, lemon zest, fresh herbs, green onions, garlic, mustard, horseradish, and spices (some versions also include Worcestershire sauce). It belongs on meats, vegetables, bread, and, yes, definitely on wings. Once your wings are air fried, baked, or deep fried, just toss them in melted cowboy butter until they're thoroughly coated. You'll have wings that are a flavorful delight, dripping in salty, savory, tangy, and spicy goodness.
Cowboy butter works on all kinds of chicken
Because cowboy butter is so versatile, you don't need to reserve it just for your little chicken wings. It's delicious on oven-baked chicken thighs, legs, and breasts as well. Keep in mind that butter has a tendency to burn easily, so instead of basting it on your raw chicken before it goes into the oven, baste it over the chicken when it's almost done.
For perfectly baked chicken, heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake your pieces for 20 to 25 minutes. For a full sheet pan meal, roast your chicken over chunks of potatoes and baste everything with cowboy butter. In this case, your chicken may take a little longer to cook because you'll have more food in your pan.
If you prefer your chicken grilled, avoid the more common mistakes and follow the same guidelines you would if you were grilling the pieces with barbecue sauce. To avoid charring the sauce, first cook the chicken on the grill and then baste with cowboy butter only at the very end to impart flavor and provide some caramelization.