I have a bone to pick, so to speak. If you go to any search engine, say Google, and search for boneless chicken wings, you’ll find recipes that have absolutely nothing to do with chicken wings. You’ll find recipes that use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced and deep fried.
That’s fine… I guess and maybe even what most people want when looking for boneless chicken wings! But I wanted to explore crafting indeed Boneless Chicken Wings made with real chicken wings and boning!
So this recipe is not for the faint of heart, but for wing freaks! Knowing how to use a knife also helps, as you’ll be using one a lot to achieve this!
So, come with me if you will, and we’ll walk you through the steps to making these real boneless chicken wings for game day a reality!
How to debone a chicken wing
OK. Let’s get that out of the way. You need to cut chicken wings off the bone to achieve this. This isn’t that hard once you get the hang of it, but it does require some patience.
The trick to making it work is to take a good paring knife and start with the largest end of either the wing plate or wing drum. Cut around the end of the joint with the knife to loosen the meat from the joint. (middle wing below).
Then use the paring knife to slowly separate the meat from the bone as you work it. Eventually, it should detach from the bone and literally slide off. (right wing below)
Then you can simply pull the meat over the bottom joint and separate it with your paring knife.
The trick to making this work is to take a minute to trim the wing once you’ve taken it off the bone. There may be some extra tendons or extra skin/fat around the wing that you want to trim off. Of course you’ll want to leave some of the skin on, because that’s the whole point!
Obviously the hardest part of this recipe is done once the wings are deboned.
Marinate and fry your boneless chicken wings
Once you have the true boneless chicken wings ready, simply toss the wings in some buttermilk and hot sauce. You could let this marinate overnight, but let it steep for at least 20-30 minutes.
Now it’s time to roast! Heat your frying oil in a deep fryer until it reaches 350°F. You could also use an air fryer for this, but I prefer to actually fry them in oil for that extra crispy texture.
Mix flour, salt, pepper, chilli powder and garlic powder. Then dip the buttermilk wings in the flour!
I would like to note that the amount of flour and buttermilk in the following recipe is probably enough for 24 wings even though I only wrote 12 in the recipe. Once you get the hang of it, you can pump them out.
Once these are breaded in the flour mixture, fry them at 350 degrees F. until golden and crispy, about eight minutes! I fry my wings in either peanut oil or vegetable oil, depending on taste
Drain the wings on paper towels, then place in a bowl.
Then add your favorite wing sauce like buffalo sauce and you’re good to go! BOOM!
Serve these as you do, with blue cheese or ranch dressing and lots of carrots and celery sticks.
One thing I like about these is that I find them more filling than the boneless wings because they have more fat. They have great texture and remind me a lot of eating wings on the bone!
They’re still messy, of course, and that’s the point! The flavor and texture of the boneless wings are perfect, and they’re a lot easier to eat than your classic wing.
I realize this might be more work than many people are willing to do for an appetizer, but if you’re like me and love wings, they might be worth trying on a special day!
Substitutions and ideas for changes
There are a few options and different ways you can go about it!
- If you want to make less work, you can start with chicken thighs. Bone these but leave the skin on and one thigh is probably the equivalent of 2-3 chicken wings.
- Season the flour with other spices like paprika or cayenne pepper.
- Instead of deep frying and sautéing these, you could toss them with a dry rub and bake them in the oven (like my Baked Pesto Chicken Wings).
My recipe for real boneless chicken wings
Real boneless chicken wings
Ditch the boneless, skinless chicken breasts and learn how to make actual boneless wings, which does take some work. However, the results are amazing!
- 12 chicken wing drumettes or flats
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoon hot sauce
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Spicy wing sauce for coating
- neutral oil to fry
- Blue Cheese Dressing To serve
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If you want, ahead of time: prepare chicken wings. Using a sharp paring knife, start at the large end of the flat or drum. Use your paring knife to carefully cut around the joint, separating the skin and flesh from the bone.
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Pull the chicken wing flesh down and trim away from the bone. Eventually the meat will separate and slide down around the bone. Then use your knife to cut the flesh off the other end of the bone.
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Trim the boneless wing by cutting off tendons or large pieces of fat or skin.
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Place the trimmed chicken wings in a bowl of buttermilk and hot sauce. stir together. Finish all wings and let them marinate for at least 20 minutes or overnight!
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When ready to fry, heat oil to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder. Move chicken wings from buttermilk to flour and coat well.
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Immediately add chicken wings to fryer and fry for 8-10 minutes until chicken wings are cooked through.
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When the boneless wings come out of the fryer, drain them on a paper towel for a few minutes, then toss with the sauce. Serve warm!
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NOTE: This recipe can easily be doubled. You’ll have enough flour for at least a double batch of wings if you want.
Portion: 6wingCalories: 1269kcalCarbohydrates: 112GProtein: 75GFat: 56GSaturated Fatty Acids: 18GPolyunsaturated fat: 11GMonounsaturated fatty acids: 21GTrans fats: 1GCholesterol: 248mgSodium: 4364mgPotassium: 1063mgFiber: 6GSugar: 13GVitamin A: 2046ieVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 360mgIron: 10mg
Did you do this?
Take a picture and tag it @macheesmo so i can see your work
Other chicken appetizer ideas
Wouldn’t you like to delve into the deboning process for those boneless chicken wings? I get it. Here are some other great chicken appetizers. For ease and flavor, these pickled chicken wings are one of my all-time favorites. If you’re not looking for something spicy, try these Tequila Lime Chicken Wings, which have an amazing flavor. I also love this Sticky Chicken Tender recipe from The Novice Chef!