Sweet and Spicy Vegan Hot Wings

Hot wings have a storied history, with roots tracing back to Buffalo, New York, in the 1960s. Legend has it that Teressa Bellissimo, co-owner of the Anchor Bar, created the first batch of hot wings as a late-night snack for her son and his friends. The wings were deep-fried, tossed in a combination of hot sauce and butter, and served with celery and blue cheese dressing. Over the years, hot wings grew in popularity, becoming a staple at sports bars, parties, and restaurants across the United States. Today, hot wings come in a variety of flavors and spice levels, but the timeless combination of crispy wings coated in spicy sauce remains a beloved classic for many.

Very few restaurants offer vegan hot wings. I’ve had a very delicious potato wedge version served at Stella’s here inGrand Rapids, MI. They batter and deep fry large potato wedges and serve them with different vegan friendly sauces including their own house made vegan ranch! I love those things!

I wanted to see if I could recreate the hot wing experience for vegans at home. I used the Beleaf brand drumsticks. I had to order them online because I can’t find them in stores around me. Of course you can just use vegan chicken nuggets if you wish. If you do use a vegan drumstick please remember that there is possibly a wooden stick in the middle replicating a bone so be careful! These ones had a piece of sugar cane instead which is edible but still be aware.

The ingredients you will need for the batter are:

• 3 C flour

• 1 1/2 C water

• 1/3 C sriracha

• 1 Tablespoon of garlic powder

• 1 Tablespoon of onion powder

• 1 Tablespoon of paprika

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1 teaspoon of pepper

• enough cooking oil to fill your pot half way up

Mix 1 C of the flour with the water and sriracha. whisk it together very thoroughly. This is the wet mix.

In another bowl mix the rest of the flour and the spices.

Dip each thawed drumstick in the wet mix and then the dry mix. you can do this process twice to get a thicker coating if you want to. Set the coated drumsticks aside on a tray.

To deep fry the drumsticks you will need the following equipment:

A large pot

a heat safe slotted spoon or frying spider

a splatter guard to cover the pot

an oil thermometer

a tray lined with newspaper or paper towels

Fill your pot no more than half way up with oil. place the oil thermometer on the edge of the pot into the oil. Turn the burner on to a medium heat and heat the oil to 365 degrees Fahrenheit. At this time you can carefully drop the drumsticks into the oil and cook a few at a time. do not over crowd the pot. Place the splatter guard over the pot to protect you from injury. Keep watching the temperature so you don’t heat the oil past 370. It will only take about 4 minutes to cook these. The chicken substitute only has to be heated through. You are looking for the coating to get golden and crispy. Once they are golden and crispy remove them from the oil and place them on the lined tray to drain.

You can stop here and serve them as they are or make the sweet and spicy sauce.

For the sauce you need:

• 1/2 C hot wings sauce [check the label to be sure the butter is imitation butter]

• 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup, agave nectar or other liquid sweetener

Whisk the two ingredients together and pour i into a large bowl. Add the fried drumsticks and toss them together until evenly coated.

You can serve them with a side of vegan ranch. If you need a vegan ranch recipe there is one in the free ebook download on this blog.