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Buffalo wings are the perfect accompaniment to March Madness, regardless of which team you want to see go all the way. But ask an avid home cook the best way to make chicken wings with crispy skin and juicy, tender meat, and the ensuing debate will make the ACC rivalry between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils look tame.
Before we hit the court (read: the kitchen), let’s state the obvious. Ultimately, the best way to make wings is in a deep fryer. But aside from being wildly unhealthy, deep frying is laborious and leaves you with at least a quart of oil to clean up.
So how can you cook trophy-worthy wings at home with ease?
We pored (and drooled) over countless recipes, landing on 16 distinct methods for making chicken wings using a variety of appliances we test at CR: the range, grill, air fryer, multi-cooker, and slow cooker. In some cases, the method uses a combination of appliances.
Then we pit these methods against each other in a single-elimination tournament.
Will an air fryer outperform low-and-slow on the grill? Can a pressure cooker turn out tastier wings than an oven? Who will advance through each stage of the tournament and emerge as the hot wing champion?
(Full disclosure: We developed our bracket in spring 2020, but we hit pause on the project as the pandemic gripped the nation and last year’s NCAA tournament was canceled. The good news? Unlike a college basketball team, our lineups haven’t changed. And the results are just as mouthwatering today.)
Follow along over the next few weeks as we determine the very best way to make chicken wings at home. We’ll land on the winning method just before the final NCAA games.
Here’s our bracket with all 16 methods, battling it out in four regions: Roast, Broil, Grill, and Small Appliance. Fill out your own bracket, include #WingMadness, and tag @ConsumerReports, on Instagram or Twitter.
Story continues
Check back Wednesday, March 17 to see which cooking methods advance from the Savory 16 to the Tasty Eight.
And read on, below, for how we selected the Savory 16, how we scored each wing, and a breakdown of each matchup in the bracket.
https://chemcore.northwestern.edu/files/formidable/7/jir-29-fortnite-zqh3pt6-embruing.pdf
https://chemcore.northwestern.edu/files/formidable/7/jir-29-fortnite-zqh3pt6-free-WOW.pdf
https://chemcore.northwestern.edu/files/formidable/7/jir-29-fortnite-zqh3pt6-viCtoRi3x.pdf
https://chemcore.northwestern.edu/files/formidable/7/KrK-free-fortnite-skins-generator-no-doubt-913.pdf