Lemon Pepper Wet Wings

a bowl of lemon pepper wings wet with lemon pepper butter sauce

4.86 from 63 votes

Make the best lemon pepper wet wings ever! Crispy, juicy chicken wings are fried and tossed in a lemon pepper wing sauce.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: wing segments

Calories: 132kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken wings segmented
3 large eggs
¼ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Vegetable oil for frying

Seasoned Flour

2 cup all purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon onion powder

Lemon Pepper Wet Butter Sauce

1 cup unsalted butter
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

In a large dutch oven, pour in about 3 inches worth of vegetable oil. Begin heating the oil to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C) while dredging the chicken wings.
Vegetable oil
In a large mixing bowl beat together the eggs, milk, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and hot sauce.
3 large eggs, ¼ cup whole milk, 1 tablespoon hot sauce, 1 tablespoon kosher salt
Then, in a gallon sized zip top bag, or in another large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the seasoned flour together until well combined.
1 tablespoon kosher salt, 2 cup all purpose flour, ½ cup cornstarch, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoon onion powder
Take the chicken wings and put them into the egg mixture in batches, ensuring all the wings are coated in egg.
3 lbs chicken wings
Take about 5-6 egg-mixture-coated wings and put them into the seasoned flour. Give a really good shake (if in the zip top bag) or toss and stir them well (if using a bowl) to coat the wings in flour. Let them rest on a plate while you continue coating more batches of wings, until all the wings are done.
When the oil has come to temperature (using a candy/frying thermometer is important here) fry the lemon pepper wings in batches, about 5-6 at a time, so you don't overcrowd the pot and lower the temperature of the oil.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels and then place a wire rack on top for the cooked wings to rest on.
Fry the wings for about 7 minutes per batch, then use a slotted spoon or tongs to take them out of the oil and place them on the prepared wire rack. Repeat with all the chicken wings until all of them are done frying. Make sure to check on the temperature before every batch, we don't want the heat to be higher than 360 degrees F (182 degrees C)or lower than 350 degrees F (176 degrees C).
Mix the melted butter, lemon zest and juice, lemon pepper seasoning, garlic powder, and kosher salt in a small bowl. Put the wings in a clean mixing bowl and pour some of the sauce over the wings. Give them a really good toss, and if you want to make lemon pepper 'wet' wings, add all the sauce to the wings.
1 cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup lemon juice, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, 2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Serve hot, with any leftover sauce on the side to dip in.

Notes

Want to reheat any leftover lemon pepper wings? Put them on a baking sheet in one layer, on a wire rack and reheat at 300 degrees F in your oven until they are warmed through.

When using baking powder, always make sure it's 6 months old or less. Baking powder loses its potency as it ages, which means that amazing bubbly-crisp action we want for a seriously light, crispy chicken wing crust won't happen.

While we're on baking powder, get the aluminum-free kind so there's no metallic taste!

Nutrition