Spicy Middle Eastern Chicken Wings with Creamy Tahini Sauce – Baked, not fried. Lightened up, flavorful alternative to buffalo wings.
“Finger foods” or canapés rose to fame in the 1920’s, when American Prohibition gave rise to speakeasies and illegal basement drinking parties. At these parties, passed hors d’oeuvres were often provided in an effort to help people hold their liquor. If a patron left a speakeasy stumbling drunk, the illegal watering hole was more likely to be discovered. Finger foods helped to mitigate the potential damage. Over time, small-bite hors d’oeuvres became a mainstay at cocktail parties and events, home parties, potlucks, buffets, and of course game day celebrations! With Super Bowl Sunday on the horizon, how could I not give a nod to the crowned king of all finger foods- chicken wings?
Buffalo wings are probably the most famous game day appetizer, with good reason– they’re spicy, salty, and addictive. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, Teressa Bellissimo first created buffalo wings on October 30, 1964 at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. It is not clear whether Belissimo cooked them up as a snack for her son and his friends, as a midnight meal for Catholic diners who had spent the day abstaining from meat, or as a clever way of using up the wings that were delivered instead of the backs and necks they needed for stock. Whatever the true story might be, in 1980, journalist Calvin Trillin of the New Yorker wrote a magazine story on buffalo wings, cementing their fame.
As an alternative to buffalo wings, I decided to create my own spin on the spicy chicken wing concept by marinating wings in a blend of Middle Eastern spices. Rather than frying them (like many buffalo wing recipes) I bake them in a hot oven. They are full of flavor and finger-licking good, perfectly spicy just the way I like them. I serve them with creamy, garlicky tahini sauce – recipe can be found here – which makes a perfect dipping sauce. Serve them at your own speakeasy, or on game day, or whenever you crave some spicy little bites of deliciousness.
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Spicy Middle Eastern Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds large chicken wings (about 25 large)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1/2 tsp for mild, 3/4 tsp for medium, 1 tsp for spicy, 1 1/4 tsp for fiery)
- 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/2 cups tahini sauce (see notes for a recipe)
NOTES
Instructions
- Prepare your chicken wings by first trimming them and separating the drumstick from the wing with a pair of sharp kitchen scissors.
- Begin by removing the wing tip. Discard the tips or reserve them for later use in chicken stock.
- Next, separate the small drumstick from the wing by cutting through the connecting joint.
- When your drumsticks and wings have been separated, trim off any excess skin flaps or fat.
- Now you have a separate drumstick and wing, ready to be marinated.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, the spices, salt and pepper (if you're salt sensitive, use 3/4 tsp of salt).
- Place the prepared wings in a marinating dish or large plastic zipper bag. Pour the spice marinade over the wings and stir or massage the bag till all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the marinade. Cover the chicken with plastic or seal the bag and let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, up to 24 hours.
- Take the wings out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan to cook them so the marinade can soften up a bit. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray baking sheets with nonstick cooking oil (you may only need one sheet depending on how big your wings are; line with foil for easier cleanup if desired). Stir or massage the chicken after 20 minutes out of the fridge to make sure everything is coated evenly and there are no spice clumps. Place the chicken pieces on the sheet, evenly spaced. Place the chicken in the oven. Let the wings roast for about 45 minutes till cooked through, turning the wings once with tongs halfway through cooking.
- Season with additional salt to taste, if desired. Serve hot baked wings with creamy tahini sauce - recipe can be found here.
Nutrition
I made this recipe using chicken thighs. I only marinated the chicken for about 1.5 hours. I also used 3/4 tsp cayenne, and I did not make the tahini sauce. It still turned out great! I will definitely make this recipe again. 🙂 I think I will kick the cayenne up a notch. I am interested in making the tahini sauce, too. Thanks for this recipe! 😀
Oops! I just noticed the stars. It is worth all five, to me! 😛
These are delicious! I even made the tahini, pretty simple…who knew! Thank you so much!
Glad you enjoyed them Doe!
Amazing apple stuffed challah – what a great idea and what a perfect Rosh Hashana start – it will be on my table every year .
I just found u by chance – any way to get all the older archived receipes? Do u do a menu like you did For Risk Hashana for all the festive holidays ?
Hi Michelle! So glad you enjoyed the challah I try to do a roundup for all holidays, but meanwhile you can search all of the archives for the site in the following indexes:
Kosher Recipes: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/recipes/?filter=thumbnails
The History Kitchen (some recipes kosher, some not, all with a historical focus): https://toriavey.com/history-kitchen/history-recipes/?filter=thumbnails
I hope that helps!
My pet peeve about posted recipes… Out of over 41 posts, the only one here who has actually made these is Dona. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly give any recipe 5 stars or any stars for that matter, if they haven’t made it yet. Why comment on something that you haven’t made or tasted.
This does not refer to only this recipe … it happens on all or most of the online recipes including Tori’s.
I have made a lot of Tori’s recipes and loved them, but after make it the first time, I have occasionally added, subtracted ingredients etc.. and I know others have done the same.
Tori, it is not just your site, it is every recipe site. ” sounds great, I am going to make it next week, too many ingredients, my kids will love it, I’ve been looking for a good recipe for ___, can’t wait to try it ….. etc… Then absolutely no follpw ups IF they do make it.
This doesn’t help anyone looking for pros/cons of a particular recipe. How about NOT posting until you make it, then adding what you did or didn’t use/do and how it came out and would you make it again.
I hope other people feel as I do and others will pay attention to this and will only post helpful reviews on recipes, or questions regarding ingredients, cooking methods, etc… and not just posting for the sake of posting.
Hi Nina– that’s the nature of a cooking community, for better or worse. People like chatting about the recipes. I love that people give feedback on whether they like a recipe idea or not, even if they haven’t tried it yet. That kind of response, while it might not be helpful to somebody making it at home, is very helpful to me as I determine future content for the site.
Tori – I somewhat agree with you, but why don’t people, especially those who post before they make it, let us know how it turned out. They say they are going to make it, take the time to post that and then … nothing.
Readers, PLEASE take the time to follow up after you make it. All tastes are different and so many helpful things come out of these follow up posts.
Totally agree Nina! I mean really….what the heck?
That’s been a peeve of mine too. I read the comments to see what people who have tried the recipe are saying.
Leaving for annual 2 week Israel Vay K
New MUST GORestaurants PLEASE
Hi Burton, sadly I haven’t been to Israel in the past 2 years, so I’m not sure about new places. I do always recommend that people try Dr. Shakshuka. Uri Buri is my favorite place for fish (not kosher but delish). Last time I was there I ate at a Turkish restaurant called Pasha that was quite good. I’ve also heard good things about The Rothschild. Hope that helps!
Thanks Tori! The oven it is! I’m making it this weekend!
This sounds delicious! Can’t wait to make it! What about using a crockpot?
Tiffany I don’t recommend a crockpot for this recipe, they won’t brown properly that way. They really should be done in the oven for best results.
Tori, This was so good. I didn’t have any paprika so didn’t add it. I loved saving calories by baking them. I also didn’t have the makings for your sauce so I used ranch dressing because it was in the house. I had it with celery sticks. I hope they freeze will because I divided them into containers and froze them to take for quick lunches to work. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed them Donna! 🙂
Do you think this could be done with breasts and thighs as a regular dinner meal?
Hi Tammy– yes, though I would recommend thighs and legs rather than breasts, as the breasts tend to get dry when roasting this way. Increase the cooking temp to 425 and cook for at least 45 minutes; check for doneness. Enjoy!
They look delicious.
Cant wait to make this on super bowl day!
Even tziki would be good with this.
These sound great Tori! I wonder about subbing sumac for the paprika?
Oh my gosh I thought I was the only one that did this.
You can do this with chicken legs, too. Just increase the cooking time (and substantially decrease the fat). My son will devour a dozen wings before I’ve unfolded my napkin. Then I get the Jewish Mother’s Guilt!
Oh my god
Yummy!
Looks really yummy
Will try
Very nice!!!