Wood Fired Buffalo Chicken Wings

These Buffalo chicken wings are a classic appetizer cooked in your wood-fired pizza oven, delicious tossed in hot sauce, and served with a blue cheese dip.

By using a cast iron pan, these cook beautifully and save on any messy cleanup.

These are one of the top dishes to make in a pizza oven besides pizza, for some other ideas check out my 25 foods to make in a pizza oven, or for smaller snacks, check out my appetizers to cook in a pizza oven.

Ingredients

Chicken Wings

Buy some good quality chicken wings with plenty of meat on them. I kept these wings whole but you can also have them split into two pieces – the drumettes and flats (the mini drumstick and the other piece with 2 bones in).

If you want to cook larger pieces, such as chicken drumsticks then you can do that too, just increase the cooking time and keep turning them.

Sauce

The classic sauce for Buffalo wings is made with a vinegary hot sauce and melted butter. I think it’s too good to mess around with so I like to keep it just like that.

The sauce should be prepared first, then once the wings are cooked, you toss them in the sauce. This keeps the heat and flavor of the sauce that gets lost if cooked.

Some recipes will have you marinate the wings in the sauce and then cook together. This browns and concentrates the sauce too much and will even burn if it has sugar or honey in it. So I think it’s best to add the sauce after the wings are cooked.

Oil And Seasonings

Before the wings are cooked I coated them in olive oil, pepper, and salt. You can use some of your favorite chicken seasonings or rub if you want to, but pepper and salt work just fine.

I like to oil the meat rather than put oil in the cast iron pan as this means you use just the right amount of oil with no excess that ends up smoking in the heat of the oven.

Tools

Wood Fired Oven

To cook the wings you can use a traditional brick dome oven or a portable pizza oven such as the Ooni or Gozney Roccbox oven.

I used the Ooni Karu 12 for this recipe and used a mixture of charcoal briquettes and wood for fuel. The briquettes form the base when lighting and then wood blocks keep it firing hot.

The wood makes a little more smoke when heating up but when it’s burning super hot, much less smoke is released as the wood burns efficiently. The wood can add a little more flavor but it’s not considerable if you want to use charcoal.

Get the oven to medium-high heat by firing it until it reaches about 600°F (315°C) on the stone, and then ensure fresh wood is burning to continue the hot temperature. You can use an infrared thermometer to check the oven floor or stone.

Cast Iron Pan

Cooking the chicken wings in a cast iron pan is a great way as it has a high rim and can be pre-heated to hold heat. You could also use a foil pan as a backup.

You can buy cast iron pans from Amazon as I used (they fit fine), or Ooni has a selection of specific cast iron pans. The Ooni pans are a little more expensive but are quality cookware.

Preheating the cast iron pan for 10-15 minutes is crucial to get that sear on the meat.

Be extremely careful with burns – it’s easy to forget and reach for the red-hot panhandle by mistake so keep a heatproof glove near the handle.

How To Cook The Wood Fired Chicken Wings

Step 1

Fire up your oven and preheat it medium-high to around 600°F (315°C). For larger dome ovens this can take an hour or two but for a portable pizza oven like this Ooni, this takes about 20 minutes depending on the weather.

Step 2

Heat the cast iron pan in the pizza oven for about 10-15 minutes with the door closed. This means the chicken will sear and crisp up when added. It’s extremely hot so use heatproof gloves and plenty of caution.

Step 3

Make your sauce by melting the butter in a microwaveable container. Mix this with the hot sauce and whisk it well together while you wait for the oven to heat up.

Step 4

Season the chicken with a few pinches of salt and pepper, coat it with olive oil, and mix well.

Step 5

Start cooking the chicken by removing the pan and placing the wings in one layer. Return the pan to the oven and close the door. Every 3 minutes, remove the pan and flip the wings – they can burn quickly, especially the ones near the flame so make sure to mix the back to the front.

Keep mixing the wings every 3 minutes for a total of 20 minutes. If your oven is hot enough, they should be cooked. If your oven is a little cooler or hotter, adjust the overall cooking time.

They are cooked when they read 165°F (74°C) with a food thermometer at the thickest part or appear cooked near the bone with clear juices.

Step 6

Remove the wings to a large bowl and toss them in the sauce. Serve them in another bowl if things get a bit messy.

Recipe FAQs

Can you cook wings on a pizza stone?

It’s not recommended to cook wings on a pizza stone as they release a lot of juice and fat. This will be absorbed by the pizza stone and turn rancid over time and may catch on fire in the oven. It is better to cook in a cast iron or foil pan.

How long to cook chicken wings in a pizza oven?

How long it takes to cook wings in a pizza oven depends on the temperature of the oven and the size of the wings. As a rough guide for medium-sized wings:

• 800°F: about 10 minutes
• 600°F: about 20 minutes
• 500°F: about 30 minutes

Check the wings are cooked with a food thermometer by reading 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part.

What else can I cook in my pizza oven?

In a pizza oven, using a cast iron pan, you can cook steak, shrimp, fish, corn, peppers, and similar dishes cooked in a pan. Directly on the pizza stone, you can cook various kinds of bread like flatbread, pitta bread, or rustic loaves.

See more in my list of 25 foods you can cook in a pizza oven.