We make these Winger’s Sticky Fingers and Freakin’ Amazing Sauce in less time than it would to take get takeout from Winger’s! Only TWO ingredients in the sauce!
Winger’s Sticky Fingers and Freakin’ Amazing Sauce
We are huge fans of Winger’s Sticky Fingers and Freakin’ Amazing Sauce. We used to go buy the bottles of sauce all the time, but now there is no need. I will never have to go buy the sauce again. No kidding. I can’t tell a difference between the real deal and these. This has got to be the exact recipe they use in the restaurant. We can whip these Winger’s sticky fingers up in less time than it would take to go to Winger’s and order them. They are SO easy to make!
Every single time I make these, they get devoured in no time flat. They are always the first thing to go if we have a tailgate spread and people always beg me for the recipe. My kids absolutely LOVE them! They request them for dinner all the time.
Freakin’ Amazing Sauce
Now back to the Freakin’ Amazing Sauce. It is very appropriately named. We use this stuff on everything. It is awesome over grilled chicken, burgers, and kabobs. Pretty much it tastes great on anything that you can grill. We love dipping it in our Homemade Ranch Dressing or making a sticky fingers salad with sticky fingers on top. Another of our favorites is dipping popcorn in this homemade Freakin’ Amazing Sauce. For us, it’s like being in the restaurant because whenever we go to Winger’s and they give us popcorn we always ask for a side of the sauce just to dip popcorn in as we are waiting. Anybody else do that? Yeah, I’d say that we are a little obsessed.
Tips to try
Please make sure you use Frank’s Hot Sauce brand when you make it. Nothing else will taste as good or as close to the original. Also, make sure that you let the sauce cool to room temperature before you pour it on the chicken otherwise it won’t stick as well. See our instructional video below and get the recipe below that!
One reader suggested adding 1 tsp. garlic powder to the sauce mixture. Another reader recommended a little less sugar and cooking longer to reduce the liquid. Let us know if you try it and how it works out for you!
More Copycat Recipes from WINGERS Roadhouse Grill
- Wingers Wings with Freakin’ Amazing Sauce – If you prefer wings to sticky fingers, you’ll want to check out this recipe.
- Mile High Asphalt Pie – Chocolate mint ice cream drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with cookies. It’s our favorite dessert at Wingers!
How to make Winger’s Sticky Fingers and Freakin’ Amazing Sauce
Ingredients
STICKY FINGERS:
- 25 ounces Tyson Frozen Crispy Chicken Strips
- oil for deep frying (optional)
SAUCE:
- 1/3 cup Franks Hot Sauce It has to be Franks Hot Sauce... no other sauce will taste as good
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
FOR THE STICKY FINGERS:
- Prepare chicken strips according to package directions. You can either bake or fry. We prefer the fryer method as it tastes more like how Winger's prepares them.
FOR THE SAUCE:
- Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a saucepot until all the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp before adding to wings OR prepare ahead of time and refrigerate.
- The wings turn out best if you don't pour warm sauce over them. You want it nice and thick.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown.
- Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add sauce mixture and stir together.
Kara says
January 26, 2009 at 2:14 amOh my goodness, we love their wings!! I can’t wait to try these, thanks so much for posting!
Pam Peggs says
September 16, 2016 at 3:29 pmAm I the only one who does not see the recipe?!?
Erica says
September 19, 2016 at 2:41 pmAhh, you are right.. for some reason this is missing :/ I will get right on it!
Nycole Crossette says
September 29, 2016 at 7:49 pmIs the recipe up yet? Cause I can’t see it either.
Emily says
September 30, 2016 at 10:13 amIt really should be fixed now! Thanks for your patience. You may have to refresh the page to get it to pull up.
Debbie says
September 30, 2016 at 8:04 amI don’t see the recipe either!
Emily says
September 30, 2016 at 10:13 amIt really should be fixed now! Thanks for your patience. You may have to refresh the page to get it to pull up.
Aoijoku says
April 17, 2019 at 3:44 pmUsed to work at Winger’s in the late 90s. Pretty much got it. Don’t remember putting water in it. Less sugar, and would simmer for 30 to 45 min to reduce.
Erica says
April 17, 2019 at 5:40 pmThanks for sharing! We are always looking to see how we can get it as close as we can to the original. This is a great help!
Sarah says
January 26, 2009 at 7:49 amI am so freeking out right now! My husband and i live in a place where there is NO Winger’s! I do think that should be against the law. We look forward to our once a year trip to see our parents in another state just to go and enjoy the wings! I’m so so happy about this I’m going to surprise my husband and make them tomorrow. You might have just made me woman of the year at my house. Thanks your great!
Anna Maria says
January 27, 2009 at 5:03 pmI have never heard of or been to Winger’s but I made this sauce and put it on Chicken fingers for my boyfriend last night and he (who is probably the pickyest person ever) loved it!
Love your site and all the recipes!
Lindsay says
January 27, 2009 at 8:05 pmI want to make these for the Super Bowl but I am curious where do you get the Franks Hot Sauce?? Thanks, cant wait to try them.
Annabell says
March 20, 2014 at 5:54 pmyou can get frank’s hot sauce at any grocery store
Cherrielane says
July 11, 2016 at 10:29 pmNot in Hawai’i. We have to order it from Amazon. Worth the wait though.
Erica says
January 27, 2009 at 8:10 pmFranks hot sauce is near the BBQ sauce in pretty much any grocery store. I have found it at Smiths, WalMart, Albertsons.. etc..
We go through bottles of Franks at our house!
Sarah says
January 28, 2009 at 7:37 pmOkay I made them! So spot ON! I did have to search for franks a little at my store. I asked and there was a few places they kept different kinds of hot sauce so if you can’t find ask or go to another store because franks is where it’s at. BTW I LOVE YOU AND YOUR BLOG!
Erica says
January 28, 2009 at 11:02 pmThanks Sarah! I am so glad you liked them.. and the blog.. and me! haha you are way too nice 🙂 So are you woman of the year at your house? I sure hope so! Making a meal that a husband loves through and through is not an easy task!
Travis says
February 24, 2015 at 7:48 pmYour missing an ingredient… 1 tps garlic powder.
Erica says
February 25, 2015 at 4:21 pmGood to know— thank you! Haven’t tried it with garlic powder but I am sure it tastes great
Suzette says
January 29, 2009 at 2:43 pmThere are 2 kinds of Franks- Buffalo and Original. Which one do you use?
Erica says
January 29, 2009 at 7:00 pmI just used original. I’m sure either will work. I have tried both and I can’t really tell a big difference.
Tiara says
August 16, 2016 at 12:09 pmCan you tell me if you use light or dark brown sugar?
Erica says
August 17, 2016 at 9:22 pmWe use light. Hope this helps!
sam and brittney says
February 2, 2009 at 4:09 amI was soo excited when I saw the recipe for Sticky Fingers!!! I moved away from Utah a few months ago and have craved their Sticky Fingers salad since. I made your recipe and it tastes just like Wingers!!! Thanks!!
Suzette says
February 2, 2009 at 10:47 pmI can’t seem to find the right kind of chicken. What brand and what kind of chicken do you use?
Erica says
February 2, 2009 at 10:54 pmProbably the best are the Tyson brand breaded chicken breasts. They are in the frozen food isle by the chicken nuggets.
Schows says
February 24, 2009 at 3:40 amI just made these tonight and they were fab!! My husband was sceptical that they would taste just like wingers but they did!! Thank you! I love your Blog!
heddomarie says
March 7, 2009 at 3:43 amYum! We had this tonight and your right.. it’s smack on!
Allison says
March 7, 2009 at 2:01 pmErica! I can’t wait to try these. Shad and I try to eat at Winger’s at least twice whenever we come home. And then we take a couple of bottle back to our home to keep us through until next time. Thanks for sharing!
Erickson Family says
March 12, 2009 at 5:23 amOnly the BEST chicken fingers EVER!!! I also made then with popcorn chicken for an appetizer & they were a HUGE hit!! This is my favorite blog to visit!!!
Michael Wood says
April 5, 2009 at 5:05 pmThis recipe rocks. We just had Winger’s takeout last night, but the cost was a little more than we like. Just made this sauce today to compare and you can’t tell the difference. THANKS!
Anonymous says
June 10, 2009 at 7:34 pmI've actually worked at Winger's and you guys are pretty close! But yes, I bet that tastes almost exactly like it! It's cool to see how many fans of the Wing-Ding there are!
PAUL + ALICIA says
June 29, 2009 at 5:52 pmI love this! My husband LOVES these and its such a good quick and easy meal and he still is way excited!
Em says
July 24, 2009 at 8:23 pmYou have just made my day!!! We now live in a state where there is no Wingers and well, like one of the girls said earlier in your blog, she may have a race for woman of the year. My husband loves this sauce. And I can't wait to make these tonight. Thank you so much!!
Aubrey's Spot says
September 15, 2009 at 5:51 amThank you so much for posting this…we have looked for a recipe for this for years, but always just paid for the bottles from Winger's. This is perfect and so easy to make! My husband even surprised me one day by making it himself 🙂 We love it on our salads with breaded chicken and ranch. Thank you, thank you!
Anonymous says
November 2, 2009 at 5:13 pmHave you ever tried to duplicate the wings? I wonder if they are batter dipped, or just fried, or maybe a store bought variety could be slathered in this amazing sauce…… any ideas?
Erica says
November 2, 2009 at 7:30 pmI know that my brother just buys the store-bought bag of frozen wings at the store, fries them, then puts the sauce on em. I haven't tried using any rubs on fresh wings for this. If you do it, let me know how it turns out!
Drew says
December 8, 2009 at 2:14 amI tried making the wings with this sauce. I used the store bought wings, let them defrost, pat dry, then fried them in a pan with vegetable oil. I cooked them for about 18 minutes but could never get them crispy, so I put the sauce on and baked them for about 10 minutes but that only made them a little dry, and still not crispy. I talked to a girl at Wingers and she said they put a batter on them, but if they do it has to be very thin because they don't seem like they are battered. I will try it again with using a little flour and baking soda rub on them, a very thin one and see how that goes. Any suggestions would be great. I will say this recipe is great, I made this one night then went to Wingers a few days later I can say they taste exactly the same, our family eats at wingers at least once a month and I cant tell a difference in this sauce and the restaurants. I just need to get the wings down, and I'll save myself some money.
Robert Dean says
March 16, 2019 at 5:44 amHere ya go Drew. When prepping the wings, thaw completely, rinse and SHAKE dry. Do NOT Pat dry. While they are thawing, mix 2 cups AP Flour, 1tsp each Garlic Powder, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper and 2 TBSP Corn Starch in a gallon-size resealable Ziploc bag. Using 4-5 wings at a time, put them in and shake well to make sue they are evenly coated. Remove and place the wings intro a parchment/was paper covered trayand refrigerate for 60-90 minutes. When ready, deep fry at 340*F for about 11 minutes. Seriously, this Will give you the BEST restaurant-quality wings EVER with a perfect crunchiness. Tip… After removing wing from oil, let them sit for a minute or two so the oil soaks backinto the wings before rousing in sauce. The sauce Will struck better without oily aftertaste.
Ammon says
January 24, 2010 at 3:22 amTry adding 1 tsp of salt into the sauce, and it will go from 97% to 100% tasting like Wingers. Also another tip is to bring the sauce to a rolling boil, and add the chicken right into it, it will coat perfectly. Remove and place directly on serving plate or platter.
Shandra says
February 2, 2010 at 8:10 pmAdd vinegar instead of water and it will be even better! Delicious 🙂 Great blog!!
Drew says
February 2, 2010 at 11:21 pmSo I have tried using a flour/cornstarch rub and a flour/baking powder, and a flour/baking soda rub and none of them work very well. The one with baking soda was the best but each time I still cannot get them very crispy, it turns our more like the KFC breading. If someone could give some light on how to make crispy wings that would great, the sauce recipe on here is just fine so I dont need any tips on that, in fact I have tried the Wingers sauce and this recipe and cant even really tell a difference between the two. So my continued quest is to make crispy wings, because once I have that I know how to do the rest. I have searched lal over the internet and most people just say to cook them long enough but when I do they either get too dry, or too burnt. I'm getting frustrated here, so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks all!
kathy says
July 30, 2014 at 7:10 pmI’m pretty sure the frozen wings are the problem, especially if they are the big bags of flash frozen wings with a “glaze” on them. If you get fresh ones from the meat dept. you should be fine with what ever you do (you can even freeze them) but the big bags of wings have never really dried out enough for me to get them crispy, no matter how many times I’ve dabbed with paper towels, etc…
You are probably already doing this, but just in case…make sure your oil is good and hot!
Prina Family says
February 7, 2010 at 4:47 amDrew,
try dipping the wings in 1/4 C. Corn starch, 1 egg (lightly beaten) and between 1/4 and 1/2 C. water. The batter will be a little lumpy, dont over mix it. Fry in a little oil until heated and crispy! This batter is light and works perfect for wings:) Add the sauce and dip them in ranch and you dont need to pay $10 for wingers anymore!
Gourmified says
May 11, 2010 at 2:00 amJust made these for dinner tonight! AMAZING! I can't get enough of your blog! You're awesome! I posted the recipe with link to your blog on my food blog.
gourmified.blogspot.com
Laura-IH says
June 24, 2010 at 2:54 pmYum! We don't have Wingers where I live, but these sounded so good I had to try them. Awesome recipe! Awesome blog! Thanks!
Club Ferguson says
February 1, 2011 at 1:19 amThis is the closest recipe that I have found!! I have made another recipe that I found on the internet for Winger's sauce many times before. It had a bunch of ingredients and was good but this recipe is FAST and FABULOUS. I craved sticky fingers my whole pregnancy and still can't seem to get enough of them. I do make them a little healthier by using chicken tenders coated in crushed ritz crackers. I bake them until they are golden brown and then slather this sauce all over and bake until the sauce thickens a bit on the chicken. YUMMY! I 7x the recipe so I could use a whole bottle at once. (I was cooking for 2 large families.) So I used one whole bottle of Franks sauce, 5 cups of brown sugar (don't think about it.) and then 10 TBS of water. There was ample to cover a large cookie sheet of chicken tenders plus have a bunch for dipping and enough to refill the empty Franks bottle for the next time.
THANKS FOR A GREAT RECIPE!!
Tyra says
February 1, 2011 at 3:08 pmI'm featuring this recipe on Saturday at ucreatefoods.blogspot.com.
Thanks for the recipe!
Kira says
February 5, 2011 at 4:20 pmYou can also bake these in the oven at whatever the bag says to bake them and then dump the sauce over them. Another way is to add half the sauce to them before you bake them and then the rest after… Then you dont have to fry and it taste amazing!
Noelani says
February 20, 2011 at 6:33 amI made this for my daughter's birthday and now it's the favorite family birthday request. Thanks!
Kristen says
February 21, 2011 at 4:51 amFantastic! It was just right
The NEW Mommiez Blend says
September 11, 2011 at 9:51 pmI'm not all that familiar with Winger's sauce, but wanted a sweet and spicy wing sauce. This is AWESOME. I make my own boneless wings and this is now always in the sauce line up. 🙂 Thanks!
Chelle
Unknown says
September 22, 2011 at 11:34 pmSince I haven't worked all year (injury), I can't afford Wingers, this is the best recipe EVER!!!!!! We make it all the time and laugh when we drive by Wingers…thanks so much!
mommamia says
February 8, 2012 at 1:52 amI have tried this sauce twice, we LOVE the flavor, but it ended up being grainy both times. What am I doing wrong?
Erica says
February 8, 2012 at 2:27 am@Mommamia— I have no idea. It is definitely supposed to be smooth. You need to cook it long enough for the sugar to dissolve, not necessarily bring it to a boil. I don't know what to tell you! Hopefully it will turn out better next time!
Erica
Sarah says
March 6, 2012 at 5:30 pmMy husband thinks I am the greatest wife in the whole world for recreating his FAVORITE (mine too) meals at home. Thank you so much for taking the time to figure these recipes out for us newlyweds who want to feed our husbands good food on a tight budget!
Aaron says
May 11, 2012 at 7:07 pmSo, we made this once and it turned out perfectly. Then, on the second time, our sauce turned grainy and ended up like sludge. Happened again just now on our third attempt and we are frustrated since we didn’t do anything different (we think). We don’t remember boiling it the first time and we did on the our failed attempts. I thought it might be that, until I read that someone brings it to a rolling boil. Any suggestions?
Erica says
May 14, 2012 at 9:05 amWe usually bring it to a simmer– stirring often. We usually don’t let it boil for a long time, just until the sugar is all dissolved. Then stir often as it is cooling.
Jessica says
October 5, 2012 at 4:44 pmdon’t know if this is the problem or not but try not scraping the sides of the pan when you cook it and also, oddly enough, don’t make it on a really rainy or humid day. Whenever we make candy (toffee, caramel corn, peanut brittle, etc) it turns out really grainy and sugary if you scrape the sides of the pan when stirring or if you have a lot of moisture in the air. I know it’s not technically candy but with that much brown sugar I’d say it’s a fair comparison! 🙂
Lith says
September 4, 2012 at 1:38 pmThanks for the recipe! My husband and the guests loved it! I cooled the sauce down before I put the chicken and it was perfect.
Matt says
May 31, 2013 at 9:37 amI saw they have the Tom’s hot sauce and Tom’s buffalo wing sauce. I just want to make sure I’m getting the right stuff. Is it the hot sauce or buffalo wing sauce? I think I saw 2 or 3 varieties last time. I love winders sticky fingers, so good.
Emily says
May 31, 2013 at 2:02 pmIt’s Franks hot sauce (the regular kind, not buffalo)
Michele says
February 3, 2014 at 2:36 pmI came across this recipe the other day. I’ve never heard of Wingers before but I liked how easy the recipe was and was trying to put a menu together for the Super Bowl. Well, we loved them! They went over very well with 2 adults & 4 teens. I don’t like spicy food but these had the right balance of sweet & spicy.
Thank you
tash says
June 19, 2014 at 2:33 pmThese look amazing! I live in New Zealand so we dont get these here. Is there a substitute for hot sauce? I dont think its sold here!
Erica says
June 20, 2014 at 11:55 amFranks definitely tastes the best, if you are unable to use that, you could maybe get away with using a different brand… if there aren’t any other brands of hot sauce available I don’t know what to have you try! :S Do you have any kinds of pepper sauce there?
Anne says
June 22, 2014 at 5:47 pmJust made these, never been to Wingers because I’m on the East Coast, but I found the recipe on Pinterest and it looked good. There wasn’t a single piece of chicken left…so good!
Erica says
June 22, 2014 at 8:43 pmSo glad you liked them! They are one of our VERY favorites! We never have leftovers either!
terry says
January 18, 2015 at 10:14 pmHi Just curious, what is the dipping sauce in the photo (and we dont have wingers here, but i have heard of them) Thank you!
Emily says
January 20, 2015 at 11:19 amThe dipping sauce is usually ranch dressing or blue dressing.
Molly says
February 1, 2015 at 3:05 pmThis looks amazing!! Does the sauce store very well?
Erica says
February 2, 2015 at 11:30 amYes, it does! It stores great! 🙂
Mari says
April 20, 2015 at 1:25 pmYou had me at Frank’s 😀
Echo says
April 20, 2015 at 7:57 pmHaha! I love it! I am also a fan. 🙂
Melissa says
September 23, 2015 at 5:53 pmWhat size bag (how many ounces) of chicken tenders do you use? I have a bag from Costco so I want to be sure I make the right amount of sauce for the right amount of chicken. Can’t wait to try this!
Erica says
September 23, 2015 at 8:51 pmJust like the 2Lb. bags you can get at regular grocery stores… the Costco ones would definitely be too big. Think like 12-15 chicken tenders…
Kelly says
January 10, 2016 at 4:14 pmThe closest thing to Tyson breaded chicken tenders at my store were Tyson dinosaur-shaped breaded “fun nuggets.” Does anyone know if these are the same thing with the exception of the dinosaur shape? If used, will they taste the same?
Erica says
January 13, 2016 at 9:47 pmDefinitely not the same thing. You want to get the breaded chicken strips if possible.
Linda Abernathy says
April 8, 2016 at 11:10 amI used Frank’s Buffalo and it was amazing, I made (1.5x ) the sauce and used extra chicken. I also used boneless skinless chicken breasts and the cut them in half and beat them with a rolling pin to about ½” thick. So tender inside and so crunchy outside they were terrific. This is my new fav and I will making this again and again and again………………………..
Bryn says
October 12, 2016 at 7:27 pmThe picture I see is for the chicken fingers…but the recipe is for wings???
Tracy says
December 24, 2016 at 11:07 pmHi, this looks amazing! So excited to try them. I would just like to know what sauce you used to dip them into at the end of the video?
Echo says
December 26, 2016 at 1:11 pmHi Tracy, Thanks for asking! We dip our Winger’s Sticky Fingers in our homemade ranch dressing. It is delicious! You can find the recipe here:
/buttermilk-ranch-dressing-recipe/
Teri says
July 22, 2017 at 11:20 pmYou have the recipe for the amazing sauce exactly right. I worked at Wingers for 19 years and was one of the original crew. We used to make all the sauce “in house” for the first few years. We had to sign a contract saying we wouldn’t give out the recipe. We used to make it a little sweeter by adding more brown sugar. The wings are actually coated with cornstarch, not flour, mixed with sauce before deep frying then tossed in more sauce afterward.
Favorite Family Recipes says
July 24, 2017 at 9:37 amThanks so much for the comment! Very good to know about the cornstarch, we will have to try that next time! 😀