Atlanta Lemon Pepper Wet Wings
Crisp fried wings tossed in melted butter with a little hot sauce, lemon and honey, then showered with a homemade lemon pepper seasoning: Atlanta's favorite way to order wings.
Wikipedia says lemon pepper wings were invented in Atlanta, where people started adding lemon pepper to Buffalo wings to tame the heat, and that the style became popular in the mid-2000s. Tasting Table found no restaurant claiming to have created them and credits the strip club Magic City, known for its kitchen and its place in Atlanta's music scene, with helping spread them in the 1990s (May 9, 2024:). "Wet" means wings coated in a sauce, butter or Buffalo sauce, before or after the lemon pepper (America's Test Kitchen's headnote, below). Crickets. The dish was not on the menu then; customers had been ordering the restaurant's "Fester" wings that way, and J.R. Crickets, which opened its first location in 1982, made "lemon pepper wet" an official menu item in 2017 (Chowhound, April 25, 2026: Wikipedia). Wikipedia says the scene was actually inspired by the version at another Atlanta spot, American Deli, so who invented "wet" is DISPUTED.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Crisp fried wings tossed in melted butter with a little hot sauce, lemon and honey, then showered with a homemade lemon pepper seasoning: Atlanta's favorite way to order wings.
🇺🇸 The original
The Buffalo original is plain: wings fried without any breading, tossed in a hot sauce and melted butter, served with celery and blue cheese dressing. See the Buffalo Wings (Anchor Bar Style) recipe.
🗳️ Buffalo or lemon pepper wet? Vote: Buffalo vs Lemon pepper wet →
📖 Origin story: Who Really Invented Buffalo Wings? The Anchor Bar vs John Young → 📖 Origin story: What Is Mumbo Sauce? D.C.'s Carryout Sauce, Born in Chicago →
Why it works the kitchen science
Dried zest
Fresh zest is wet and clumps; drying it in the microwave lets it mix evenly with the pepper like a store-bought blend, and the optional citric acid adds the sharp tartness those blends have (ATK).
A light starch coat
Cornstarch with a little flour and baking powder fries into a thin, crisp shell that stays crunchy under a buttery sauce (ATK).
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the seasoning: spread the zest on a plate and microwave about 2 minutes, stirring halfway, until dry and crumbly (or bake it on parchment at 200°F for 25 minutes). Mix it with the rest of the seasoning ingredients.
- Step 2
Heat the oven to 200°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels. Whisk the cornstarch, flour and baking powder together.
- Step 3
Toss the wings with the lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl, add the cornstarch mixture and rub it in until every piece is fully coated. Let them sit while the oil heats.
- Step 4
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 375°F. Fry half the wings about 10 minutes, until golden and crisp and the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- Step 5
Lift the wings onto the lined sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Bring the oil back to 375°F and fry the rest.
- Step 6
Whisk the melted butter, hot sauce, lemon juice, mayonnaise and honey in a second large bowl until smooth.
- Step 7
Add the wings and 2 tbsp of the seasoning to the sauce, toss until coated, and serve with more seasoning sprinkled on top.
Atlanta Lemon Pepper Wet Wings
Serves 4 (as a main; 6 to 8 as a snack) · about 24 wing pieces, about 3/4 cup sauce and about 1/3 cup seasoning · 1 hr 15 min total
Lemon pepper seasoning
- 3 tbsp grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
- 1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp citric acid (optional)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Wings and coating
- 3 lb chicken wings (about 12 whole wings), cut at the joints, tips discarded
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
Wet sauce
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper sauce (Frank's RedHot style)
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp honey
Method
- Make the seasoning: spread the zest on a plate and microwave about 2 minutes, stirring halfway, until dry and crumbly (or bake it on parchment at 200°F for 25 minutes). Mix it with the rest of the seasoning ingredients.
- Heat the oven to 200°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels. Whisk the cornstarch, flour and baking powder together.
- Toss the wings with the lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl, add the cornstarch mixture and rub it in until every piece is fully coated. Let them sit while the oil heats.
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 375°F. Fry half the wings about 10 minutes, until golden and crisp and the thickest drumette reads 165°F.
- Lift the wings onto the lined sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Bring the oil back to 375°F and fry the rest.
- Whisk the melted butter, hot sauce, lemon juice, mayonnaise and honey in a second large bowl until smooth.
- Add the wings and 2 tbsp of the seasoning to the sauce, toss until coated, and serve with more seasoning sprinkled on top.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Lemon Pepper Wings" by Matthew Fairman (February 21, 2022), as written (ATK says 4 to 6; we call it 4). ATK's sauce of butter, hot sauce, lemon, mayonnaise and honey makes these "wet". The 165°F check is from USDA FSIS. For a baked version, see the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's crispy baked lemon pepper wet wings (September 25, 2026:). America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- ATK used Ball brand citric acid, sold in the canning aisle. The seasoning keeps up to 1 month in an airtight jar.
- Want them dry? Skip the sauce and toss the hot wings with a little melted butter and a heavy shake of the seasoning.
- ATK suggests serving with blue cheese dressing.
- Store-bought lemon pepper works in a pinch; taste it first, since many blends are very salty.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Lemon pepper wings were invented in Atlanta. Disputed: Wikipedia says so; Tasting Table says no Atlanta restaurant has claimed to be first.
- J.R. Crickets invented lemon pepper wet. Disputed: its "Fester" wings were being ordered as lemon pepper wet before the show (Chowhound; Wikipedia), but Wikipedia says the TV scene was inspired by American Deli's version.
- "Wet" means butter. Disputed: ATK says clarified butter or Buffalo sauce; Tasting Table describes Buffalo sauce mixed with lemon pepper; this recipe does a little of both.
- They took off because they don't stain white T-shirts. Folklore: Wikipedia repeats the explanation, but nobody has shown it is why.
- Magic City made them famous. Folklore: widely credited (Tasting Table), never measured.
- J.R. Crickets opened in 1982. Disputed: Chowhound says 1982; other food sites in our searches say 1981.
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