I would like to make my own crispy chicken wings. There have been threads about them in the past, but most are hot, or have spicy sauces.
Is there a way to bake crispy wings, or do they have to be deep fried? I like crunchy crust too, with tender meat inside. What about marinating, is it needed to get a certain type of meat texture or flavor.
Any recommendations are welcome.
You can definitely make wings at home in the oven and avoid deep frying. While I think deep frying will produce a better final result you can get most of the way there by baking.
Here is one recipe for oven baked wings (lots of others out there). You can also choose any sauce you prefer. BBQ, ranch, Buffalo…anything you like.
Do you own an air fryer? I’ve found chicken wings to be significantly easier (from a texture, time and ease of cleaning up perspective) in an air fryer vs an oven.
A convection oven is a good stand-in for an air-fryer if you do not have an air-fryer (and assuming you have a convection oven). They will produce somewhat different results but not too different.
Here’s the secret I’ve found to crispy oven wings: baking powder. Toss the wings in baking powder and salt and let them sit in the fridge for 8-12 hours. Below’s a video from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt with the technique:
Extra Crispy Baked Wings | Kenji’s Cooking Show (youtube.com)
I absolutely concur with the air fryer suggestion for prepared frozen wings, but I can’t say how well they would do with fresh-made ones.
But frozen wings are so fast and easy in an air fryer with such great results that this alone made my air fryer purchase worthwhile. And not all prepared frozen wings are necessarily spicy. I like 'em spicy (Buffalo is my fave) but my son does not, so I keep a batch of “rotisserie style” frozen wings on hand. They taste just like wings off a rotisserie chicken – crispy and flavourful, but not at all hot.
A toaster oven works if you want a small batch. I used to do it this way:
4 chicken wings, arranged in a pinwheel shape, with the pointed ends overlapping a bit - helps keep 'em from burning.
Season with whatever you like - a seasoned salt mix works well. Go easy.
Thinly slice butter and lay each pat on the wings, especially the thick “drumette” meat.
Bake at 350-375 until golden brown … I wanna say 15 minutes or so? (Sorry, I haven’t had a toaster oven in a few years.) They don’t come out crunchy the way breaded-and-fried wings are, but the skin gets crispy the same way a whole roast chicken does.
For breading items that will be oven-baked, I have had good results using smashed up tortilla chips for the breading - they’re basically pre-seasoned in a choice of different flavours.
Yes baking powder is key.
But I’ve also discovered potato flour which I prefer slightly more.
Can you recommend a brand of frozen wings? I have tried a few and they are all very lacking. Especially in the quality of the chicken which seems overly fatty.
I keep hoping for a good one but have not found them yet. If you have found a good frozen wing I’d like to try it.
And if you don’t have a convection oven but have a gas oven you can use the natural draft of the gas to help get you there if you place the wings in its path.
But convection oven or trying to use a gas oven, one of the best ways to help those wings along is to get a wire mesh basket (with drop tray) instead of just a tray. It really helps the wings turn out crispy all around.
I mentioned the President’s Choice brand of wings in the post below. PC products are a premium store brand exclusive to the Loblaws chain in Canada and affiliated stores. I don’t think I’ve tried any other brand of frozen wings in recent memory, but these are definitely far better than fresh store-made ones. I believe that PC products are available in some select US markets but they’re mainly one of those brands that don’t travel across the border much, like many US brands that aren’t generally available in Canada and, in this case, vice versa.
I’ve done both. Cooking fresh is actually exactly the same. Frozen wings are generally precooked, so the time to defrost and heat to hot and crispy vs heating from raw to cooked and crispy at the same temperature turns out to be more or less the same time. Flip them and check them often, of course. Your device may differ from mine.
Thanks for all the responses so fat. Alas, I do not have an air fryer, toaster oven, or convection oven, just a regular oven.But I will study the all the methods suggested.
Never heard of using baking powder, that sounds interesting. I think I have heard of using cornstarch in regular flour though.
I do have a small fryer, but want to try oven styles first.
Tomorrow morning it’s supposed to be not as bitter cold, and I’ll go out to the store for wings. I have to go anyway to pick up a prescription. I will let folks know how things come out,
I really, really wish any techniques worked anywhere near as well as deep frying but they don’t. Other wings can be great but fried are king.
I’ve never heard of that and definitely never considered combining corn & wings.
I agree. My problem is what to do with the oil once I am done?
I live in a hi-rise so I cannot just put it in the garbage and certainly not down the sink (although down the sink is bad anywhere). I have some magic powder which will turn oil into a rubber/plastic. It’s actually pretty cool and works well and I can then throw out the slab of plastic I just made. Neat as it is though, it seems wasteful.
I know I can re-use the oil but I just really won’t manage to use it before it gets old (I’d use some).
The fryer I mentioned I have is not large, but kind of medium; it’s a Fry Daddy.
The oil disposal, the mess from cooking, and the limitations of home equipment have all led me to the conclusion that deep frying is best left to professional settings.
For me it’s all about the danger. Two things I refuse to own or use are chain saws and deep fryers.
I never had a close call with either or personally know anyone who has. But they just seem like waaaaaaaaaay out on the unhappy limb of the benefit vs. safety balance.