Best Oven-Fried Chicken Wings

This oven-fried version of chicken wings definitely files under hearty comfort food, and will satisfy any craving for crunchy chicken. Serve with greens for contrast in flavour and texture: the sweet, juicy vegetables and crispy, craggy chicken.

I don’t ever fry anything. Note webcomic.

Fried things are VERY appetizing, and I will not try to say that “baked is just as good as fried”, because let’s not kid ourselves.

However, oil is just too much of a hassle to deal with for me – what do I do with the rest of it? what if I don’t want to smell like oil all day? what if I don’t want to deal with splattering oil? In order to avoid trouble, I bake my doughnuts, shrimp and fries. These chicken wings are also baked, but they have a magic ingredient to give them their fried texture: baking powder (NOT baking soda!). I’m serious, it works. Don’t worry about the chicken having a soapy taste; the baking soda will only dry out the wings and react with the natural oil in chicken skin.

When I took these out of the oven, it smelled like fried chicken: of poultry, and heat, and that distinct smell you’d get from a plate of popcorn chicken or a fried fast food chicken leg. These wings are also awfully crispy – when you run your fork across the surface of a wing, it sounds crackly, dry and crunchy.

In terms of the spices: you can honestly use whatever you want. You could put rosemary instead, or parsley, or even leave out the cayenne if you don’t like a kick to your food. However, I recommend using dry spices since they stick to the chicken better and have a stronger flavour.

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN WINGS

Source: The baking soda idea is from Chef John (my hero!). All else is from experiments 

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds chicken wings
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt & Pepper (I use 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon pepper)

RECIPE

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking pan with foil and fitted with a wire rack. (Note: this recipe can work if you don’t have a wire rack, but it will not be as crispy.)
   
2. Mix all spices and baking powder in a small bowl.
   
3. Put the chicken in a large bowl. Toss chicken with all the dry spices and baking powder to coat.
   
4. Place chicken on wire rack, skin side up. Try to make them not touch other, or it will steam instead of “fry”.
   
5. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip all the wings to their other side.
   
6. Bake for another 20 minutes, and flip the wings again. They should be skin side up again.
   
7. Bake for a final 15 minutes.
   

Enjoy,

Moe