An ongoing project of mine: oven-baked chicken wings that taste they've been fried..

[Bklmt2000]

Something I've been working on for several months is, to try to make chicken wings in the oven, that taste like they've been fried. My goal was to develop another method to make fried-like wings in the oven on days when either it's not feasible to grill (raining, too cold, etc.), or deploying a deep-fryer indoors isn't feasible.

Serious Eats had an article a while back about using baking powder + salt to dry-brine the wings overnight in the fridge, resulting in a crispy skin.

I've found that air-drying the wings in the fridge, overnight on a stainless cooling rack in a rimmed baking sheet, minus the BP/salt, can provide nearly the same crispiness as the baking powder/salt method. This can work well for folks who love wings but are trying to watch their sodium intake.

I cook my wings for 1 hour @ 400°F (sometimes a little longer, depending on wing done-ness/crispiness). I also employ various spice rubs (pre-cook) and sauces (post-cook), depending on the flavor I'm after.

I figure with SB Sunday coming up, this might (I hope) be of some benefit for those who want to make some wings, but the oven is the only viable option.

Some pics of my work:

Cheers!

 

[jtratcliff]

nice!

 

[The_Bishop]

Alton Brown did a thing on this once. I believe he steamed the wings at first, to render the fat out of the skin so he could oven-cook them at higher temps to get the crispiness without the smoke/splatter/burning of the skin retaining all the fats.

Edit: Here - https://altonbrown.com/buffalo-wings/

 

[Temptd2]

I tried the baking powder thing and found the wings overly salty and with a weird taste.

I do usually ovenfry mine, starting with frozen party wings and an oven temp of 450* for about an hour - then I brush them with half melted butter, half Franks Chile & Lime hot sauce and roast til they're crispy.

NOW I want hot wings!

 

[Bklmt2000]

I've found that the baking powder method can work, but it has to be aluminum-free baking powder, else the wings end up tasting strange.

And even then, I prefer to use a good spice rub (I'm a fan of Penzey's, personally), rather than futz around using baking powder. I've had good success with hitting the wings with a rub before going into the fridge for an overnight rest, but if time is short, I've had just as much succes with applying a rub immediately before baking.

If the weather/life/etc. cooperate, my preferred method of cooking wings is on the grill. And for those times (if I think ahead), drying the wings out overnight in the fridge lends a wonderful crispiness when those wings are cooked on the grill.

I'm making some wings tomorrow, so the research will continue.

 

[Wyobrew22]

Air drying poultry is the best way to get that skin crispiness you are looking for without the fryer and is used on many items....not just wings. As an aside stay away from the big bag "party wings" .....they can turn out ok but are pumped full of a much higher percentage of solution to up their liquid weight content....good for initially being juicy but your enemy if you are trying to crispy bake them.

 

[Bklmt2000]

Air drying poultry is the best way to get that skin crispiness you are looking for without the fryer and is used on many items....not just wings. As an aside stay away from the big bag "party wings" .....they can turn out ok but are pumped full of a much higher percentage of solution to up their liquid weight content....good for initially being juicy but your enemy if you are trying to crispy bake them.

True dat. I use the same air-drying treatment on drumsticks, which also turn out nicely crispy, whether they go in the oven or onto the grill.

I always get the family pack of wings/legs, (usually 4.5-5lbs, and fresh, in a styrofoam tray in the meat case, not frozen), as I've heard bad things about the frozen "big-bags"/party-sized bags of wings/legs being overloaded with liquid/brine/etc., as you mentioned above.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

I have had great luck with rinsing and then drying the wings...rubbing them down with oil until they're coated but not saturated...then baking. After baking, I season them with whatever wet sauce I create...then throw back in the oven for a few minutes. They come out tasting just like fried...better sometimes IMO.

 

[brewcat]

What about broiling them?

 

[AJinJacksonville]

The one time I broiled chicken it did not go well. Dried it out too quickly and it was like that scene from Christmas Vacation. If I recall correctly, I threw them in at 350 and they turned out great!

 

[Wyobrew22]

You need to go slower than broil to let the fat tender without bringing the internal temp up too high too fast.

 

[JimRausch]

I've been experimenting getting crispy oven baked chicken wings. But I also like them with a teriyaki marinade. So, I marinate them overnight and coat them with crushed corn flakes before baking at 400 for an hour. Pretty good results, but next time I'll try drying them out before cooking.

 

[Bklmt2000]

When I bake wings in the oven, they bake on a stainless cooling rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.

This makes a noticeable difference in the resulting crispiness of the wings, as on a rack, they're not cooking in their own fat, but instead the fat drips away and the skin crisps up better.

And drying the wings out overnight, prior to baking, or even for a few hours the day of baking, makes a big difference, too.

You need to go slower than broil to let the fat tender without bringing the internal temp up too high too fast.

Agreed; save the broiling for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time.

I've been experimenting getting crispy oven baked chicken wings. But I also like them with a teriyaki marinade. So, I marinate them overnight and coat them with crushed corn flakes before baking at 400 for an hour. Pretty good results, but next time I'll try drying them out before cooking.

Please let me know how drying the wings out first before cooking works for you.

 

[Bklmt2000]

Bumping this thread with a shot of my latest batch. This batch employed a full 24-hr rest in the fridge to really dry out the skins before baking.

If i didn't know before I ate them, I would've sworn they were fried instead of baked. If I were served these in a bar/restaurant, I'd pay good money for these and be glad of it.

A pic:

 

[Evilgrin]

If you want to try something interesting for breading
Grind up a bag of spicy pork rinds or kettle cooked jalapeno potato chips.

 

[TwistedGray]

Are they uncovered in the fridge?

 

[Bklmt2000]

Are they uncovered in the fridge?

Yes, in my fridge, the wings are uncovered. That said, my fridge also has a meat drawer that is large enough to acommodate a half-sheet-sized baking sheet. This allows for leaving the wings uncovered while drying out, and after each batch of wings, I give this drawer a thorough cleaning.

Also, while the wings are drying in said drawer, there are no other food items in there, to avoid cross-contamination.

Ideally, a dedicated fridge would be wonderful for this purpose, but since I don't have one, I make do with what I have, while being as careful as I can to not to spread germs about.

 

[TwistedGray]

Yes, in my fridge, the wings are uncovered. That said, my fridge also has a meat drawer that is large enough to acommodate a half-sheet-sized baking sheet. This allows for leaving the wings uncovered while drying out, and after each batch of wings, I give this drawer a thorough cleaning.

Also, while the wings are drying in said drawer, there are no other food items in there, to avoid cross-contamination.

Ideally, a dedicated fridge would be wonderful for this purpose, but since I don't have one, I make do with what I have, while being as careful as I can to not to spread germs about.

Yeah, my wife would kill me ... that's why I asked