It’s football and hockey season now along with the end of baseball as well. That being said there are some foods that are iconic of the sport. Wings are a must in any household, bar, restaurant that is showcasing the big game. It’s almost a law in some cities. While traditionally wings are deep-fried and then slathered in sauce, shaken to lightly coat or left nekked to dip yours truly is not a big fan of deep-fried foods. Don’t get me wrong, I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE fried foods however my thighs and butt love them a bit more! So needless to say Mr. Fantabulous wanted wings and this child refused to deep fry them. That being said I had to figure out a way to make them baked BUT still make them as crispy and as flavorful. I wanted Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken Wings plain and simple.
As you can see by the pictures, mission accomplished! Now to truly get wings this crispy, that fried outcome, you need to plan ahead. See when you bake chicken like this you need to draw out the moisture. Now don’t worry as these bad boys will be super juicy and moist but if you try and bake as-is, they won’t get crispy like a fried wing is. Thus you need to plan.
See you need to coat these in a mixture and then literally let them sit on a tray, uncovered in your fridge overnight or 8 hours at a minimum. The next day all you need to do is pop the trays in the oven and bake away.
Now once they are done, how you choose to cover these is totally your choice.
You can toss them in some bbq sauce, buffalo glaze, maybe a melted butter garlic sauce. Heck even plain ol’ seasoned salt.
All I know is these did not last very long as Mr. Fantabulous was all over these in a heartbeat.
I was completely happy about this as he got his wings and I didn’t have to fret over hot oil and adding all that fat to our diets! 
Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken Wings
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Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken wings, halved at joints, wingtips set aside (save for stock)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and set rack inside. Carefully dry chicken wings with paper towels. Place wings in a bag, add the baking powder and salt. Shake evenly.
- Place on rack, leaving slight space between each wing. Place baking sheet with wings in the refrigerator and allow to rest, uncovered, at least 8 hours. This draws out the moisture. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
- Add chicken wings and cook for 20 minutes. Flip wings and continue to cook until crisp and golden brown, 15 to 25 minutes longer or until internal temperature is 165F.
Notes
Once the wings are done, garnish with your favorite wing sauce
Hi Lori,
I have a homemade seasoning that I keep in a jar, and only use it for frying chicken. It includes onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. My question is: Should I had my seasoning along with the baking powder, BEFORE refrigerating or should I wait and add my seasoning just before cooking the chicken in the oven? Please advise.
I was a little skeptical but my oh my, these were very crispy on the outside and the chicken was juicy on the inside!! Delicious! My question is this – can I add more spices/more salt at the same time I toss the wings with the baking powder? I like my wings plain but I would like to kick up the spices a bit…will this effect the baking powder/PH level?
★★★★★
So happy you loved them MaryAnne!
Yes you can add spices to the baking powder but it has to be dry spices. Essentially you’re doing a dry brine.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Would this recipe work if I used skinless chicken breast cut up in small pieces…boneless chicken wings?
Thank you,
Connie
Hi Connie,
I’m thinking no to be honest. You see the purpose of ‘drying’ these out in the fridge over night is that you’re drying out the skin part of the chicken to get that ‘fried’ crispy effect.
For boneless wings I would go with something like this: http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2014/11/11/crispy-crunchy-crusted-chicken-fingers/ Now you can easily use this recipe but follow the skinny baked version. If you don’t want the breading just coat them in your favorite seasoning and bake away.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★