These dry-rubbed spicy chicken wings are the bomb—and not greasy! Deep frying is just not in our wheel house for health reasons, so baking them is a great alternative. The secret to real crispy chicken (other than deep frying) lies in the fact that the wings are patted very dry and that baking powder is used.
Incorporating one tablespoon of the stuff into the rub mixture tossed with the wings before baking yields chicken skin that is uniformly browned and crunchy. Baking the chicken on a wire rack, sprayed with cooking spray, set in a sheet pan helps a lot—it helps to keep hot air circulating around the wings, which crisps them more evenly without having to flip them halfway through.
If you are starting with the full wings, you’ll need to break them down into drumettes, flats and tips. Either discard the tips or save and freeze them until such time you are ready to make homemade chicken stock. Then lay out the other pieces on doubled sheets of paper towels, top and bottom, pressing firmly as you go. If there is time, roll up the paper towels full of wing pieces and let sit to extract as much more moisture as possible.
The original recipe called for 1/2 cup brown sugar and a tablespoon or two of granulated white sugar. We totally eliminated the white sugar and reduced the brown sugar by half. In the end, we decided we thought the amount of sugar was still too much, and that one or two tablespoons of brown sugar would be plenty. You can also increase or decrease any of the spices to address your personal preferences.
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings, separated into drumettes and flats
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, or less
- 2 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp. butcher’s grind cracked black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder, OR chipotle powder (for a touch of smoky flavor)
- 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- Pinch of celery seeds
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a double layer of foil, then set a wire rack (sprayed with cooking spray) over foil. That wire rack ensures that hot air can circulate all around the wings, which helps to get them super-crispy.
- Mix all dry rub ingredients (baking powder through celery seeds) in a large bowl.
- Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels—as dry as you can!—and add to bowl with spice mixture. Toss with your hands until evenly coated.
- Arrange wings on prepared rack, spacing evenly apart. Don’t crowd them. If you’re doubling or tripling this recipe, you’re going to need separate racks for all of them.
- Bake wings 25 minutes; until bubbly and golden. When the wings are crispy enough, take them out and allow them to rest for 5 minutes so they cool slightly, which will allow the skin to crisp up even more.
- Serve with hot sauce, blue cheese dressing, or your favorite chicken wing dip.
Rub recipe adapted from a Memphis rub by Michael Symon; while technique is a combo of other online sources.
Accounting for Taste 