Home Recipes Crackling Baked Chicken Wings

Crackling Baked Chicken Wings

Grill 15 minutes (plus 1 hour to dry-brine, optional)

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes
  • 1 tbsp baking powder 
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp chopped scallions, for serving
  • mayo, lemon juice, and garlic powder for dipping sauce

Method

  1. Pat the wings very dry. Toss with baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, making sure every piece is evenly coated — the baking powder is the trick to crisp, oven-fried texture without deep frying.
  2. Arrange the wings in a single layer on a wire rack set over a sheet pan, skin-side up, and let sit uncovered in the fridge 1 hour or overnight for even crispier results.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425°F and bake the wings 40-45 minutes, flipping halfway, until deeply golden and crisp.
  4. While the wings bake, make the glaze: combine honey, garlic, soy sauce, white wine, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and simmer 5-6 minutes until slightly syrupy and reduced by about a third.
  5. Once the wings are crisp, toss them in a large bowl with about two-thirds of the glaze until well coated.
  6. Return the glazed wings to the rack and broil 2-3 minutes, watching closely, until the glaze bubbles and caramelizes.
  7. Whisk mayo with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of garlic powder for a quick tangy dip.
  8. Toss the wings with the reserved glaze, scatter with scallions, and serve hot with the dipping sauce on the side.

Chef's tip

Baking powder (not baking soda) tossed onto dry-brined wings is the closest you'll get to fried-wing crackle straight from the oven.

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