How To Make Remarkable Oven Baked Chicken Wings

Why You Should Bake Your Chicken Wings in the Oven

Do you want to cook up some crispy, and delicious chicken, without all of the added oils and fats that come from frying?

Do you not own an air fryer, deep fryer, or large cooking pot capable of handling hot oils or otherwise frying in the traditional method?

Do you simply want to mix things up this week?

Then this baked chicken wings recipe is for you! I guarantee that if you follow this recipe, you’ll be munching down on some of the crispiest fried chicken you’ve ever put your mouth on, bar none!

Lastly, if I haven’t encouraged you to red below yet, some of these skills that you learn in this recipe will transfer to many other types of chicken cooking, and even to other dishes entirely.

So, if you want to become a better home chef, start with this and let me know what you think!

How to Bake Chicken Wings

First, you will want to mix together your ingredients from above in a mixing bowl or bag, and preheat your oven to 250℉(you’ll see why this is important to get a crispy crust in a second!).

First, you will want to mix together your ingredients from above in a mixing bowl or bag, and preheat your oven to 250℉ (you’ll see why this is important to get a crispy crust in a second!).

The idea is to thoroughly coat the mixture into every nook and cranny of the chicken! Trust me, using your hands will pay off in the end when you end up with chicken that is crunchy down to the last bite!

Second, if you don’t have a cooking and cooling rack, you’ll want to consider getting one as they enhance every part of the baking process!

Otherwise, you can use parchment paper, which works perfectly fine. Just note that placing the chicken directly onto the baking sheet will cause them to stick, burn, and cook unevenly! So, best case, place your dredged chicken onto your wire rack and set aside while your oven preheats.

Third,make sure your chicken is wholly coated, spaced evenly onto one or two cooking racks on top of baking sheets, and the oven is preheated to 250℉. Then, you can place the chicken in to par-bake for 20 minutes.

You’ll want to know that this is important to getting a crispy crust since is activates the drying agents of salt, baking powder, and white rice flour. The process does this without cooking through the meat, which would overcook it!

Since we just want the crust to set, we cook at a low temperature first to wick away moisture from the poultry.

Next, take your chicken out of the oven and place it in your fridge, covered loosely in tin foil, for at least an hour to allow it to rest and cool down. You can leave it here for up to 3 day, or freeze it for up to 30 days before proceeding to the next step.

Assuming your chicken is now cooling down in the fridge, turn the temperature to 425℉ and let it pre-heat.

Place your chicken back into the over on a wire rack and let it finish for another 10-15 minutes or until they look crispy and done, but not burnt at the tips.

Remove the chicken from the oven, and now you have the option to coat your chicken in a delicious Memphis Honey Extra Hot Wing Sauce.

Finally, you will want to check the internal temperature of these crispy wings, and make sure that they are at a safe internal eating temperature of 165℉! Put them back in the oven if they’re too low!

Last of all, toss in your favorite seasoning and enjoy! Read below for a more detailed walk-through with special tips and trick that will make your chicken better than anyone else’s!

How To Take Your Crispy Baked Wings From Good To Great!

In this section I’ll go over the minutiae involving the steps for the greatest, crispiest baked chicken you’ll ever create!

The Importance Of A Wire Rack

First things first, if you don’t want to buy a wire rack, it’s not necessary that you get one.

However, a wire rack will be better suited, and produce higher quality, more consistent food than resting your finished product on, say, parchment paper will.

I DO NOT recommend that you use a baking sheet only. The reason being, while experimenting with recipes, some of the chicken would poke through the rack and end up touching the hot baking sheet.

In turn, the chicken touching the sheet would stick, burn, and generally prove to be an avoidable hassle!

However, with all this being said, you’ll want a decent wire rack so your chicken is cooked evenly on all sides. In fact, the main purpose for the rack is to allow the hot air to circulate around the chicken so it cooks all sides evenly.

Plus, it allows the chicken to crisp up consistently. As always, I will encourage you to engage in the highest success method for your home cooking endeavors.

But, parchment paper will do just fine as long as, halfway through cooking, you flip the chicken!

Allow Them To Crisp Up Before Applying Sauce!

Most importantly,, if you follow any bit of advice in this post, this should be it! Do not apply your sauce too soon!

Why, you may ask, shouldn’t you do this? Well, the reason is that if you apply sauce too soon, the dredge will not have had time to harden into a crispy shell.

And, this shell is the crispy part of the chicken we have worked so hard to create. Applying your sauce too early will soften, and make soggy, your skin.

So believe me, you will not want your chicken skin to come out rubbery and disappointing. Let the crispy shell form, which will keep out moisture, then apply your sauce.

Why You Should Par-Bake Your Chicken

In this section, you’ll learn the importance of par-baking your chicken before frying it.

This term, par-bake, has been adapted from baking, wherein the baker will cook their ingredients at around 80% temperature to harden the food, then freeze or chill it before finishing the cook.

A quick aside, you can actually take your chicken out after par-baking, re-chill them in your fridge, then finish them later.

Here’es how you do that: Once par-baked, cover them loosely in parchment paper and put them in your fridge for up to 3 days. If you want to freeze them, place them into a plastic bag and press out all of the air. You can store them in your freezer for up to 30 days before finishing them!

By allowing the fridge to dry out your meat more, it will come out even crunchier.

I use this same method in my double fried chicken recipe. Also note that by utilizing a good chicken brine will assist in producing crispier chicken, especially when cooling it in the fridge or freezer, which can sap the moisture out of the bird.

However, back to this post, we will par-bake in order to set the crust of our chicken dredge by breaking down the collagen (a common protein found in chicken) in our bird. This will allow our poultry’s skin to maintain its texture through our cooking process for the best finish!

Why You Should Season Your Chicken Immediately After Cooking

Finally, once you have removed your chicken from the oven and it is a safe 165℉ internally, it is time to season.

Since you have your stainless steel bowls, you’ll probably want to just toss them in there. However, any type of seasoning or sauce that you use, make sure you season your wings immediately after cooking!

Since the chicken will still be under the duress of heat, its pores will be open, which will imbue all of your delicious flavors into it.

Moreover, as the chicken loses its heat, it becomes less susceptible to imbuing flavor, so, the simple takeaway is to season immediately after removing from the oven.

Parting Thoughts

As you leave to make this recipe, please be sure to experiment at home with your recipes.

We’re two totally different people, we like different things. In order for these to be the best wings possible, you have to enjoy them!

So, make sure you tailor them to your specifications and try, try again!

Lastly, let me know what you liked, and didn’t like, about my recipe. Also, share this with those who you think would benefit from trying this recipe out (even if that person is you)!