Super crispy oven-baked chicken wings

Fabulous texture and flavour with no frying!

Honestly, people, this recipe is kind of miraculous. Who knew you could make really great – AND gluten-free – chicken wings in the oven? This recipe came about because I recalled reading about how rubbing baking powder on a chicken or turkey before roasting would make the skin extra crispy. Apparently baking powder, an alkaline substance, increases the skin’s pH levels, allowing proteins to break down more efficiently. The result: crisper, more evenly browned skin. I decided to test the method out on chicken wings and I have great news, friends: it was an overwhelming success and SO EASY.

My recipe is scaled for 30 wings but you could easily multiply it. However it’s important to be sure you follow the baking powder/wing proportions exactly when scaling the recipe up or down as too much baking powder will taste terrible and too little will be ineffective. As a tip, I encourage you to buy split wings if you can find them (the wings will have already been cut into flats and drumettes, with the inedible wingtips discarded). Have fun playing around with various dips and sides – I can highly recommend these perfect oven-baked fries if you need a suggestion. And if you’re happy with how these wings turn out, check out my spin on oven baked “fried” chicken – it’s a winner too!

Ingredients

• 30 chicken wing pieces (flats, drumettes or a mixture of both)
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) baking powder *
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) pepper

Buffalo Sauce

• 1/4 cup (60 mL) melted butter
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) finely minced fresh garlic
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) regular or hot Buffalo wingsauce (I used Frank’s brand)
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemonjuice

* I recommend purchasing aluminum-free baking powder at a health food store to prevent the wings from taking on a slightly metallic taste

Method

• Place wings in a broad, shallow bowl. Sprinkle with the baking powder, salt and pepper and toss with your hands to coat evenly.
• Lay the wings out in a single layer, 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) apart, on a wire cooling rack placed over a foil-lined baking tray. Let sit for 30 minutes (or refrigerate, uncovered, for up to 24 hours).
• When ready to begin cooking, preheat oven to 250F. Once oven has heated, place tray in oven and set a timer for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, turn the oven temperature up to 425F (leave the tray in the oven while the temperature increases) and bake chicken wings for an additional 40 – 45 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
• While wings bake, prepare sauce by whisking all the ingredients together in a clean, broad bowl large enough to hold all the wings.  
• When wings are cooked, use tongs or two forks to gently pry them off the wire rack but don’t put them into the bowl until you have loosened them all.
• Add all the cooked wings at once to the bowl and toss gently with two forks or tongs until evenly coated, about 1 minute. Transfer to a platter and serve with your favourite dip (my homemade ranch dressing recipe is below).
• Note: I also like to scoop any remaining sauce out of the bowl once the wings have been plated and put it in a little bowl for dipping.

Hot tip: you can bake the wings and bathe them in the sauceahead of time. Once prepared, spread them out on a parchment-lined baking trayand refrigerate for up to four hours. Reheat at 325F until bubbling and hot,about 10 minutes.

Homemade ranchdressing

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) finely chopped freshchives
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) finely chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) finely chopped freshparsley
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) each kosher salt andblack pepper

Method

• Whisk all together in a small bowl.
• Transfer to a glass jar with a tight-fitting lidand refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Dressing will keep for up to a week in thefridge.