Maple-glazed baked chicken wings

A sweet and spicy treat the whole family will love!

Ever since I figured out the secret to making crispy chicken wings in the oven, I’ve had so much fun playing around with different sauces and flavour profiles. I think this might be my favourite one yet. This recipe is scaled for about 15 wings but you could easily multiply it.

Ingredients

 Chicken wings

• 3 pounds (1.5 kg) chicken wing pieces (flats, drumettes or a mixture of both)
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) baking powder

 Sweet and spicy maple glaze

• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) Chinese five spice powder
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) soy sauce (or tamari for a gluten-free version)
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) minced garlic
• 1 – 2 teaspoons (5 – 10 mL) Sriracha (to taste)

Method

• Place wings in a broad, shallow bowl. Sprinkle with the baking powder 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 25 – 30 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
• While wings bake, prepare glaze 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 until evenly coated, about 1 minute. Spread the wings out on a clean parchment-lined baking sheet. At this point they can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours, or you can finish the cooking per the next step.
• Just before serving, put the wings back in the oven and bake at 375F for about 10 minutes (longer if they have been refrigerated) until the glaze is bubbling.
• Transfer to a platter and serve.

Makes 15 wings.