One of the many things I've discovered over my far too many decades rooming across this little blue planet is that there have been many events or situations that draw people together for a common cause. For example, many will remember the Live Aid concert back in the summer of 1985. There have been others as well, but that's the only one that pops to mind, early on a dull Saturday morning.
Often these worldwide events, national situations or even things in our local neighbourhood draw folks together for a common cause or a common good. All of which is .......well....... a good thing.
So, what about - chicken wings. They're guaranteed to draw and get folks together no matter what. Whether it's Chicken Wing Nite at a neighbourhood pub or a Chicken Wing Nite at the local Legion for a fund-raiser.
On the other hand, you may simply like wings and often order them when heading out for dinner - maybe as an appetizer.
Chicken wings are one of those "foods" that folks can get really "fickle" about. Baked versus deep fried; Naked versus sauce coated; breaded versus not breaded. And let's not even get started on the thousand-and-one sauces to either dip the "naked ones in" or to have served coated.
But, this recipe in my opinion does rival wings you may get in a restaurant. And the bonus is - it is as simple as fu@k. And healthier than deep-fried wings.
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
You'll need a flat pan/baking tray lined with parchment paper
Ingredients
- chicken wings(wingtips discarded and split at the joint to get separate "drums" and flats")
- a bit of olive oil or whatever oil you may use
- baking powder(the secret ingredient)
- salt(less than a teaspoon if you use salt at all)...we don't use salt... but you can
- garlic powder
- seasoning salt/powder or a favourite BBQ seasoning
- BBQ sauce(whatever flavour you prefer) or some other "wing sauce" to coat them after they're cooked.
Instructions
Adjust your oven rack to the upper-middle position. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use paper towels to pat the wings dry and place them in a large bowl. Drying them off a bit, is one of the keys to getting the wings crispy.
- Add a tiny bit of the olive oil(maybe a tablespoon) to the wings and give the whole mess a stir to get a bit of the oil over each wing
- Cover the wings with baking powder. How much? Enough powder to coat the wings. It might be a couple of tablespoons. It will depend on how many wings you're cooking up. Just make sure the wings are coated with baking powder. The baking powder is the secret ingredient(see below).
- Sprinkle some garlic powder, salt(if you're using it)and whatever seasoning salt or BBQ seasoning, like a dry spice rub for example over the wings and give it a good toss in the bowl. This "dry rub" part here is based on your own preference and taste.
- Arrange wings, skin side up, in a single layer on your parchment-lined baking tray/pan.
One would think given how little meat is on a chicken wing that they would cook quickly ....WRONG. This will take upwards of 30 to 40 minutes here. Maybe more.
Put the tray in the oven on the upper middle oven rack, and turn after about 15 to 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn the wings over. Set the timer for say another 15 minutes. Check your wings are they crispy? If not, cook after 5 minutes. If they are done great. The cooking time is dependent on the size of the wings.
Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes or so. Get the wings into a bowl and toss them up with your favourite BBQ or wing sauce.
Finally ......enjoy.
Why baking powder?
A little bit of research yielded this reason.
"Baking powder is alkaline, so it raises the pH level of chicken skin, breaking down the peptide bonds and jumpstarting the browning process, meaning the wings get browner and crispier faster than they would on their own."
Go figure - right?
This has become a bit of a go-to dinner on a Saturday night. So easy to do and the results have always been near or better than restaurant-quality wings.
Perhaps give it a try sometime.
--as always with love--
--- get outdoors; find inspiration; discover yourself ---
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