Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
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This is one of those “no recipe” recipes. Sorry, not sorry. This is more about technique.
After many delicious episodes of trial and error, I’ve finally come up with a way to get super delicious crispy skinned chicken wings out of the oven.
Key elements of this recipe:
- a very light coating of cornstarch on the chicken skin
- a very light spray of vegetable or canola oil
- cook the wings on a rack so they’re not baking in the fat that renders off
- preheating the oven hotter than the actual cooking temp to help dry out and crisp up the skin
- roasting at a high temperature for 30 minutes – again, to help brown and crisp the skin
- continue cooking at lower temp so the chicken doesn’t completely dry out
My personal preference is to have one super duper crispy side (the side with more skin) and one browned side, as opposed to two kinda crispy sides, so I don’t turn the chicken. I also don’t turn it because, lazy. If you like, turn the chicken when you reduce the oven temp. Chef’s choice.
You’ll need cornstarch, salt, pepper, oil, chicken wings and whatever seasoning you’d like. I’m using lemon pepper.
If you purchased whole chicken wings, cut at the joints to remove the wing tip and divide into flats and drumettes.
Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with just enough cornstarch for a light coating over the chicken skin – this isn’t a heavy breaded deep fried thing.
Prepare a baking sheet with foil and a rack. Oil the rack to prevent the chicken from sticking. Place the chicken on the rack, skin side up. See how light the coating of cornstarch is?
Spray oil is your friend here. If you don’t have spray oil, place the wings in a bowl and toss with about 1 tbsp of oil.
Make sure the chicken pieces aren’t touching. Bake the wings at 450F for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400F and cook an additional 20-25 minutes.
Bruh.
Season with whatever your delicious heart desires. I’m using about 1 tbsp of lemon pepper seasoning.
Crispy, crackly chicken skin deliciousness with none of the hassle (or added fat!) of deep frying!
Sidenote: I always keep some kind of fresh herb in the fridge – usually parsley, mint or cilantro. To keep herbs fresher longer, cut off the bottom 1/4″ of the stems, place in cup with water and loosely cover the herbs with a plastic bag.
Garnish with any fresh herbs you have on hand – I’m using some chopped cilantro and a few lime wedges.
This.
Thissy McThissington.
- chicken wings, tips removed and cut into flats and drumettes
- cornstarch
- salt
- pepper
- canola or vegetable spray oil
- lemon pepper (optional)
- fresh chopped herbs (optional)
- lime wedges (optional)
- Equipment: rimmed baking sheet, baking rack
- Preheat oven to 475F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and fit with a rack.
- If you purchased whole chicken wings, remove the wing tips and separate into flats and drumettes. Season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with enough cornstarch to create a light coating on the chicken skin - I used about 2 tbsp of cornstarch for 2.5 lbs of chicken.
- Place the chicken on the baking rack, skin side up, and spray with a very light coating of oil. If you don't have spray oil, toss the wings in a bowl with about 1 tbsp of oil.
- Reduce the heat to 450F and roast for 30 minutes. After the first 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 400F and bake an additional 20-25 minutes. If you like, when you reduce the heat you can flip the chicken to crisp the other side. Totally optional, I don't flip because, lazy.
- Season liberally with whatever seasoning you'd like - I used lemon pepper. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs and a few wedges of citrus, if desired.
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hmmm… does the post-starch oil toss affect starch coating much?
Not really, Nzinga. Just helps get the skin extraly crispy.
SERIOUSLY. These look amazing.
omg gotta try ! nom nom nom
Please let me know when you do, Nancy!!
This looks delicious and like something that I can handle. Bruh.
You can totes handle these, Broderick.
Made these for our holiday party this past weekend. They were so amazing. SO AMAZING.
I didn’t even sit down. I just ate them voraciously at the stove.
Just a heads-up. The oven temps aren’t consistent. There’s 475, 450, and 400 depending on where you look.
Hey Steph! It’s actually supposed to be 3 temperatures, because I’m ridiculous. I like to preheat the oven hotter than necessary (475F) to really help dry out the skin and get it crispy. Once the chicken goes in, reduce to 450F for the first 30 minutes (again, a high temp to help get the skin extraly crispy), then an additional 20ish minutes to make sure it’s cooked through at a lower temp (400F) so it doesn’t dry out. Is all of this necessary? Probably not, but it’s what’s worked best for me!
I’ve edited the instructions a bit. I hope it makes more sense! Thank you!
This looks great can’t wait to try ur wings
Question, can we bread ur wings too???
My wife likes breaded wings a little better at times.
Tks
Pauly
Hi Pauly! I’m sure these would also work great breaded! I think panko or breadcrumbs would also be delicious!
Hi. Love this wings recipe. To try it soon. Question. Can we bread this recipe too. My wife likes breaded wings on. Occasions
And would to use your recipe to do breaking could you share your advice on how to do so??
Tks.
Pauly
I tried this method of using cornstarch for my wings. My family loves them. My daughter is allergic to flour. She has no problems with cornstarch. This recipe is on point! It is my go to recipe for wings.
Awesome!! I’m so glad your family enjoys this recipe! I love using different rubs / seasonings with this one as well!
What about sauced wings?? When would you add the sauce? I’m about to make these in like, 20 minutes, and I highly doubt anyone is going to respond before then, so I’m just going to coat them with sauce the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. Here’s to hoping I don’t ruin an entire bag of wings. Also, if the wings are bought frozen, should they be patted dry before being baking powdered??
They were wonderful. The men didn’t realize I baked them. Thank you.
Why oh why are you spraying the canola oil on the wings after you put the corn starch on them, is that not opposite of how it should be done?? (Confused, please enlighten me.)
Hi Jason! That just happened to be what worked for me after trying to get crispy baked wings foreverrrrr. i found that oiling then flouring made weird clumpy spots of flour on the chicken skin… not a deal breaker but this is how i avoided it 🙂
I’m about to try doing this recipe without cutting the wings apart because I’m also throwing in some drumsticks. I’m a little worried but I feel wimpy about separating the wing parts! I’m also excited because I can’t have flour and these look delicious!
Terrible wings. Lemon pepper seasoning was burnt and bitter tasting and all wings had to be thrown out. I don’t really believe that they need to be cooked at such a high temp or for nearly as long. Not a good recipe and instructions, sorry. All 3 pounds of wings had to be taken to the composter.
Hi Leanne – I’m sorry you had a bad experience with this recipe. Did you put the lemon pepper on before baking the wings? That may have been the issue. My recipe says to season with salt and pepper before going into the oven, then to season liberally with the lemon pepper after the wings are finished cooking. Anyway, sorry about your wings!
What if I don’t have a rack to put on cookie sheet? Can I just bake them on the foil ? I’m trying this tonight after work..
Yes, you can bake them directly on the foil, just make sure you add a bit of oil to help with sticking.