The Best Baked Chicken Wings

By lorik

If you buy chicken wings that are already split, with the tips removed, you will need only 3 1/2 pounds.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken wings, halved at joints, wingtips discarded
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 recipe wing sauce (recipes follow)

Details

Adapted from cookscountry.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 250 degrees. Set wire rack in aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet. Pat wings dry with paper towels and transfer to 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Combine baking powder and salt, add to wings, seal bag, and toss to evenly coat.

2. Arrange wings, skin side up, in single layer on prepared wire rack. Bake wings on lower-middle oven rack for 30 minutes. Move wings to upper-middle rack, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees, and roast until wings are golden brown and crispy, 40 to 50 minutes longer, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove sheet from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer wings to bowl with wing sauce of your choice, toss to coat, and serve.

Buffalo Wing Sauce:
1/2 cup Franks Red Hot sauce
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon molasses

Smoky Barbecue Wing Sauce:
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

Sweet and Spicy Thai Wing Sauce:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce

Combine sugar, lime juice, oil, pepper flakes, and garlic in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium heat. Cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in fish sauce. Transfer to large bowl.