If you’ve always wanted to know how to get the crispiest baked chicken wings possible, the answer is simple. Baking Powder. Now, you don’t need a lot, but a little goes a long way. You’ll be left with the crispiest chicken wings you’ve ever had from the oven. The best part? These baking powder chicken wings use no oil! In fact, there’s only 3 ingredients.
This recipe is more scientific than most, since we are looking for a chemical reaction between the baking powder and the chicken wings. This is why this method may seem unconventional, but works wonderfully. All you need to do is get a bunch of chicken wings and put them in a bowl.
Then you just put a bit of salt and the appropriate amount of baking powder directly into the bowl. I use 2.5 grams of baking powder per 10 wing segments. This is about a teaspoon of baking powder if you don’t have a kitchen scale.
NOTE: DO NOT USE BAKING POWDER WITH ALUMINUM! Some baking powders are made with aluminum and some people react negatively to the taste; it is better to just avoid using aluminum baking powder altogether.
How To Make Crispy Chicken Wings With Baking Powder
The first thing to do is add your chicken wing segments to a bowl and sprinkle over the baking powder. Use tongs or your hands to toss the wings so the baking powder gets all over them.
The baking part is extremely important to get right, as the first step is crucial to making these super crispy baking powder chicken wings. You have to preheat your oven to 120 Celsius, or about 250 Fahrenheit. Then lay each chicken wing or segment on an oven rack. When you place the rack in the oven make sure there is another oven tray beneath it to catch the fat drippings.
After ‘baking’ aka drying out in the oven for a half hour it’s time to crank up the heat. Raise that dial to 220 Celsius, or 425 Fahrenheit and let them really cook for 40 minutes. I cook them using the convection setting on my oven as I find the air blowing around makes them even crispier.
Chicken Wings With Baking Powder Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I cannot find aluminum free baking powder, can I use a powder with aluminum oxide?
A: NO! I know I mention it many times in this article but if you use baking powder with aluminum your wings will turn out gross and inedible. Please don’t let these birds die in vain for something you will have to throw out.
Q: I don’t have a convection oven, can I make these baking powder chicken wings in a traditional oven.
A: Yes! The rule here is to just add an extra 15-20 degrees Celsius if your oven does not have a fan.
Q: How long do these chicken wings stay crispy if I use the baking powder method?
A: Baking powder chicken wings will stay crispy for a few hours after removing them from the oven. If you toss them in a sauce then that will make them lose some crispiness, but even that takes at least an hour so you can toss them in sauce right before serving.
Q: How long can I store baking powder chicken wings in the fridge?
A: You can store these wings in the fridge just like normal chicken wings (1-5 days). They will lose some crispness in the skin as is expected, but I recommend letting them cool to room temperature completely before packing them in an airtight container and placing them in the fridge.
Cooking Tips And Tricks
Each chicken wing has 3 parts; the drumette, the wing, and the tip. Most people don’t eat the tip, but using this method you totally can. It crisps up kind of like a chip. If you prefer not to cook that part though it’s easy enough to leave out. Don’t discard them though since you can add them to other scraps for stock later.
If your chicken is wet make sure to dry it off before adding the salt and baking powder. I just give them a quick pat dry with some paper towels. As the salt works its magic you will see more liquid pool at the bottom of the bowl. This is good.
Make sure the collection tray beneath the rack is larger than the rack. Otherwise the drippings will fall to the bottom of the oven and become really hard to clean. These drippings should be saved and make a great fat for roast potatoes.
Can You Sauce Baking Powder Chicken Wings?
Absolutely. Just like with regular old fried chicken wings you can sauce ones using the baking powder method. After you pull them out of the oven add them to a large bowl with your desired sauce. Here are some saucy wing recipe you might like.
Baking Powder Chicken Wings
Equipment
- 1 Oven Rack
- 1 Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 500 grams Chicken Wings About a pound, segmented into tips, 'flat', and drumettes (total 30 pieces).
- 2 tsp Baking Powder powder, not soda. Make sure you use aluminum free baking powder!
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper freshly cracked (optional)
Instructions
- After breaking down your chicken wings, put all the segments into a bowl. Add the baking powder and salt and give everything a good mix with your hands. You don't need the baking powder to coat every piece, but you want it evenly spread around all the pieces.
- Preheat your oven to 120 Celsius or 250 Fahrenheit. Place the segments onto a baking rack not touching each other.
- Place the tray into the oven and put another tray beneath it to catch the drippings. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Raise the heat to 220 Celsius or 425 Fahrenheit and bake for another 40 minutes.
- Remove the wings, sprinkle with pepper if you want, and serve hot.
Notes
Baking Powder Chicken Wings
Note: Make sure you are using baking powder and not baking soda. Soda will definitely ruin your wings.
I love this method but it does make quite a mess of my oven rack. I wish there was a less mess way to make these as they are truly the crispiest wings I’ve ever made
Just line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and cover with parchment paper. I’m making this for the first time, and I tossed the wings with salt and baking powder in 4 segments and there was no mess! Hope it works for you as well. Enjoy less cleaning up and eating wings!
Sheila