Spicy Chicken Wings, Baked and Gluten Free

These are my families favorite chicken wings. They're baked rather than deep fried. The technique used gives them a nice texture. You could almost be fooled into thinking they were deep fried. Though they're more tender inside than their deep fried cousins. This Instructable uses Franks hot sauce but, you can use what ever sauce you prefer. Some like it hot, some like it HOT, Some like it HOTTER!!!! The choice is yours. The technique remains the same.

Step 1: First Ingredient Chiken Wings

These were on sale this week at Zehrs for $2.99 lb. I don't know how that compares with the rest of the Instructables world, but its a good price here in mine. When I was a kid the butcher used to give wings to my mom for free. Being that we were a rather poor farming family, he also gave us bones for our watch dogs. Alas nothing appears to be free these days.

Step 2: The Other Ingredients

1c corn starch

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp onion powder

¼ tsp celery salt divided

A sprinkle of pink Himalayan salt

Franks hot sauce or your choice of hot sauce

You'll need baking sheets and parchment paper, enough for the amount of wings you're making. Also a mixing bowl for the dry ingredients and container with a lid, to shake the wings and sauce in. A set of tongs and oven mitts so you don't burn your fingers and lastly, a plate or two for the finished product.

Step 3: Preheat

Preheat the oven to 425°f, convection bake if you have that setting. If not you may have to extend the baking time a bit. You'll know when you pull out a test wing near the end if its done to your liking,

Step 4: OK Lets Begin

Mix the corn starch, garlic powder, onion powder and half the celery salt in a the mixing bowl. Roll each wing in the mixture to coat evenly. Place them on the parchment covered tray being sure that they aren't touching each other.

Step 5: Salt Lightly

Salt lightly with pink Himalayan and the remaining celery salt. This will help give the wings a nice crispy texture.

Step 6: Time to Cook

OK now, pop them into the preheated oven

Step 7: Turn Trays

Its been 10min or so. Now turn the trays and swap them from top to bottom.

Step 8: Time to Flip

Ten more minutes. Its now time to flip each wing. Rotate and swap the trays top for bottom again when you put them back into the oven.

Step 9: Rotate and Swap Again

Its been another 10min. You know the drill swap top to bottom and spin again.

Step 10: Check for Doneness

Its been another 10min, now pick out the largest wing you can find. Tear it open and make the call. In this case I'm happy with the cook on the largest wing, so the rest should be done. If you want them crispier let them go for another 10min then check another one.

Step 11: Shut Off Oven and Remove Trays

In the winter, we would leave the oven open a bit, to make use of the extra warmth.

Step 12: Let's Get Saucy

Pour some hot sauce into the container that has a lid. Add some wings and close the container.

Step 13: Shake !!!

Isn't that a great action shot? I had to give it its own step in the Instructable so the pic would be large.

Step 14: Dump Add Sauce and Repeat

Continue this process until all wings are sauced.

Step 15: Eat Up!

OK now enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Comments

[billbillt]

YUM!!!...

[SteveL108]

WoW WoW WoW! the exact same crunchiness of deep fried without all the oil! This is brilliant, we are going to add more kick to the coating but the cornstarch appears to be the key. Thank you so much for sharing!

[DanPro]

We did some for lunch today with a habanero sauce. They were wonderful.
I think the salts work in tandem with the cornstarch to create the crispiness.
I wouldn't say its exactly the same as deep fried. Its close enough for my liking though.
Enjoy!

[HughEnglish5]

All that powder stuff? -er no thanks.

[DanPro]

Its not that bad HughEnglish5 just a light dusting. It'll only hurt a bit.

[FlorinJ]

Makes no sense flavor-wise. Why would you use dried garlic and onion, from which mostly everything flavored is gone, instead of using them fresh? And why would you use a store-bought sauce when it's so easy to make your own, without added preservatives, color, flavor enhancers, thickeners and whatnot? Except for hot, all you can taste in most store-bought sauces is salt. Even the heat is nasty, odorless and tasteless, unlike that of fresh hot chili, which can have a wide range of flavors and go in all kinds of taste directions, from buttery to spicy to fruity.

I usually don't either bake or deep fry chicken wings. I grill them on an open grill, on rather low heat - the smoke adds to the flavor. Before grilling, I don't coat them with anything starchy, I just rub them with a mix of sweet paprika, ground white pepper, some crushed garlic and thyme, and let them sit for at least a few hours in the fridge, in an airtight container. The sauce I make using a mix of dried hot chili flakes and sweet paprika, depending on how hot I want it/I can afford to serve to others, a tiny amount of crushed garlic, again, only if the other people at the table won't complain, a lot of chopped parsley, and olive oil just enough to make it bind. Most people will probably want some salt added to the sauce - I use very little salt when cooking. When I grill, I always add salt to the meat only at the end - a little salt, when not grilling the meat excessively, dehydrates it, enhancing flavor, but you can achieve a similar effect by grilling just a tiny little bit longer (a minute or so, not more, or the meat will loose its tenderness). Plus, on an open, lid-less grill, meat looses water much more efficiently than in a smoker or a closed grill. With salt on the meat from the beginning, there's a higher risk of over-grilling and making the meat chewy, IMO.

[DanPro]

Wow! You're making me hungry.
I agree with you that fresh is best. I do make my own sauces and powders. I am also a garlic farmer and a hot pepper gardener. This years garlic planting was over 4000 head. I love to cook over apple wood as well, the flavor that it adds is amazing.
That said, a snack quickly prepared to feed my five kids has merit as well. Some times you just need to whip something up quickly, that they won't turn their nose up at. These are similar to the deep fried wings they would get at a pizza joint or restaurant. They are made slightly healthier by avoiding the deep fryer.They are also less than half the cost of buying them retail. The powdered items are there to add the crisp effect that they would lack otherwise. As for the sauce, Franks is widely used on chicken wings in bars and restaurants. I agree its too salty and the flavor profile is no where near as good as what I can make myself, but people like it. I did leave the hot sauce option in my ingredients list open to using ones favorite.
I would love to sit down at your table, consume mass quantities of your amazing wings and compliment you on your fabulous recipe. I would bring you a bag of my organic fresh garlic and, if you were open to it, I would also bring you a few of my twin sons craft beers. If you ever have to create a quick snack for the masses I invite you to try this recipe. Its not all that bad for a simple one.

[FlorinJ]

:-D

There's probably a reason why I rarely eat out, since several years ago. When I do, I pick a place with excellent service and food, and usually not at all that cheap.

I absolutely love garlic. To the extent that friends call me an addict. (Friends also say that when I eat garlic bugs die on a radius of ten meters around me.) And hoppy beer - the kind where hops is added towards the end of the boiling, giving less bitterness and more flavor.

Here's something you can whip up in no time, which garlic addicts will appreciate: steam a head of cauliflower until it's still a tiny little bit crunchy, mash it, mix it with a pinch of salt, 1-2-3-4 crushed garlic cloves (depending on the garlic tolerance of the eaters - for whatever reason, garlic's heat is heavily amplified by the mixture), and olive oil just enough to make it creamy. Someone (who was also half of a garlic addict) once said it's like chocolate: once you start eating it you can't stop.

[DanPro]

In our house garlic goes in almost everything. When my wife (a Ukrainian) reads "add a clove of garlic" in a recipe she swears that it means add a head of garlic. We grow organic popcorn and she puts my toasted garlic powder and olive oil on it every night. The cauliflower recipe sounds tasty. I have to wonder though, if the misses will add 1-2-3-4 crushed heads. I wish I could grow cauliflower organically but it gets full of worms. I know the garlic will kill them before the cooking and its extra protein.
I like the less hoppy beer as well.
Cheers.

[jessyratfink]

Ohhhh I've never done a cornstarch/spice coating before saucing. I'll have to try that :)

[DanPro]

Careful you could get hooked.

[Penolopy Bulnick]

These look delicious!

[DanPro]

They hit the spot for sure.