Crispy Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings – Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Winner

Every year about this time, I get a bunch of emails asking which of our previously posted oven-fried chicken wing methods is the best. I never know how to respond, since I think they’re all pretty close, but now I finally have a definitive answer…this one!

By the way, the honey-sriracha glaze is quite delicious and incredibly simple, but merely an afterthought here. The real star of the show is the strange, but effective technique of coating the wings with a baking powder-laced spice rub before baking. Through the magic of chemical reactions, the surface of the chicken becomes bone-dry, and eventually crisps up to something very similar to what would come out of a deep fryer.

Instead of the soft, slippery skin associated with most oven baked wings, we get a crispy, blistered surface that really holds onto whatever glaze you decide to toss your wings with. The surprising thing is, once these are cooked you would never know baking powder was involved.

I’m not exactly sure who originally invented this; I heard about it via America's Test Kitchen, but that doesn’t really matter, since the only thing that really matters is who people 10 years from now think invented this. And if this is video somehow goes viral, that could be me. To that end, I really hope you give this unusual, and highly effective method, and honey-sriracha sauce a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

2 1/2 pounds chicken wing sections

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tbsp baking powder (aluminum free)

- Coat wings, and bake at 425 F., turning every 15-20 minutes, until they are browned and crispy. Total cooking time will be about 1 hour, but that depends on the size and temperature of your wings.

For the Honey Sriracha glaze:

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup Siracha

1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

sesame seeds to garnish