One day when I get pregnant I know I will crave chicken wings. Some women crave pickles. Some women crave ice cream. But, I’ll bet you $100 now, that when I’m pregnant I will crave wings. I don’t actually eat chicken wings all that much to make a statement like this. But when I really get the idea of wings in my head, there is no shaking it (much to Kevin’s dismay).
Whenever we are having our weekly debate of what to order for dinner (this usually lasts about an hour) I always throw the idea of wings out there twice only to be denied. Part of the allure of wings is the sauces. FIRST you get to choose the flavor sauce you want your wings covered in. THEN (as if that wasn’t enough) you get to choose either ranch or blue cheese to dip your wings in. If you’re like me, you will dabble in a little of both. I’m still not completely sure which is a better sidekick to wings, so the ranch vs. blue cheese debate has really become a scientific question to me. NEED MORE DATA!!! I’m over here making graphs on this stuff people.
My first apartment in Chicago after college was above a bar (really helped with any post college withdrawals). I had three roommates and one small outdated kitchen with no garbage disposal and none of us really knew how to cook. More so than that, none of us really knew how to clean. This is the stuff of nightmares. When you can’t really cook and you are operating on limited funds because you haven’t quite figured out how to save money yet, you cook chicken breasts (the type that come in a bag of 12 in the frozen foods section). And when I say you cook chicken breasts I mean you REALLY cook ’em (THE SALMONELLA IS REAL PEOPLE).
My first year post college was full of many meals of dehydrated, border line chicken breast jerky. The fear of eating undercooked chicken led to many meals of chicken breast jerky with a side of burnt pan. Night after night these burnt pans would collect in the sink to soak until they were ready to “clean.” Because none of us really knew how to clean they would mostly just accumulate in the sink in the “soaking to be cleaned eventually” phase. Which leads me back to the bar underneath our first apartment. The bar underneath our apartment had FOOD. AND DEALS. AND you guessed it : WINGS. Grilled chicken wings that came to us at half price from 4PM-7PM. For only a few dollars I could have amazing chicken wings and avoid the charred pan chicken jerky situation. Chicken wings for the WIN!!
There are many ways to cook a chicken wing. The wings from the bar under my apartment were grilled. The sticky honey sesame chicken wings in this recipe are baked on a rack. I usually stick to these two methods of cooking chicken wings because they are healthier and I need to justify them being “healthier” in order to continue conducting research in the ranch vs. blue cheese debate.
There is a major secret to baking chicken wings that come out crispy like they had been deep fried. Are you ready? Baking powder. To all of you who will read this and then go to your pantry and grab baking soda to sprinkle on your wings, STOP! I said BAKING POWDER. NOT BAKING SODA. Baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, cream of tartar and cornstarch. When you coat your wings with a mixture of salt and baking powder it dries out the skin of the chicken allowing them to become SUPER crispy in the oven. This will save you the mess of deep frying (yes, I still hate cleaning) and give you the peace of mind that you are eating baked wings instead of fried. By cooking the chicken wings on a rack it allows the hot air to circulate all around the wings insuring that both sides of the wing become crispy.
Are you ready now to wing it on? Feeling inspired to research ranch vs. blue cheese with me? Or simply sick of burnt pan chicken jerky? Me too. Let’s do it.
STEP 1 – Marinate those babies. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and let them sit for 2 hours.
STEP 2 – Pat ’em dry. Using a paper towel, dry all the marinade off the chicken wings.
STEP 3 – Baking powder. Toss them with baking powder so they are evenly coated. Baking powder is the trick to crispy oven baked wings!
STEP 4 – Bake ’em. Arrange chicken wings on a rack on top of a tin foil covered baking sheet.Bake them at 250 for 30 minutes. Increase temperature to 425 and bake them for 20 minutes.
STEP 5 – Flip ’em. Remove the wings from the oven and flip them over. Continue to bake them for another 20-30 minutes. When they are finished they will look extra crispy.
STEP 5 – Sauce ’em up. 15 minutes before the wings are done put remaining marinade in pan and bring to a boil. Add honey. Combine cornstarch with 2 tbsp water, stir, and add to sauce. Lower heat to medium. Stirring occasionally. Remove the wings from the oven. Toss them with the sauce in a mixing bowl. Top with toasted sesame seeds and chopped chives.
hashtag winging {sticky baked honey sesame wings}
Ingredients
- 2 pounds raw chicken wings
- 1 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
Instructions
- Combine chicken wings with soy sauce, cilantro, ginger, lemon juice, and pepper.
- Marinate in the fridge for two hours.
- Remove wings from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Keep marinade.
- Toss wings with baking powder.
- Line baking sheet with tin foil and top with a baking rack. Arrange wings on the rack. If you don't have a baking rack, spray the aluminum foil with a non stick cooking spray and put the wings directly on the foil.
- Bake the wings on the middle rack of the oven at 250 for 30 minutes.
- Raise heat to 425 and bake for 40-50 minutes. Flip the wings after 25 minutes.
- 15 minutes before the wings are done put remaining marinade in pan and bring to a boil. Add honey.
- Combine cornstarch with 2 tbsp water, stir, and add to sauce. Lower heat to medium and stir occasionally.
- Remove the wings from oven.
- Combine wings with the reduced sauce. Top with sesame seeds and chopped chives