Ditch The Fryer: Make Wings Just As Crispy In The Oven - Tasting Table

"This works because baking powder raises the pH of the chicken skin. When the pH level of any food is raised, amino acids become more likely to react with sugars. This accelerates the browning process known as the Maillard reaction, and leads to both more flavor and a crunchier texture. With the threshold for browning lowered, you don't need the same intensity of heat to get the same result, so you can achieve crispy baked chicken wings in the oven."

"At your favorite bar, this is normally done quickly and easily by deep frying. While it's definitely possible to do that at home and make restaurant-quality wings, some people are tentative about deep frying on their stovetop, or they just don't want to deal with the mess and gallons of oil. If you're one of those people, all you need is baking powder."

Baking powder applied to chicken wings raises skin pH, which makes amino acids more reactive with sugars and accelerates the Maillard browning for greater flavor and crunch. Lowering the browning threshold means ovens can produce crisp results without the high heat or oil of deep frying. Use about 1 teaspoon baking powder and kosher salt per pound of wings, toss to coat, and place wings on an elevated wire rack to allow air circulation. Store uncovered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours to air-dry the skin, which yields extra-crisp oven-baked wings.

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