I like chicken wings. I really like chicken wings. Before The Event, when I used to travel internationally, often to the USA, I’d frequently partake of some delicious wings. On one notable occasion in California, I think I had chicken wings every day for a week, from different restaurants. I like them a lot.
Ideally I feel chicken wings should be slathered in some kind of sauce, I’m not picky, there’s room for many sauces in this world. But I prefer something sticky, sweet and often spicy. Underneath that sauce should be found a crispy coating enclosing our wing, on the bone.
I’m not going to go on and on about this lyrically like an American “recipe”. Let’s do it British-style, ingredients, method, done. Bosh. Notes at the end if you care. Otherwise, just do this to get nice wings. Some may call it heretical, I don’t care, I like this way of cooking them, and if you don’t, never mind, you won’t be invited to my house to eat these. All the more for me.
popey’s chicken wings
(not to be confused with popeye’s chicken, which I’m absolutely not trying to steal google juice for. My name is popey, not popeye)
- Preparation time: ~20 mins
- Cooking time: ~40 mins
- Eating time: ~10 mins :)
Ingredients
- 1Kg Chicken wings - duh
- Spice mix/rub - as simple as salt, pepper, garlic powder, or a pre-made rub like this Nando’s rub or these
- Plain flour
- Barbecue sauce - I like Sweet Baby Ray’s or Bull’s Eye Original. Both are great.
- 2-3 eggs
- Maple syrup or honey for extra sweet sauce covering (optional)
Utensils
- Large baking tray
- Parchment/baking paper
- 2 desert bowls
- 1 large bowl for mixing wings and spices
- Sharp knife for (optionally) splitting wings
- Small sauce pan for warming BBQ sauce
- Large dish for serving
- Napkins, or just stand eating outside and wipe your mouth with your sleeve like a normal person
Method
Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C
Line a large baking tray with parchment/baking paper
Mix eggs in one desert bowl
Place flour in another desert bowl (optional add some spice mix)
Split the wings and throw away the tips (optional, don’t bother if you’re lazy/rushed)
Cover wings in a healthy portion of the rub / spice mix. Give it a good massage to make sure they’re covered.
Roll wings one at a time in flour, then egg mix, then back in flour, ensuring full coating at each step
Place wings with a little space between them in the baking tray
Put the tray containing all wings into the oven
While chicken is cooking, wash & dry the large bowl
After 15-20 mins, carefully flip the wings (optional, don’t bother if you’re lazy/rushed)
Start slowly warming the barbecue sauce in a small pan, potentially add extra maple syrup or honey if you like extra sticky/sweet wings
After further 15-20 mins ensure chicken coating is a bit crispy, and remove from the oven. If not, leave for a few more minutes They should look like this:
Rest the chicken for a few minutes before carefully placing them in the large bowl
Turn oven up to 180 degrees C
Pour warm barbecue sauce over the chicken, and stir to coat
Tip coated chicken back onto the tray and roughly spread them out
Scrape barbecue sauce left in large bowl out onto the chicken so they’re all roughly evenly coated
After about 10 mins or so in the oven, the chicken wings should just start to blacken at the very extremities, and the sauce should caramelise
Remove wings and tip into a serving dish
Serve with cream dips, vegetables, fries, wedges or nachos. Your choice. Also, beer.
Result
They should look something like this.
Notes:
- I use a fan oven, so bear in mind your temperatures may vary.
- It can be more efficient to coat the wings using a plastic bag full of flour.
- It’s good to play with the oven times, too long and the chicken may dry out.