The Crispiest Oven Baked Honey Sambal Chicken Wings

You don’t need to be watching the Super Bowl this weekend to make these unbelievably crispy wings! I will be donning my only Eagles t-shirt and attempting to pay attention to whats happening on Sunday though.

Whenever I talk about sports I always get asked…

“Don’t you hate sports?”
“Aren’t you from Ohio?”
“Why aren’t you rooting for the Browns (Bengals or 49ers)?”

To that, I say “I don’t really care, I just how everyone has a fun time!”

I’m way more interested in the Super Bowl food situation. I love the chips and dip options, so many hot dogs, and the wings! I’ve been fiddling with this baked chicken wing recipe for a few years now and I finally have it down pat. I have nothing against deep fried wings, I love them actually, I just like to avoid heating up a bunch of oil in my house as much as possible.

The key to the crispiest oven baked wings is allowing enough time for the chicken wings to dry out in the oven. Excess moisture within the chicken skin will prevent it from maximum crispiness. So if you’re making these for the big game, remember to arrange them on a pan and dry them out the night before uncovered. Then right before they go in the oven, I like to toss them with some salt and a lightest dusting of rice flour. The rice flour is less of a coating and more like an extra crunchy layer.

The first bake session is at 350-degrees, which is a lower temperature to help the chicken fat slowly render. Improperly rendered chicken fat results in flabby wings. Then you crank up the heat to 425-degrees, give the wings a few flips, and wait until the chicken wings are crispy and golden brown. You should be able to hear them getting crispy in the oven.

The sauce situation is a little spin off the classic buffalo wing. Instead of Frank’s Red Hot, we’re using sambal. It gets melted down with some butter and swirled around with honey, rice vinegar, and fish sauce for a not too spicy, sweet, tangy, sticky, and slightly funky chicken wing. It’s perfect. If for some reason you don’t eat all the wings immediately, they stay crispy for a few hours even when in the fridge. It’s magic!

Enjoy the wings and go, birds!

The Crispiest Oven Baked Honey Sambal Chicken Wings

serves 4

3lb chicken wings, wings and drumettes split

1 1/2 tsp coarse salt

1 tbsp fine rice flour

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp sambal oelek

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp fish sauce, optional

1. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Arrange the wings on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Set the wings in the fridge to dry out for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours (the longer the crispier). The skin will look dried out and more taut.

2. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Pat the chicken dry again with a paper towel if you see any moisture. In a large bowl, toss to combine the wings, salt, and rice flour until evenly coated. Arrange the wings back on the wire rack, skin side up. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, to slowly render the chicken fat. Take the wings out, increase the heat to 425-degrees, and flip all the wings so that they are skin-side down on the wire rack. Bake the wings for another 15 minutes. Take the wings out and flip one last time, so they are skin-side up. Bake the wings for a final 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Depending on how large your wings are, it might need a few extra minutes in the oven.

3. About 5 minutes before the wings are done, make your sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, add butter and sambal. Once the butter is melted, give it a stir and then add honey, rice vinegar, and fish sauce. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer while continuously stirring. Continue to simmer and stir until the sauce thickens and emulsifies, 3 to 4 minutes. If your wings still need some time to cook, just keep the sauce warm on the lowest heat setting.

4. Once the wings are out of the oven, immediately toss them in the sauce until fully coated. Allow them to cool for a few minutes before serving.