Oven Baked Chicken Wings (Crispy with Honey Garlic Sauce)

pile of chicken wings on plate with honey garlic sauce and sesame seeds

5 from 13 votes

Oven Baked Chicken Wings (Crispy with Honey Garlic Sauce)

You can hear that crispiness when you tap these oven baked chicken wings. The Cooks Illustrated method makes them deliciously addictive without frying! Use our honey garlic sauce or finish them with whatever sauce or dip you like best.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings (change as needed): (or more as appetizer)

Author: Cheryl Avrich

Ingredients

4 pounds (1.8 kg) chicken wings, split into 2 wing pieces if preferred, tips discarded. (about 16-20 whole wings) Note 1
2 tablespoon baking powder NOT baking soda!
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
oil for spraying wings
Garnish: 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro or parsley.

Honey Garlic Sauce

1/2 cup honey (170 grams/6 ounces)
4 cloves garlic, finely minced (4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoon dry sherry, fortified wine or rice wine (or 1 tbsp rice vinegar in a pinch)
2 tablespoon soy sauce I use low sodium
1 teaspoon grated ginger, optional
1/4 teaspoon -1/2 tsp chili flakes, optional
2 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

PREHEAT OVEN to 250F/120C. Position one oven rack in lower 1/3 of oven and one rack in upper third of oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and place wire rack on top. Spray rack with a little oil.
PREPARE WINGS: Pat wings dry with paper towels. Place baking powder and salt in a bag and toss in wings. Shake to coat evenly. Lay wings on the baking tray in a single layer with smooth side up. It's ok if they fit snugly as they will shrink when they cook. If you haven't spit the wings, you may need to use a second pan.
BAKE WINGS AT LOW HEAT: Bake wings for 30 minutes in the lower third of the oven at 250F.
BAKE WINGS AT HIGH HEAT: Raise heat to 425F/218C. Move wings to upper third of oven for another 30-40 minutes, depending on size of wings, until crispy and golden brown, rotating the tray halfway through. The internal temperature on an instant read thermometer will be about 160F/71C. Let wings rest for 5 minutes.
MAKE SAUCE/GLAZE: While wings are baking, place all sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring, until glaze has reduced and thickened a bit. Taste and adjust flavors. Remove from heat.
FINISH AND SERVE: There's 3 options.
1) Place cooked wings in a large bowl, pour on sauce and toss together.
2) Place wings on a plate and drizzle on sauce. OR
3) Serve wings with sauce or dip of your choice on the side.
Note 2 for sauce and dip suggestions. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or cilantro, and sesame seeds if desired.

Notes

Portion size: Figure about 3/4 lb per person or 1 lb to be on the safe side for bigger eaters as a main course. 4-5 wings per person. So 4 lbs of wings will serve 4-6 people for a main (or 8-10 as an appetizer).
Sauce/Dip suggestions: Sauces: honey garlic sauce as per recipe, spicy honey lime, lemon garlic herb dressing. Dips: Thai chili sauce, honey mustard, peanut sauce, Buffalo wing sauce, ranch dressing, salsa, Caesar dressing, blue cheese dip.
Make Ahead: Make wings ahead without adding sauce, then reheat them at 400F for 6-8 minutes. They will crisp back up. Toss with sauce just before serving. The sauce, glaze or dip can be made a day or two ahead as well, stored in an airtight container.

Nutrition facts are estimates and do not include garnishes and optional ingredients like sesame seeds, ginger and chili flakes.