Chicken wings make a great party finger food. I have a link to a Matt Preston recipe here of wings cooked in cola that MELT in the mouth. These must be tried at least once in your lifetime. That recipe, however, takes 3.5-4 hours of cooking. But you want tasty, sticky chicken wings on the table in an hour?? Walk this way.

If you’ve read my blog, you’d know I have a problem with textures. As a kid, I didn’t eat chicken skin at all.

Even today, as a “reasonable” adult, who has tried many cuisines, I still can’t tackle what my family has termed “squiggly bits”. Though I’ve tried, I can’t do fatty-chewy. For example, I can only eat chicken thighs if all the fat has been BBQ-blasted off, or melted into stew. While I like economical ways to cook, I also like to find ways to adapt the texture to my tastes.

Here are my texture-happy chicken wings secrets:

salt the skin a little
bake in the oven, and for longer than most recipes recommend (photo above, I baked for a just over an hour)
wings render a lot of fat, so change baking (parchment) paper at least once to ensure they’re not swimming in their own oil. Yes, you could use a drip tray, but that’s just more potential washing up.

“If you like it, then you shoulda put a wing on it.”
-internet. apologies to Beyoncé

Ingredients

2 kg chicken wings (4.4 pounds) cut into wingettes and drumettes

Marinade

enough soy sauce and oyster sauce (gluten free if required) to thoroughly coat the wings Start with 2 tablespoons soy and 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and work your way up. Wings should be coated and brown but not swimming. The oyster sauce gives them the stickiness.
mix of dried ground spices/herbs of your choosing eg garlic, ginger, coriander, parsley, paprika

Instructions

In a bowl, lightly salt the wings. Pour over soy and oyster sauces and mix gently with spoon. Add additional sauce to thoroughly coat the wings. Better to add too much sauce than too little, as too little won't be as flavourful. Mix through your desired spices and herbs. Refrigerate, covered, for several hours, turning over at least once to ensure the wings are brown all over.
Preheat oven to 205℃/400℉.
Place a couple of sheets of baking (parchment) paper on a baking tray/s. Place the wings in a single layer on the tray and put in the middle of the oven.
After half an hour turn the wings.
At this point note how much fat has rendered from the wings. A lot depends how much skin is on the wings. If there's a lot of fat in the pan, remove from oven and transfer the wings to fresh sheets of baking paper, and bake again. If not, give it another 10 minutes and do so. The point is to ensure the wings are not swimming in their own fat. This helps to crisp up the skin and ensure the meat is falling off the bone.
Turn the wings if you need to to ensure they are browning evenly. Change the baking paper again if you need to (a little fat is not an issue). After an hour, check if they're to your liking. A little extra time in the oven won't hurt.
Serve with vegetables, salads and lots of napkins!

Hello!

Everyday Chicken Wings