Crispy Moist Garlicky Wings. Is There A Better Way?
I have a recipe for baked chicken wings that’s a keeper! It provides a great foundation to make some crispy chicken wings with an exceptional aroma and taste of garlic, but still leaves me a challenge to tweak it so the wings are juicy as well.
Below are some links to more details, including photos and tips:
My Story
I felt like cooking chicken wings, but wanted a better outcome than the last time I made drumettes and wingettes, so I searched for a promising recipe.
Inspiring Recipe
The recipe that I found was Baked Chicken Wings on the Allrecipes website.
First Try
Since I had the majority of the ingredients to make this recipe, I was able to start after I bought the chicken wings.
Ingredients to Use
Starting with 28 chicken wings, I increased the remaining ingredients by about 2.8 times. Below were the amounts for the adjusted ingredients:
- 8 1/3 tablespoons of oil
- 8 cloves of pressed garlic
- 1 1/3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
- 2 3/4 teaspoons of garlic powder
Instead of using full olive oil, I wanted to use up an olive and canola oil blend that had garlic in it.
Steps to Prepare
I followed the simple directions in the recipe, but made one addition. Before I added the wings to the bag, I patted them dry with paper towels, so the skin wouldn’t come out soggy.
Soon, the wings were done after an hour of baking.
Time to Eat
After the chicken wings were plated, they were ready for tasting.
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe after the first attempt:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
Surprisingly, my family and I enjoyed these crispy garlicky wings, even though I thought they were a little dry. One of my sons even dipped them in tartar sauce!
Second Try
For the next batch, I wanted to decrease the baking time in hopes that the wings would be softer while maintaining the crispiness.
Ingredients to Use
This time, I had 32 chicken wings, so increased the remaining ingredients and used the following amounts:
- 9 2/3 tablespoons of oil
- 10 cloves of pressed garlic
- 6 1/3 teaspoons of chili powder
- 3 1/4 teaspoons of garlic powder
For the oil, I used roasted garlic EVOO this time since I had used up the oil from the first batch.
Steps to Prepare
For the second round, I changed the process a little by adding all the ingredients for the marinade into a measuring cup before transferring everything to the bag, since it was easier to put things in a cup than a bag.
Unfortunately, I had a little mishap when I got to the garlic powder. Instead of using 3 1/4 teaspoons, I wanted to add 1 tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon worth to save some time. However, I forgot to convert a number in my head and added 3 tablespoons and 1/4 teaspoon instead! To fix the situation, I tried my best to remove the extra 2 tablespoons of garlic powder.
After finishing the other steps, I baked the chicken for 55 minutes.
Time to Eat
Here’s a plate of chicken wings from the second batch:
Recipe Rating
Looking at the results in the chart below from the second try, nothing changed:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
However, compared to the first batch, these wings were not as dry. In addition, they didn’t smell or taste as good and weren’t as crispy. Since I changed multiple things in the process the second time around, I’ll have to try this recipe again to bring back more of the crispiness and garlic flavor without sacrificing the moisture in the meat.
Some people prefer to eat wings with a sauce and others like them better without it, so I’ll continue to focus more on the wings instead of the condiment. Here are a couple of things I’ll try next time to see if they will improve the preparation and texture of the wings:
Continuous Improvement
- Put the bag into a measuring cup, as shown in the video of the recipe, so it’s easier to place the ingredients in.
- Bake the wings for 57 minutes, so they’re crispy, but not dry.
I prefer to read instead of watch a video when I’m looking for information, but noticing that I missed out on a tip when I skipped the video in the chicken wing recipe, I would tell my previous self the following:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- Don’t avoid video content! Patiently watch them and you might find some nuggets that aren’t captured in writing.
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the Baked Chicken Wings from the Allrecipes website?
- Share your favorite roasted garlic oil for baking?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)