are wings better fried or baked

These baked buffalo wings are less messy than their iconic fried counterpart, and taste almost indistinguishable.

Anybody who thinks that a baked Buffalo wing is any healthier than the deep-fried real deal is about as delusional as Luigi thinking hes got a shot with the Princess while Mario is still around.

A Buffalo wing is a piece of skin-coated, bone-in chicken fat thats deep-fried and doused in butter before being dipped in mayo, blue cheese, and sour cream. Its fat on fat on fat on fat on fat on fat on fat. Is taking one of those fats out of the equation really going to make a difference? Unlikely. Want to allay your unfounded guilt? Load up on negative calories by eating an extra celery stick or two and call it a day.

That said, there is a large percentage of the home cook population thats hesitant to heat up a few quarts of oil in their kitchens. (Id be willing to wager my negligible income that the Venn diagram of people scared of frying and people who own well-seasoned cast iron woks looks like two non-overlapping circles.) Its a group of people who have had to be content with one of two categories of “oven-fried” chicken wings:

Neither method is bad per se. Indeed, if Serious Eats contributor Blake Royer taught us anything with his baked-versus-fried wing taste test, its that, depending on how you like your wings, these kinds can actually be better than their deep-fried counterparts.

Is it possible, though, to make Buffalo wings in the oven that are not “different but just as good,” but actually indistinguishable from the deep-fried version? (Hint: If it wasnt, I wouldnt be writing this right now.)

Now, Im well aware of the fact that, by definition, anything other than deep-fried wings tossed in a mixture of hot sauce and butter can never be called “Buffalo wings.” So if youre the type of person who needs to point out authenticity rules like that, you might as well stop reading right now and find something more interesting to do.

I hear that the no-beans-in-chili folk and the no-cottage-cheese-in-lasagna crew are having an infidels-recipe-burning party. Maybe you can crash.

Removing the skin and baking also reduces the fat content which is extremely healthy for seniors and children. Baking keeps the nutrient content of the meat intact making it an utterly healthy cooking process.

Does Pre-Steaming Help Wings Crisp?

Fans of Alton Brown (including me!) may have seen his Buffalo wing episode, in which he suggests steaming the wings over a pot of water before drying, chilling, and baking them.

The goal? The steaming process supposedly helps some of the excess fat render out of the skin, decreasing the time they need to crisp in the oven. Also, when the hot wings are placed on a rimmed baking sheet fresh out of the steamer, their retained heat helps their moisture evaporate, leaving you with wings that are in fact drier than un-steamed wings fresh from the package. Very clever, Alton. I compared these wings to plain baked wings, and, for good measure, I also included a batch of wings that Id given the Peking duck treatment: pouring a hot pot of boiling water over them prior to drying, supposedly to achieve similar goals.

I was very hopeful about this method—after all, hordes of internet followers blogging about their success cant all be wrong, can they?

While Altons methods are always interesting, and often spot-on, my guess is that none of the supporters of the steam-and-bake technique actually performed a side-by-side test. When push came to shove, the three batches were virtually indistinguishable from each other.

Characteristics of The Best Deep-Fried Wings

My first step: set a benchmark by deep-frying and analyzing a batch of wings.

As you can see, the key characteristics are the well-rendered, blistered, bubbly, crackly skin and the moist, fatty meat underneath. Without this ultra-crisp skin, the wings would quickly become saturated in sauce and soggy. At the same time, blistered skin boasts much more surface area than smooth skin, leading to better sauce adhesion and packing more flavor into each bite.

A baked wing, on the other hand, has a problem:

Despite near hour-long cooking times for some recipes, the skin never blisters in quite the same way—it stays smooth and tight. What little sauce can adhere to it rapidly causes it to turn soft and soggy.

So what does it take to get skin crisp? There are a few factors involved:

• Dehydration and rendering: The crisp skin of a fried wing is made up of a hardened matrix of proteins, with some amount of liquid fat trapped in the interstitial spaces. Before this matrix can crisp, two things must happen: The water must be fully driven from it, and the subcutaneous fat from the chicken must liquefy, some of it draining out, some of it soaking into the meat, and some of it taking the place of the liquid. Frying, which takes place in an environment well above the boiling point of water, accomplishes this rapidly. Hot oil also transfers heat much more rapidly than hot air in an oven, causing this dehydration to proceed at an accelerated rate.
• Browning: The Maillard reaction—the complex series of chemical reactions that create “brown” flavors and colors—occurs at a heightened rate at higher temperatures. In a pot of oil, this takes about 12 minutes. In an oven, it can take over an hour.
• Blistering: As the chicken cooks, small bubbles of air or water trapped in the skin rapidly expand due to the heat. As this happens, it causes small, protein-reinforced bubbles to form. Some of these bubbles are lucky enough to simultaneously finish cooking and hardening as they form, increasing the skins surface area and creating the familiar nooks and crannies on a well-fried wing.

So clearly, in order to achieve baked-chicken-wing perfection, my goal should be to find ways to increase the rate at which all three of these reactions occur.

My first thought was simple: Why not fry them in the oven? To this end, I preheated a rimmed baking sheet, with a half cup of oil coating the bottom, in a 450°F (230°C) oven.

“Whats the point of oven-frying if it ends up even messier than stovetop frying?”

Once it was hot, I placed the chicken wings directly into the oil, where they immediately started sizzling, then placed them back in the oven. One flip and 25 minutes later, I had a batch of perfectly fried wings—along with an oven interior coated in grease, and an array of microscopic burns all along my arms from hot oil spitting out of the pan. Whats the point of oven-frying if it ends up even messier than stovetop frying? Id need to find a better method.

Best Ever Crispy Baked Chicken Wings – How to Perfectly Bake Crispy Wings in the Oven

FAQ

Are baked wings better than fried?

What is the best cooking method for wings?

Is it better to bake or fry chicken?

Are chicken wings better air fried or baked?

Is fried wing better than baked wing?

Neither method is bad per se. Indeed, if Serious Eats contributor Blake Royer taught us anything with his baked-versus-fried wing taste test, it’s that, depending on how you like your wings, these kinds can actually be better than their deep-fried counterparts.

Is fried food good for us?

Fried foods are high in saturated fat and trans fat. Eating them is associated with a higher risk of developing plaque in arteries that can put you at risk for coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart attack, and stroke. So, no, they are not good for us.

Are baked chicken wings healthier than fried chicken wings?

Baked chicken wings have a more crispy texture than fried chicken wings because they are not cooked in oil. Fried chicken wings have a more soft and tender texture than baked chicken wings because they are cooked in oil. Baked chicken wings are a more healthy option than fried chicken wings because they have a lower calorie count.

Are fried wings good for saucing?

Fried wings: crispy, blistered, and ideal for saucing. As you can see, the key characteristics are the well-rendered, blistered, bubbly, crackly skin and the moist, fatty meat underneath. Without this ultra-crisp skin, the wings would quickly become saturated in sauce and soggy.