BBQ Chicken Wings

Crispy baked chicken wings smothered in a sweet and tangy homemade barbecue sauce. I’ll show you the trick for making the crispiest chicken wings in the oven.
The whole family are going to devour these wings and they’re so simple to prepare (with none of the grease splatters from fried wings) you’ll love making them too.

These wings go SO fast! I only bought 1kg of them, and everyone whizzed through them like cartoon characters zooming through corn-on-the-cob at high speed!

 

They make a fantastic appetizer or game day treat, but equally they make a fab treat dinner served with a few sides.

I’m totally obsessed with the barbecue sauce too. This recipe makes enough to smother the wings, with another cupful or so leftover to serve on the side or to save and use as a dip for fries or to top burgers and sausages.

 

What to serve it with

You can serve these tasty baked BBQ chicken wings with:

  • Creamy Potato Salad
  • Homemade Coleslaw
  • Garlic Chilli Oven Baked Fries
  • Cobb Salad with Smoky Chickpeas
  • Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Garlic, Cheddar and Bacon

 

 

 

BBQ Chicken Wings

 

INGREDIENTS

Crispy Chicken Wings:

  • 2.2 lbs (1 kg) chicken wings
  • 2 level tbsp aluminium-free baking powder (It has to be baking powder – NOT baking soda – see further notes on baking powder below
  • ½ tsp salt – make sure it’s regular table salt
  • ½ tsp pepper

Barbecue Sauce:

  • 1 ¼ cups (300g) tomato ketchup
  • 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 5 tbsp dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp black treacle or molasses
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • ½ tsp mustard powder –  – or 1 tsp English mustard
  • 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

 

  • Preheat the oven to 120C/250F and place a rack on a large baking tray.
  • Cut each wing at the joint so you have a mini wing and a drumette. Dry the wings with paper towels, then place in a large bowl and add the baking powder, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Note – it’s important to dry the wings first so they only get a light coating. Discard any remaining coating once tossed together.
  • Place in a single layer on the rack. It’s fine for them to be touching slightly. Place on the lower shelf of the oven for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, turn the oven up to 220C/425F and rotate the tray for even cooking. Cook for a further 45-50 minutes until the wings are lightly golden and crispy (if your wings aren’t particularly meaty, cook for 10 minutes less). Take out of the oven.
  • Whilst the wings are baking, make the barbecue sauce. Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan and mix together.
  • Heat over a medium-high heat, until boiling, then simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
  • Toss the barbecue sauce with the wings and serve straightaway.

 

Do you put BBQ sauce on chicken before or after baking?

For ultimate crispiness, put the barbecue sauce on AFTER baking, then serve right away.

Can you put BBQ sauce on raw chicken?

Some recipes call for baking/grilling chicken in BBQ sauce. My method involves baking the wings first to guarantee crispiness.
However, even if you weren’t looking for a crispy coating (i.e just baking chicken pieces in the regular way), I would recommend adding the sauce after cooking, or for the last 5 minutes of cooking only. Barbecue sauce has a lot of sugars in, which can burn and taste bitter if cooked for a long period or over too high a heat.

How do you get sauce to stick to chicken wings?

These baked wings have a crispy, craggy exterior, so the sauce will easily cling to the wings without sliding off.

Do I need to marinate the wings first?

Nope. We want the chicken skin to be dry so we can get it extra crispy.