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. What’s the point of oven-frying if it ends up even messier than stovetop frying? I’d need to find a better method.
For instance, adding a bit of extra baking soda to pancake batter—thereby making the batter more alkaline—improves its browning capabilities. Would the same trick work on my chicken wings? I baked five batches of wings on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet: the first straight out of the package, the second tossed in salt before baking (in the hope that the salt would help draw out some of their moisture), one tossed in baking soda, one tossed in baking powder, and one soaked for two hours in a baking soda and water solution.
