How To Make Perfectly Crispy Flourless Chicken Wings Every Time

Whether you like them dipped in blue cheese dressing or smothered with sriracha, devouring crispy, delicious chicken wings remains an American pastime, with nearly 1.5 billion consumed during the Super Bowl alone. Gluten sensitivities notwithstanding, some of the crispiest, juiciest wings aren't dredged in flour before frying or baking in the oven. Alternatively known as "naked" wings, the highly desired crunch can be consistently achieved by making sure the wings are well-dried before cooking. After that, you only need to deep-fry them for between 8 and 10 minutes for crispy results. If you're frying in a skillet, you'll want to fry for 4 minutes on each side. 

Buffalo wings are a well-known flourless version of fried wings, and though their origin story is hotly debated, one telling credits Teressa Bellissimo, part-owner of the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, as being the first person to drop unbreaded chicken wings in hot oil back in 1964. Wings, or any other piece of skin-on chicken, will get crispy when baked or fried because the fat will quickly render off while cooking, leaving a dehydrated or crisp, crunchy skin.

Although the simplest, most straightforward way to make the crispiest, flourless chicken wings is by patting them well with a few paper towels (and stashing them in the refrigerator for a few hours beforehand), there are a few other tricks you can add to your wing-making arsenal. You can pour boiling water over chicken for superbly crispy skin, but once again, pat them dry before dropping the wings in hot oil, to both ensure crispness and prioritize safety. It's also wise to avoid mistakes when baking chicken wrings, like overcrowding the pan, or the wings will steam, resulting in soggy skins.

Baking wings coated in baking soda is another method for crispy skin that's gluten-free and minus the added fat that comes from frying. Baking soda helps to draw more moisture from the skin, making it more alkaline which breaks down protein bonds, making the skin thinner and drier and more likely to crisp.