Oh YUM. That’s all I can say. Anthony is borderline obsessed with lemon pepper wings, so I decided to try my hand at making them at home. These are IDEAL game day food, but you better make a lot because they’ll be gone… FAST! True to Hulk form, these are baked, not fried so they’re even better for you. Seriously, these are Super Bowl must-haves!
So the key to making these crispy sans frying, I’ve learned, is the baking powder and salt combo. Baking this at a low heat allows the fat in the wings’ skin to render, so that by the time you crank up the heat, it just crisps up beautifully. The original recipe suggest baking at 425 degrees F for the latter portion of baking (without having to flip the wings); my oven smoked like crazy when I tried to do that, so be careful. 😉 I dropped the temperature down and turned the wings halfway through the high-temp cook time, and they came out as crispy as I’d hoped for, so either way works. I’m totally going to use this method with other sauce recipes, too! What’s your favorite flavor for wings?
- 3 lbs chicken wings
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon 1lemon pepper seasoning
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Adjust your oven racks to the lower-middle and upper-middle positions. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Set aside.
- Rinse the wings and pat them dry. Place them in a large resealable bag with the baking powder, sea salt, ½ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning, and garlic powder. Seal the bag and toss the wings until they are evenly coated. Place the wings on the wire rack, skin side up.
- Bake wings on the lower-middle rack for 30 minutes at 250 degrees, then move the wings to the upper-middle rack, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F, and bake for another 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and crispy. Turn the wings over and bake skin-side-down another 20-25 minutes until crispy on the other side.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, remaining tablespoon of lemon pepper seasoning, and lemon zest to make the sauce. When the wings are done, transfer them from the baking rack to the bowl and toss in the sauce until thoroughly coated. Return to the baking rack and bake 10 minutes more before serving.
Crystal says
August 31, 2015 at 8:35 pmCan u substitute baking powder in the crispy baked lemon pepper chicken wings? What is the purpose for the baking powder?
Kendall says
September 1, 2015 at 11:52 amHi Crystal! The baking powder helps the wings to brown while they’re baking. It works together with the salt to give the skin a crispy texture without having to fry anything. You might be able to swap it with cornstarch for a similar effect– it also helps with browning and crisping and is actually part of what makes up baking powder– but I’ve not tried it here. Hope that helps!
Felicia says
June 27, 2016 at 2:22 pmThese were the best baked lemon pepper wings I have had. So good!
Kendall says
June 28, 2016 at 6:13 amThanks Felicia! So glad you loved them!