J continues to be flummoxed by how little I know about American football, despite growing up in the U.S.  He simply shakes his head at my clueless look when he runs around talking about first downs, field goals, and blahblahblah.  Fortunately, we can meet in the middle:  he watches football and I spend that time amusing myself by making him snacks like these, which are a slightly healthier version of the ubiquitous chicken wings that grace so many Super Bowl parties.  And maybe, just maybe, learn a little about football.

I’m a little reluctant to clean up the mess that comes with deep frying, so opted to oven-bake these using the Cooks Illustrated method instead.  With this method, fat is rendered by baking them at lower heat and then followed by browning at higher heat, achieving an enviable crispness and moistness that rivals the deep frying technique!

 
(Clearly, I made the salad for me 😉 ).

Oven Crispy Soy Ginger Chicken Wings

From Cook’s Illustrated Meat Book

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken wings

2 tbl baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

sweet soy ginger glaze (recipe below)

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and preheat to 250 degrees F.  Set a wire rack onto a foil lined rimmed baking sheet.

2.  Pat dry and prep chicken wings and place into a large ziplock bag with baking powder and salt.  Seal and toss to coat evenly.

3.  Arrange the wings, skin side up, on a single layer on the rack and bake on the lower rack in the oven for 30 minutes at 250 degrees F.

4.  Move the wings to the upper rack, increase the temperature to 425 degrees F, and roast until golden brown and crispy, about 40-50 minutes. Rotate the sheet halfway through baking to allow for even browning.

5.  Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before transferring to a large bowl and tossing with wing sauce.  Enjoy hot!

Sweet Soy Ginger Glazed Wing Sauce

Adapted from Ravenous Couple

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup thinly sliced ginger

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tbl low sodium soy sauce

1 tbl fish sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tbl honey

1 to 2 tbl sriracha (may adjust according to taste)

Instructions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine water, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and chile and bring to a boil.

2. Add honey and reduce by half until it has the consistency of maple syrup and set aside.