How to Fry Golden, Crispy Chicken Wings

​Start to finish:​ 30 minutes ​Servings:​ 4 ​Difficulty level:​ Beginner

The key to golden brown, crispy fried chicken is in the coating and the temperature of the frying oil. This recipe uses a little corn meal to help the chicken crisp during frying. The hot oil will cook and crisp the chicken on the outside, while leaving the inside soft and tender. Once you get this recipe down to a fine art, you can fry a batch of chicken wings with little effort and time.

• 12 chicken wings, unfrozen
• 1 cup all-purpose white flour
• ½ cup yellow corn meal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Fold the chicken wing by tucking the pointed part of the wing under. If you prefer, remove the pointed part of the wing and set it aside for another use.

Sift flour and corn meal together over a mixing bowl.

Add all of the seasonings except the Italian seasoning to flour and corn meal mixture and sift over the mixing bowl.

Add the Italian seasoning to the mixing bowl and use a whisk or fork to mix well.

Add the cooking oil to a 9 or 12 inch frying pan, set the burner to medium-high heat and allow the oil to get hot. When a drop of water sizzles in the oil, it is hot enough for frying.

Dredge each chicken wing through the flour mixture, shake gently and place each in the frying pan.

Fry the wings on one side for about 5 minutes. Use a fork or tongs to turn the chicken over and fry on the other side for about 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken wings from the frying pan when both sides are golden brown and crispy. Place the wings on a plate covered in paper towels soak up excess oil.

Transfer the chicken wings to a serving dish and serve while hot either as part of a full meal or with spicy dips and fresh vegetables, like carrots and celery.

For added flavor or to make hot wings, marinate the chicken wings in a mixture of water, kosher salt, garlic and red pepper flakes. Substitute paprika or chili powder to make the wings hot and spicy. Allow the chicken to marinade in the refrigerator for 2 hours, remove the wings from the marinade, dredge in the flour mix and fry as usual.

​Variations​

• Use the same recipe to cook the chicken wings in a deep fryer.

• If you prefer, add the flour mixture to a paper or reclosable bag, place the chicken inside one piece at a time and shake to coat.

​Tips​

• You might need to lower and raise the heat to maintain the right frying temperature and allow the chicken to cook fully while crisping without turning too brown.

• Remove debris from the cooking oil before adding more chicken to the pan for frying.

• Leave a little space between chicken wings in the frying pan so they all cook and brown evenly.

• For food safety, discard any leftover flour mix that was used to coat the chicken.