To Make Sure The Sauce Really Sticks, Coat Chicken Wings In Flour First - Tasting Table (2024)

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To Make Sure The Sauce Really Sticks, Coat Chicken Wings In Flour First - Tasting Table? ›

Coating chicken wings in flour provides a slightly roughened exterior, giving the sauce a better grip on the surface. As the wings cook, the flour forms a delicate crust that not only seals in juices but creates the ideal foundation for the sauce to adhere.

However, there's a simple technique that can help the maximum amount of sauce coat every inch of the wing's surface area: Dusting chicken wings with flour before cooking. This easy step transforms the wings into a canvas that both promotes a crispy texture and ensures that the sauce clings irresistibly to every inch.

Whether you're working with breasts, thighs, drumsticks, or wings, pat the meat dry. This is especially important for skin-on chicken or marinated pieces, as this can help sauce to stay put. Applying a rub can also be useful, much like working with a thicker sauce.

Most oven-baked chicken wings are tossed in sauce after they have been cooked, which means that the skin needs to be perfectly crisp to soak up all the sauce. Thoroughly pat the wings dry with paper towels before seasoning them with salt and placing them on a baking sheet.

The key to getting the sauce to stick to your wings is the flour, Sidoti says. Before you toss your chicken in sauce, coat them with enough flour or dry mixture (aka a seasonings mixture or dry rub).

Once the pasta is in the sauce, add pasta water. This is the most vital step in the process. Starchy pasta water doesn't just help thin the sauce to the right consistency; it also helps it cling to the pasta better and emulsify with the fat and cheese you're going to be adding.

The most widespread trick on the internet involves sprinkling a little baking powder onto the wings before baking them. The kitchen science wizards at America's Test Kitchen and Serious Eats both found this worked best for them.

A combination of seasoned salt, coarse salt, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Flour: Coat the wings in a seasoned all-purpose flour mixture before frying for extra crispy skin. Oil: Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable oil, to fry the chicken wings.

Butter adds richness and creaminess to the sauce, balancing out the heat from the hot sauce. This richness helps to coat the wings evenly and provides a smooth texture to the sauce. And finally, it acts as a binding agent, helping to bring together the other ingredients in the sauce.

Preheat oven to 250F (all oven types - standard/convection/fan). Line a baking tray with foil, then place a rack (like a cooling rack) on the foil. Spray the rack with oil spray or flour to keep the chicken from sticking. Either leave the wings in the bowl or move to a ziplock bag.

How do you make sauce more sticky? ›

Add a little sugar. Sugar doesn't thicken in quite the same way as starch or fat, but it does make your sauce stickier, and getting your sauce to stick to the food is the entire point. Adding sugar to water creates a solution that is thicker than water, and further heating (boiling or simmering) makes it even thicker.

Food stylist Richmond Flores' go-to method is marinating the wings and then steaming them before frying. This method, he says, imparts tremendous flavor and tenderizes the meat, but more importantly, the steaming helps render the fat from the skin which then allows the wings to crisp up perfectly.

If using a dish, use tongs to flip the chicken a few times during the marinating time (being careful not to drip any raw chicken juices around your kitchen). Use tongs to remove food from the marinade. Some of the marinade will stick to the food.

Lightly drizzle olive oil over the chicken to act as a binder, sprinkle your seasoning on top, then gently press it in and let your chicken dry-marinate for about 45 minutes.