Nice hen wings are all about distinction. You need crackly, deeply browned pores and skin wrapped round juicy meat. You need salt up entrance, adopted carefully by simply sufficient sweetness to make their savory taste sing. Miss both one, and the entire thing falls flat. These miso-caramel hen wings put that concept entrance and middle. They’re savory, aggressively salty (in one of the simplest ways), and simply candy sufficient to maintain you reaching for one more one, even when your fingers are already shiny.

To attain this steadiness of contrasts, this recipe begins with our most dependable wing trick, borrowed straight from our former culinary director Kenji’s oven-baked wings methodology. As an alternative of being fried, the wings are tossed with salt and a small quantity of baking powder, then refrigerated earlier than being baked in a very popular oven. Baking powder raises the pores and skin’s pH, serving to it brown extra effectively and kind tiny micro-blisters because it cooks. These blisters are what provide you with shatteringly crisp pores and skin that reads as convincingly fried, regardless that the wings by no means go wherever close to a vat of oil.

You can prepare dinner the wings proper after tossing them with the salt and baking powder, however in case you’ve acquired a bit of foresight, letting them relaxation uncovered within the fridge for 8 to 24 hours makes a noticeable distinction in each taste and texture. The salt penetrates deeper into the meat, seasoning it all through, whereas the pores and skin dries additional, which promotes crispiness.

As soon as the wings are crisp and deeply golden, the true character of this recipe comes via within the miso-caramel glaze. The sauce takes unfastened inspiration from Vietnamese-style caramel hen, pairing sugar and fish sauce for depth, however then pivots with white miso for additional savoriness. 

Relaxation assured, I’m not asking you to babysit a treasured caramel on the stovetop for this recipe. There is no want for a sweet thermometer, no sugar spinning, no danger of molten-sugar burns right here. As an alternative, I exploit a hefty quantity of brown sugar to do the heavy lifting. It brings a deep, molasses-like sweetness that reads as caramel-adjacent with out the work of constructing caramel. When simmered with white miso, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and garlic, it turns right into a shiny, sticky glaze that has the suitable steadiness of candy and savory. The sweetness is not meant to dominate the flavour; it sharpens the saltiness. Salty meals is nice, however salty meals with a bit of sweetness is best.

Tossed within the heat glaze, showered with sesame seeds, and served instantly, these wings are messy, shiny, and unapologetically sticky. And no deep fryer—or a sugar burn—to get there.