Baking Cajun Wings

I suspected at the time that a few people would have reservations about deep frying chicken wings (or deep frying in general). Either for health reasons or from not having a deep-fryer. So I've played around with the Cajun chicken wing recipe and come up with a baked version that should still retain the necessary crispness. (And who wants uncrisp chicken wings? Except next morning cold from the fridge. Like pizza. Hmmmmm... pizza...)

OK. Give these a try if you are for whatever reason deep-fryer-challenged! 

1 kg chicken nibbles

Or wings. If they're full wings maybe cut off the tip as they tend to burn.

Seasoning mix

2 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp cayene

Coat chicken with mix. Try rubbing it in with your hands. Wash them first and afterwards. Your hands, not the chicken. Leave for 4 hours. Overnight is best. 

NOTE: You can get away with about 1 hour if you don't put them in the fridge, but longer really is better.

Seasoned flour

1/2 cup plain flour

2 Tbs baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cayene

Coat chicken with seasoned flour. Cook immediately.

NOTE: The baking powder is essential for crispiness in the oven. 

Cooking

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Shake excess flour off chicken, place on oven rack. Cook for 35 minutes, turning after 20 minutes. You need to use a bit of judgement because ovens vary, but chicken wings are very accommodating! If it's a fan-forced oven you can probably shave 5 minutes off the time.