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Crispy Baked Chicken Drumettes are baked instead of fried and tossed in a sweet honey garlic sauce. They are finger lickin’ good and perfect for game day parties, backyard get-togethers, picnics, and everyday meals.
These chicken drumettes are a sure winner, no matter what crowd you’re feeding. Serve them with some Blue Cheese Dip or Ranch dressing, and pair them with Air Fryer Pizza Rolls and crispy Fried Shrimp.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
This is my go-to method for cooking up a delicious batch of crispy baked chicken wings or drumettes. Works like a charm for super crispy, flavorful drumettes every time.
- Drying out the skin – These crispy baked chicken drumettes are dried out overnight and coated in seasoned flour and baking powder, then baked, to get an extra crisp skin with no deep frying.
- Flour and Baking Powder – the baking powder reacts with the Ph of the skin to make it crispy.
- Flavorful Sauce – Today we are serving them with a sweet and spicy honey garlic sauce.
- Easier and Lighter – Baking them makes this drumettes recipe easier and lighter than deep frying.
You’ll love it because this wing recipe is super easy, kid friendly and that sauce is just *chef’s kiss* totally scrumptious!
What is a Drumette?
A Drumette is the meatier part of a chicken wing that looks like a mini drumstick. It’s meatier and juicier than the wingette (or “flats”) and made up of dark meat. It’s the part of the wing that attaches to the rest of the chicken.
The drumette is primarily white meat, whereas the flat is a little of both white and dark meat. Drumettes are tender and juicy and so fun to eat!
Ingredients
- Chicken Drumettes – You can use frozen, but they will need to be completely thawed first. The fresher, the better.
- All-Purpose Flour – I have not personally tried other types of flours, but readers have shared positive experiences with gluten-free flour.
- Baking Powder – NOTE this is NOT baking soda, but baking powder. While the two are similar, powder has other ingredients added which make it perfect for this method.
- Kosher Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Black Pepper
- Honey Garlic Sauce – Honey, soy sauce, minced garlic, ginger, chili flakes, water, and cornstarch.
How To Make Crispy Baked Chicken Drumettes
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
DRY THE CHICKEN. Do not skip this step if you want crispy skin chicken wings! Arrange the drums on a baking sheet and pat them as dry as you can with paper towels. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours to soak up the moisture, or up to overnight.
PREP. Cover a large rimmed baking sheet with foil, then top it with a baking rack. Spray the rack with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
COAT. Mix the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper together then toss with the chicken to coat.
BAKE. Place drumettes back on the rack in a single layer. Bake chicken for 30 minutes. No need to flip them, but do rotate the rack about halfway through.
MAKE THE SAUCE. Place all the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and simmer until thick. I use honey to sweeten the sauce but you could use brown sugar or agave.
TOSS. Toss the crispy wings with the sauce in a large bowl to coat.
BAKE AGAIN. Bake chicken wings for another 10 minutes. The sauce will bake into the crispy skin and taste so delicious!
Variations
- Chicken: This recipe is ideal for those who prefer the meatier drumettes, but you can use both sections, or the whole chicken wing.
- Sauce: We love the honey garlic sauce, but you can use any sauce you prefer, from barbecue sauce to buffalo.
- Heat: Feel free to adjust the heat level in the sauce or use different seasonings in the coating. You could add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the flour or extra chili flakes in the sauce.
- Kid Friendly: Leave some baked wings plain and serve ranch dressing on the side.
Serving Suggestions
These wings are nice and saucy, so they don’t require much attention to detail when serving. I’ll usually plate them up and sprinkle on some sliced green onions or chives and sesame seeds for a pretty presentation and add some celery sticks and carrot sticks on the side.
You can serve them with a dipping sauce, make some extra honey garlic sauce, or go with a traditional dip like blue cheese dressing, ranch or buffalo sauce.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Storage: Leftover wings should be stored in the refrigerator within 2 hours of serving. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Freezing: It’s best to freeze wings without the sauce, but either way will work. Place cooled wings in a plastic freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating.
Reheating: If you have an air fryer, that’s the best way to reheat wings. If not, arrange them on a baking sheet and bake at 350℉ until heated through and crispy.
Expert Tips
- Don’t skip the drying out process if you want a crispy skin. It’s important for sucking up the moisture in the skin so you’ll only be left with super crispy chicken wings.
- Feel free to season the flour whoever you like. Try a cajun seasoning, add some chili powder or paprika. Whatever seasonings and sauces you like will work with these wings.
- If you don’t have a wire rack to set over the baking sheet, you can just use foil and cooking spray. You will need to flip the chicken about halfway through during baking.
More Chicken Recipes
Honey Garlic Chicken Drumettes
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds chicken drumettes thawed or fresh
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
Sauce
- ½ cup honey
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger finely diced
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Garnish
- Sesame seeds
- Thinly sliced green onions
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Arrange on a baking sheet (touching is fine), cover with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for several hours to dry them out. Overnight is ideal. If you don’t have the time, you can skip this step, just be sure to pat them as dry as possible with the paper towels.
- Cover a large baking sheet with foil and top with a baking rack. Spray the rack over the baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and seasonings. Add chicken and toss to coat with the flour mixture. Shake off excess.
- Arrange chicken on the rack, close together but not touching.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating the baking sheet about halfway through. You do not need to flip the chicken. NOTE – if they don’t look crispy right away, give them a few more minutes. But they will get crispier as they cool.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. Add all sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened (it should coat the back of a spoon).
- Transfer crispy wings to a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the wings and toss to coat. Then place the drumettes back on the baking rack and into the oven for another 10 minutes. Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onions.
