Ssamjang wings · wrkstdy

A friend walking a rocky trail past a small waterfall — Out on the trail.

I was backpacking with a friend, and somewhere along the trail we got to talking about food. I mentioned I’d been working on a method for oven-baked wings that was working pretty well (something about camping made me want them). I don’t have many recipes written down, though I have been meaning to start, so I put this one together for him.

The recipe

chicken wings	season on a wire rack, dry under a fan while the oven preheats	bake at 365°F convection: 15 min fat side up, flip, 15 min more	bake at 425°F convection, 20 min	bake at 450°F convection until crispy, about 5 min	toss the wings in the sauce, and enjoy
salt
pepper
a couple knobs of butter	melt together	stir in, keep at a low simmer	stir together
a splash of sesame oil
a spoonful of ssamjang
gochujang, to taste
soy sauce
oligo syrup
buffalo wing sauce

The process

Preheat the oven to 365°F on convection. While it heats, lay the wings out on a wire rack, salt and pepper them, and put a fan on them. The fan dries off the surface moisture, which helps them brown and crisp.

Seasoned wings on a wire rack over a sheet pan, with a small fan pointed at them — Salted, peppered, and drying under a fan while the oven preheats.

Once it’s preheated, put the wings in fat side up for 15 minutes, then flip them and go another 15.

Wings on the rack in the oven — The first round at 365.

Pull the wings and preheat to 425°F on convection. When the preheat timer goes off, put them back in for 20 minutes.

Half-cooked wings on the rack, resting on the counter — Out between rounds while the oven climbs to 425.

About 5 minutes before that timer, start the sauce: melt a couple knobs of butter with a splash of sesame oil, then add a spoonful of ssamjang, gochujang to taste for heat, some soy sauce and some oligo syrup.

Bottles of gochujang, sesame oil, soy sauce, oligo syrup and buffalo wing sauce, and a tub of ssamjang — The sauce lineup.

Butter melting in a large steel bowl on the stove — Butter and sesame oil going.

Pull the wings again and preheat to 450°F. Keep the sauce at a low simmer. Give the wings 5 minutes at 450, and while they go, stir the wing sauce into the pan.

The wings on their rack beside a bowl of orange sauce on the stove — Crispy wings, sauce ready.

Once the wings are crispy, toss them in the sauce, and enjoy.

Wings being tossed with tongs in a bowl of sauce — Into the sauce.