Serious Eats - Baked vs Fried Wings

Chris over at Nibble Me This sent me a link to a recent experiment by Serious Eats by Blake Royer of baked vs fried wings. And I won't lie, I'm a little jealous. Because I was planning to do the same thing in the near future. I'm still going to. Just my pictures won't look as good.

Dammit.

It also ties into another article I'm writing right now about Buffalo wings and authenticity. Blake covers what makes an authentic Buffalo wing, but dares to ask if baking the wing really makes it any less a tasty wing.

He did 4 tests:

"Batch 1: The Anchor Bar's Original Frying Method. My first batch was drawn directly from the Anchor Bar's website itself. They suggest frying in oil, but offer the alternative directions: "Bake at 425°F for 45 minutes until completely cooked and crispy. Put in bowl, add sauce and toss." Done.

Batch 2: Frying then Sauce-Painting. My second batch was almost the same as the first but with one change: with ten minutes remaining in the cooking time, I painted the wings with sauce in hopes that the flavor would bake into the meat and form a glaze.

Batch 3: Marinating then Baking. For the third batch, I tossed the uncooked chicken in Buffalo sauce and let it marinate for an hour or so, then baked them, hoping the sauce would not only form a delicious glaze, as in batch 2, but also flavor the interior of the meat.

Batch 4: Flour-Coating then Baking. Maybe just because I'm spiteful of "authenticity" claims, I did a final batch tossed with flour before baking. Spitefulness aside, many recipes call for flour and I liked the idea of creating an even crisper exterior to soak up the sauce."

I won't say who won according to Blake, you'll just have to check out the article for yourself. I'll just say I think the evaluation methods are off, but until I do my own comparison will I know for sure.