Heat up a big pot of boiling water. Season the water like you would for cooking pasta (taste the water, it should taste a little repulsively salty, like sea water).
Add the chicken wings to the pot, and reduce the heat slightly to keep them at a simmer for 7 minutes.
Drain the chicken pieces in a colander, then place them on a wire rack for a couple minutes, letting the steam evaporate from the cooling wings and also letting any excess moisture drip down. Then dry them very well with paper towels or highly absorbent kitchen towels.
Place the chicken wings directly on a metal sheet pan, with the fattier top side down.
Bake for 25 minutes on the first side, then flip the pieces over and bake for another 5-10 minutes on the other side, until the skin looks golden and crisp. Make sure to keep your eye on them, particularly if you have smaller wings, to check for doneness. Overcooking risks drying the inside out.
If serving the wings with sauce, coat them while they're hot out of the oven. Enjoy!
Notes
How to Make Sure the Chicken Doesn't Stick to the Pan - A few people have reported issues with the wings sticking to the pan. This means they were too wet when they went into the oven. Make sure to:
Dry the wings very thoroughly after parboiling. As stated in the recipe, let them air dry for a few minutes (you will literally see steam evaporating off the wings as they cool). Then dry them very well with towels, squeezing well.
If you want extra insurance, you may grease the pan with a high smoke point oil, like ghee, tallow, avocado, vegetable, canola, etc. Just make sure you don't put parchment paper or a silicone mat underneath the chicken, because the skin won't crisp up the same.
Bake on an uncoated sheet pan (affiliate) for best results, and use a turner like this (affiliate) to really get under the pieces and scoop the crispy bits off.
How to Make Ahead of Time: Go through all the steps of parboiling the wings and drying well with a paper towel, then place on a sheet pan and let them sit in the refrigerator UNCOVERED for up to 24 hours. Then all you have to do is pop them into the hot oven and bake them. Because they will be cold, they will likely need to bake a little longer.Variations on Baking Time/Dryness: The sizes of wings at grocery stores vary hugely, so the visual cues are incredibly important! Make sure to look at the photos above, and to use the baking times as estimates. If the chicken turns out dry, this means they were overcooked. If you have smaller pieces, you will probably only need to bake them for a total of 25 minutes. I’ve always done around 40 for mine, but they’ve been large pieces of chicken. Storing leftovers: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.Reheating: Do not microwave the leftovers, or the skin will be soggy. Heat the chicken in a 400F oven for 10-15 minutes, until hot and crisp.