Chicken wings are a delicious American classic, but there's nothing more disappointing than when they come out flabby without any crispness. You can avoid this scenario if you use the right technique, and chef Alton Brown has one simple suggestion to maintain and maximize the crispiness of your homemade wings.

Brown’s wing recipe forgoes the fryer and opts for steaming the wings, then baking, which renders out the fat so the wings can get truly crisp in the oven. The steaming step yields crispy wings that are still less greasy than fried ones, and while it does require a steamer, it’s a worthy investment that can be used for all kinds of other foods.

To make these crispy pre-steamed wings, pop your wings in the steamer for 10 minutes, pat them dry, and refrigerate them for an hour to tighten their skins and eliminate any chance of flabbiness. Once the wings have dried and cooled, Brown roasts them in the oven for roughly 40 minutes to get the juiciest, crispiest chicken wings ever.