My family complains that I have gone too far in my quest for the chimera of crispy skin. My chicken wings are too crispy for them. Which is un-possible imho.
Blot with paper towels. On both sides. Blot with paper towels again. On both sides. Sprinkle/toss with salt. Put on raised cooling rack in the fridge. At least overnight. But longer is better. Then blot again. On both sides.
Then (my personal favorite power move) puncture the skin (on both sides) with one of those needle meat tenderizers. Sometimes I do that twice -- before going into the fridge and then again when they come out of the fridge. The little holes purportedly allow more ways for the fat under the skin too render out. Then cook over (i) high heat for as long as it takes, but (ii) without incineration.
You have to have the high heat to get crisp. But you can't handle almost any kind of flame/chicken fat contact while doing high heat. Because chicken juice is basically as flammable as gasoline. Which means incinerated chicken. High heat without incineration is the trickiest part.
#1 method for high heat/indirect is Vortex/kettle. #2 method is SNS/kettle. #3 method (which is the picture below) is GrillGrates on a gas grill. The underplate of the GGs pretty much eliminates flare-ups. So I can cook the chicken at 425F right over the burners without incineration. #4 method is Chris A's hot/fast chicken on a WSM. With the vertical distance between the coals and the chicken preventing incineration. #5 method is the same as #4, but you hang the chicken pieces (PBC-like).
#3, #4 and #5 technically are direct cooking, but the practical effect is the same as Vortex/indirect (i.e. no incineration).
You can also add flour, baking powder, breading to your method. But I find the most impactful things are dry wings, salt dry brine, punctured skin and high heat.
