Air fryer chicken wings have revolutionized the world of home-cooked wings, offering a perfect blend of convenience and flavor. This method not only yields incredibly crispy skin but also maintains juicy tenderness inside, making it a game-changer for wing enthusiasts. Here’s how to master the art of making the best air fryer chicken wings, focusing on preparation, breading, and air frying techniques.
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Watch us prepare the best air fryer chicken wings in this video recipe:
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Tips for Making the Best Air Fryer Chicken Wings
How to Cut up Chicken Wings (Whole into Wingette, Drumette and Tips)
Sometimes you can find chicken wings that have already been cut into wingettes (flats) and drumettes. However, sometimes you cannot. Othertimes you may want to buy whole chicken wings because they are much cheaper or you want to use the tips for broth. Regardless of why you find yourself needing to know how to cut up chicken wings, here are the steps to doing so:
Bend the ‘V’ Joints Backwards to Dislocate Them
Lay out a whole chicken wing on the cutting board. You will see it consists of three parts: the drumette (resembles a small drumstick), the wingette (or flat), and the tip. Put simply, you will see two ‘V’ joints and you need to snap them the other direction to dislocate each of these joints.
Cut At Each Joint with a Sturdy Knife
Hold the wing with one hand, and identify the joint connecting the drumette to the wingette. You should feel a slight indentation. Position your knife at this joint and apply firm pressure to cut through it. You can bend the joint back even more until you can identify a good space to slice through.
Next, you need to separate the wingette from the tip. Similar to the previous step, locate the joint where the wingette and the tip connect. This joint is usually easier to cut through. Position your knife at this joint and cut through it, separating the wingette from the tip.
Discard (or Freeze) the Tips
You have now cut your whole chicken wing into 3 parts. You can discard or freeze the tips—they have virtually no meat but are great in broths. What is left? The delicious and edible wingettes and drumettes which you can now prepare for breading.
Preparing the Chicken Wings: The First Step to Crispy Skin
The journey to perfect wings begins with proper preparation. Ensure your chicken wings are thawed and patted dry. This step is crucial; removing excess moisture helps achieve that desirable crispy exterior. Moisture is the enemy of crispiness, whether we are talking about chicken wings or crispy roasted potatoes.
After the chicken wings are cut and ready, pat them dry with a paper towel. You can even let them air dry uncovered for 5 minutes. However, our breading is pretty foolproof in terms of drying the skin.
Chicken Wing Coating: Your Ticket to Flavor and Crunch
Breading your chicken wings is not art, it’s science. And we think we’ve nailed the science behind the perfect chicken wing coating. Here are the ingredients:
Flour (Cake or All Purpose)
Flour provides an a nice neutral-tasting base for a chicken wing coating and will hold the seasonings well. However, alone, we don’t think it produces the best chicken wing coating. We also add…
Baking Powder
A bit of baking powder in a chicken wing breading serves two purposes. It helps to raise the pH of the chicken skin which helps the skin to crisp up more easily. Secondly, baking powder produces carbon dioxide, creating a more textured surface.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch helps to create a moisture barrier between the meat of the chicken and the skin, keeping the juices in and the skin dry so it can crisp up.
Seasonings
We prefer to use simple seasoning: salt and pepper. This is because we prefer to finish our chicken wings in sauce. However, if you won’t be coating them in sauce, consider adding some ground mustard or paprika. Many people add powdered garlic but we cannot stand this product.
Toss your wings in the flour mix until they have a light, even coat. Shake off any excess coating as cooking up the best air fryer chicken wings requires a light breading.
Best Air Fryer for Chicken Wings?
We highly recommend the air fryer that we use: the Cosori Turbo Blaze Air Fryer.
Check out our full guide on why we think this is the best air fryer for chicken wings.
Cosori Turbo Blaze Air Fryer:
- Capacity and Efficiency: The Cosori Turbo Blaze Air Fryer, with its 6-quart basket, is ideal for cooking 1-2 lbs of chicken wings. It’s notably faster than an oven, taking just 20 minutes to cook the wings thoroughly. This makes it efficient for feeding 4-6 people quickly, without compromising on crispiness even when multiple trays are in use.
- Crispy Skin and Juicy Meat: The air fryer excels at producing wings with delightfully crispy skin,
- Easy Cleanup: The Cosori Turbo Blaze’s drawer and nonstick crisper plate are both dishwasher safe, offering easy cleanup.
- Design Features for Crispy Wings: The air fryer’s design, including a spacious drawer and crisper plate, promotes hot air circulation, crucial for crispiness. The presence of 5 fan speeds and 360° hot air circulation further ensures even cooking.
Want to know more about this air fryer? Check out our Cosori Air Fryer Review
Mastering the Dish: Products We Recommend
Here are some links (Amazon affiliate) to the products we recommend (and use ourselves) for making the best air fryer chicken wings with this recipe.
► Cosori TurboBlaze Air Fryer 6 L/ 6 Quart: https://amzn.to/3S3pvRb ► ThermoPro Digital Kitchen Thermometer: https://amzn.to/4b6wfGE
At PIATTO, we believe in using a reliable meat thermometer to check the temperature of meat, poultry and fish. This is not only to avoid undercooking food, but also to avoid overcooking it. We love this model, which has two probes that can be left inside whatever you are cooking in the oven. It’s awesome!
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This means at no extra cost to you, PIATTO may earn a small commission if you click the links and make a qualifying purchase.
Best Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Crispy Recipe!
Equipment
- air fryer
- sieve for sifting the coating
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken wings
- 1 cup flour cake or all-purpose
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- oil as needed; for air fryer or your choice using a spray bottle
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken Wings
- Begin by thawing your chicken wings if they are frozen. Once thawed, thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels. This step is crucial to remove any excess moisture and will help achieve a crispy finish.If you are starting with whole chicken wings, follow the instructions in this article for cutting the wings into 3 parts: wingettes, drumettes and tips.2 lbs chicken wings
Prepare the Chicken Wing Breading
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, and black pepper. Sift to remove any clumps.1 cup flour, 4 tbsp cornstarch, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp fine salt, ½ tsp black pepper
Coat the Chicken Wings
- Toss your chicken wings in the breading mixture until they are evenly coated. Ensure each wing is fully covered with the mixture for the best flavor and texture. Gently shake off any excess flour mixture.
Preheat the Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Preheating is essential as it helps to start the cooking process quickly, ensuring a crispy exterior.
Arrange the Wings in the Air Fryer
- Place the breaded wings in the air fryer basket. Spread them out in a single layer, making sure they are not overlapping. This allows for optimal air circulation and even cooking.Spray the wings lightly with air fryer oil spray or the oil of your choice. Spray the wings lightly on all sides. This is critical for making crispy wings!oil
Air Fry the Wings
- Cook the wings in the air fryer at 400°F (200°C) for 20-25 minutes. Use the 'air fry' function if you have one on your machine.About halfway through the cooking time, open the air fryer and flip the wings—or shake the basket to move the wings around. This ensures that each side gets evenly crispy and golden. Rely on your air fryer's recommendations for how many times to shake the wings, and for the temperature, setting and timing.
Check for Doneness… and Crispiness!
- After the cooking time, check if the wings are crispy and golden brown. If necessary, cook for an additional few minutes for extra crispiness.Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness, however in general the inside of chicken wings are done long before they are crispy.
Rest and Enjoy!
- Once cooked to your satisfaction, remove the wings from the air fryer and let them rest for a few minutes. This allows the outside to stay crispy while the inside remains juicy.Toss them in the sauce of your choice (optional).
