Air-Fryer Wings for The Big Dance

Crisp N’ Sticky Air Fryer Wings

Crisp N’ Sticky Air Fryer Wings

Watching The Big Dance is the one television sports event where my interest in what’s happening on the basketball court equals to my normal preoccupation with serving the best game day snacks! Hot wings are a favorite for many of the college-aged fans I know, so I decided to post this super easy, super yummy air-fryer wings recipe. The secret is to precook the wings in the air-fryer before tossing them in a sauce - that can be made to be as sweet or spicy as you’d like - and then return the wings to the air-fryer for a final crisping. You will swear these “fried” chicken wings were cooked in a deep fat fryer. The method actually requires no cooking oil at all. Using an air-fryer, these crispy wings can be easily whipped up in a dorm room or a small apartment kitchen with only a couple of specialty condiments required for the recipe’s “secret” sauce. It’s time to learn how to cook more in your air-fryer than just frozen onion rings! Make this recipe for this weekend’s games and I guarantee that you it will be something that you will want to make again.

Required equipment Air Fryer with at least a 4-quart fryer basket

Serves 4, approximately 16-20 wings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds chicken wings

  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

  • 1-2 tablespoons Korean chili paste (Gochujang)

  • 1-2 tablespoon Thai sweet chili paste

  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

  • 4 fresh garlic cloves, pressed (about I tablespoon)

  • 1 teaspoon honey

  • 1 teaspoon lime juice

  • Optional to garnish: finely chopped cilantro, toasted sesame seeds

Method

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Pat chicken wings with paper towel to dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Put wings into air-fryer evenly spaced along the bottom of the basket and then place a second layer of wings on top. Turn air-fryer on at 400°F and set timer for 20 minutes; after 10 minutes use tongs to rotate wings on bottom of basket with the wings on top to allow all the wings to brown evenly.

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While the wings are cooking mix all of the remaining ingredients in a medium-large bowl; set aside. Customize the level of heat in the sauce; if you like your wings spicy use the maximum amount of Korean Chile paste and minimum amount of Thai Sweet Chile sauce; if you prefer a milder wing use more Thai Sweet Chile sauce than Korean Chile paste. Whatever your preference, mix a total of 3 tablespoons of these two sauces in any combination with the other ingredients; taste as you add to get it right.

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Add the cooked wings to the bowl with the sauce ingredients; toss to coat.

Put the coated wings back into the fryer basket and continue cooking 5-10 minutes at 400°F until wings are crisp and glazed. Check wings after 5 minutes, if they are not crisp enough use tongs to rotate the wings and continue cooking 5 minutes more.

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Serve on a platter with lots napkins and garnish with finely chopped cilantro and toasted sesame seeds. Accompany with a bowl of steamed white rice and make it a meal.

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