Mighty and crispy,moist and meaty — with no rubbery texture and no hint of dryness.
That’s how fans ofchicken wings love to have them prepared, andthat’s just what I got when I made them in an air fryer.
Frying chicken wings at home can be messy, and frying tacks on extra fat and calories. (Plus, wings are the fattiest part of a chicken to begin with.)But with the air fryer, you don't need to add any extra fat.
Like the Instant Pot, the air fryer has been a hot-ticket itemin the multi-cooker appliance category. Think of it as something that does compact convection frying while hot air blows around the food.
I'm not a fan of having lots of gadgets, but this is one I’d consider. My friend Jim let me use his air fryer to try out chicken wings. The fryer, he said, is ideal forwings (one of his favorites)because it always manages to get themcrispy.
I have to agree. The chicken wings I made were the crispiest ones this side of a deep fryer, and the meat was moist and tender, not dry — which is what can happen if you bake your wings.
Was it easy? You bet.
After checking out some recipes — there are plenty of air fryer cookbooks out there — I settled on basic buffalo wings because I'mnot a fan of overly breaded wings. In addition, I wasn'tsure how a breaded wing would hold up in the air fryer. Though some of the instructions indicate you can fry from frozen, I opted not to because I wanted crispskin.
One way to get crispy poultry skin, regardless of whether you're using an air fryer,is to make sure the skin is dry. You can pat itdry with paper towels. Sometimes I let the wings (or other chicken portions) dry in the refrigerator a few hours before using. After I seasonedthe wings, the air fryer did all the work.
Super Bowl favorites
With Super Bowl Sunday nearly here,it’s time to come up with a chicken-wing strategy. The big game and wings go together like chips and dip.
Every year, the National Chicken Council comes out with an estimateofchicken wing consumption during the Super Bowl.This year’s estimate is 1.38 billion, an all-time high.
Here's how the council says wing consumption stacks up:
- Placed end to end, those1.38 billion wings would stretch 28 times from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
- The weight of 1.38 billion wings is 6,600 times more than the combined weight of both the Patriots’ and Rams’ entire rosters.
- The total number is enough to put 640 wings on every seat in all 31 NFL stadiums and enoughto circle Earth three times.
- If each wing were one second, 1.38 billion wings would be 44 years.
Contact Susan Selasky at 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
More:From dip to sliders: These 5 snacks will make you a champ with your Super Bowl party crowd
Chicken Wings with Garlicky Buffalo Sauce
Serves: 6 to 8 / Prep time: 10 minutes / Total time: 1 hour
3 pounds chicken wings, thawed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon favorite all-purpose seasoning such Morton’s Nature Seasons Seasoning Blend
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
½to¾ cup favorite hot red pepper sauce (such as Frank’s Red Hot Pepper Sauce)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Favorite all-purpose seasoning
Blue cheese or ranch dressing
Carrot and celery sticks
Place the chicken wings on a baking tray and pat dry well with paper towels. Season the wings with agenerous sprinkling of kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and favorite all-purpose seasoning.Follow air fryer directions for preheating to 390 degrees. When it's preheated, working in batches, place the chicken wings in a single layer with the skin side up. Set the air fryer for 25 minutes. As an option, you can turn the wings halfway through cooking, so they crisp on all sides.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in the hot sauce and season with the pepper, garlic salt and all-purpose seasoning.
When chicken wings are done, remove from the air fryer and place in a bowl. Pour some of the sauce over the wings and toss to coat. Keep warm. Repeat cooking the remaining wings in the air fryer and tossing with the sauce when they are done.
Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing andcarrots and celery sticks if desired.
From and tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen.
