Air Fryer Wings Recipe
Crispy wings without the deep fryer — buffalo wings, honey butter wings, bourbon maple wings, lemon pepper wings — for game nights and quick weeknight dinners.
★ lunch
lunchBourbon Maple Chicken Wings
Perfect sweet and savory, sticky and messy chicken wing recipe
Tineke YoungerIngredients
- Chicken Marinade
- 30 Chicken wings
- 3 cups Buttermilk
- 1/4 cup Bourbon
- 1/4 cup BBQ seasoning (Divided in 2)
- Maple Bourbon Sauce
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 cloves Minced garlic
- 1-2 sprigs Rosemary
- 1/2 cup Bourbon
- 1/3 cup Maple Syrup
- Oil (for frying if frying)
Instructions
- 1Add chicken, buttermilk and 2 tablespoons of BBQ seasoning into a bowl. Marinate for 4-24 hours. After marinating, place on a wired rack, sprinkle remaining BBQ seasonings on both sides of the chicken, let sit for about 5-10 minutes.
- 2For the sauce (you can make while waiting for the wings to sit) : In a sauce pan medium heat, add butter, after butter is melted add tomato paste, mix until incorporated for about 2 minutes. Add minced garlic, then on low heat carefully add the bourbon. Let the bourbon reduce to about half, still stirring. Then add remaining ingredients. On medium heat, let the sauce get to a boil, once to a boil bring down to a simmer, simmer until the sauce thickens up.
- 3If Frying: Heat up oil to 375 degrees F, add chicken in batches, fry for about 7-10 minutes flipping chicken as it cooks. After the chicken is done cooking, place chicken on a wired rack to get rid of the access oil. Evenly brush the sauce onto the chicken on both sides, putting the chicken on a sheet tray, and placing in an oven at 425 degrees (on the top shelf) for 10 minutes. Halfway flip the wings so both sides get evenly crispy. Take out once they’re done and enjoy!
- 4If smoking: Set your smoker to 250 degrees. Place chicken on the grill, smoking for about an 1 and a half hours to 2 hours. (165 internal temp) Flipping the chicken halfway. For the last 20 minutes of the cook time, start brushing the sauce onto the chicken, flipping and brushing more sauce every 5 minutes. Once the chicken wings are done take them off and enjoy!
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Open in Pepper →Wings That Get Crispy Without The Mess
Wings used to mean a pot of hot oil and a kitchen that smelled like it for two days. The air fryer changed that, and once you get the skin right, you'll make them on a Tuesday just because everybody's hungry.
Cooks on Pepper reach for these on game days, on Friday nights when nobody wants to cook, and any time a package of wings is thawed in the fridge and dinner needs to happen fast.
Every recipe here is wings and a sauce worth licking off your fingers: Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings, Bourbon Maple Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Honey Butter Chicken Wings, Smokey Hot Honey Wings, Spicy Korean Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings, and Honey Garlic Parmesan Wings.
Quick Tips
- 1
Dry the wings well
Pat every wing dry with paper towels before seasoning. Wet skin steams instead of crisping, and 2 minutes of blotting makes a real difference.
- 2
Add a little baking powder
Toss wings with about 1 teaspoon baking powder per pound along with your salt and spices. It helps the skin blister and brown, the same way cornstarch does.
- 3
Cook in one layer
Leave space between wings so air moves around them, usually 1 pound per basket. Flip them halfway, around the 10 to 12 minute mark.
- 4
Sauce after frying
Toss the wings in buffalo, honey butter, or hot honey in a big bowl right when they come out. Saucing before cooking just burns the sugar.
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