Air Fryer Buffalo Hot Wings Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 1-2 as a main or 2-3 as an appetiser
Ingredients Needed
For wings
- 550g/1.2lbs chicken wing nibbles (the wing and the drummette separated)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons oil
For sauce
- 75g/2.6oz Frank's hot sauce (or Truff hot sauce)
- 50g/1.7oz butter
- 2 teaspoons/10g/0.3ozs honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- Salt for seasoning
To serve
- Celery sticks and ranch or blue cheese dressing
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 PREPARE - Pat wings dry very well using paper towels and preheat the air fryer to 200C/400F. Place baking powder in a ziplock bag and add wing nibbles. Close ziplock and toss to coat the wings lightly.
Step 2 COOK - Place chicken, skin side up in the air fryer lined with parchment inserts. Drizzle with oil. Cook for 20 minutes.
Step 3 SAUCES - While they're cooking mix the hot sauce, melted butter, honey, garlic powder, paprika, lemon pepper and salt together in a bowl until you get a smooth texture.
Step 4 TOSS - Once wings are cooked, cool for 3 minutes then toss the cooked wings in this sauce. Serve with celery and carrot sticks and ranch dressing or blue cheese dipping sauce.
Substitution notes:
Ranch dressing is a popular sub for blue cheese sauce.
Personal Note
Sometimes things are worth making yourself like these wings. One day I came home from a long day out and we didn't have anything in the fridge ready. Mr NQN was out with friends so I decided that I would order some Buffalo wings in. I went on an app and it kept trying to upsell me things but all I wanted to do was order the wings. "Do you want extra blue cheese sauce?" it asked and I said no. Then I got a little niggling feeling about whether I had ordered blue cheese sauce but I looked again and the item said "Buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce". I also figured that they asked if I wanted extra blue cheese sauce so I assumed that it did.
I made the order and in the meantime I got changed and used the treadmill while I was waiting (y'all know how I'm obsessed with my steps). Within 30 minutes the wings were at my door. I opened up the bag excitedly as I had had visions of Buffalo wings powering me through my treadmill workout. I opened up my order and saw that the wings were this flaccid and soggy with a light brushing of the Buffalo sauce - they looked more golden than red. It was like the sauce got a fast glimpse of the sauce and that was it. Not only that, but there was no blue cheese sauce either!
But there was one good thing that I got from these Buffalo wings and it was the idea to use lemon pepper instead of black pepper in these wings. The lemon really brightens the wings up and gives them more dimension. So I promise Dear Reader, that if you make these yourself, not only will you get a more delicious Buffalo wings but these will be saucy and delicious too!
So tell me Dear Reader, how often do you order food delivery? Do you use an air fryer? Have you ever made Buffalo wings?