Considering my blog’s name (Salt Pepper Skillet); it seems pretty appropriate to have a salt and pepper wings recipe. The salt and pepper wings are a purist’s wings. Purists in the way that they give the most respect to the wing by showing off the super crispy skin and the chicken flavor without hiding it behind a sauce (which is wonderful too).
When you love the simplicity and amazingly crispy chicken skin, then the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wing is the recipe you wan to make in your air fryer. It’s really just 4 ingredients with no added fat. Not one drop or one spray of oil is added to make these air fried wings. Pretty awesome, right?
Soggy, fatty wings are just the worst. That occurs when the wings are cooked in a low-temperature oven or low-temperature frying oil where the chicken fat doesn’t get the chance to render and crisp up. Not only does this leave way more fat on the wings for you to eat (not good!), but it doesn’t give you the best part of what a wing is, the crispy skin. Let’s avoid this by making wings the best way, which is in the air fryer.
How to make wings in the air fryer
Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees. Season the chicken wings on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge the wings in potato starch, then shake off any excess. Place the wings in the air fryer basket and air fry at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase the temperature to 425 degrees and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes, turning the wings at least once while they air fry.
Why air fry wings?
The main reason to air fry wings is for the texture and taste. Not only are they healthier because you don’t need to add any oil for frying, but they come out crispier than any other method of cooking wings and create much less of a mess.
Chinese restaurant-inspired chicken wings. If you’d like, you can toss them in a little garlic sesame oil after they cook to give them more of a Chinese flavor.
More Crazy Delicious Wings Recipes
Air Fried Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken Wings (About 16 drumettes and wingettes)
- 1/2 cup Potato Starch
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the air fryer to 375 degrees.
- Liberally season the wings on both sides with kosher salt & freshly ground pepper.
- Place the potato starch in a bowl, then coat the chicken wings on all sides, shaking off any excess starch.
- Place the wings in the fryer basket, leaving room so they don’t touch each other. This will help make them evenly crisp.
- Air fry the wings for 20 minutes at at 375 degrees.
- Increase air fryer temperature to 425 degrees and cook for another 15 minutes; turning the wings at least once to crisp evenly on both sides.
- Season the wings with more salt & freshly ground pepper right when they come out of the air fryer.
Notes
- This recipe uses a Breville Smart Oven Air for air frying. Other air fryers might require slightly different technique or cook times.
- For easier clean-up, I like to place a foil-lined baking sheet below the Breville air fry basket to catch any drips.
- If you don’t have an air fryer, the wings can be cooked in a convection oven, but cooking times might be slightly longer.
These look great! How do you place the other basket to catch all the drippings? I’ve only air fried things that aren’t messy.
Hi Renee!
Are you using a Breville Smart Oven Air? If so, you will place another oven rack below the air fryer basket, then place a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack. This will catch any drippings. Just make sure the air fryer basket has plenty of space around it for the air to circulate. 🙂
Best,
justin
I haven’t tried frying anything yet in the Breville basket because it looks way to hard to clean. Any tips?
Hi Joanne,
I totally know what you mean. The air fryer basket is pretty much the only thing I don’t love about the Breville Smart Oven Air.
Here are a few tips:
1. Use canola oil spray on the basket before using it to air fry. This help
s prevent anything from sticking to begin with.2. Use a large sheet pan filled with water and dish soap to soak the basket overnight after you are done with it.
3. you can get another brand's air fryer tray that is non-stick and much easier to clean. http://amzn.to/2DTtbOt (amazon affiliate link)
I hope this helps. Happy air frying!
What’s the correct size copper chef crisper, L, XL or XXL?
The one that fits on a 13×19 sheet pan.
Can you use another coating besides potato starch?
Hey Jamie,
You can use a light dusting of baking powder or just leave the wings plain. I much prefer the texture of the potato starch if you can get it. Cheers!
Could you use cornstarch?
Hi Jessica,
Yes, you can. You can also use baking powder. My pick is still potato starch.
Cheers,
Justin
Has anyone tried this with chicken thighs? If so, how long did the take?
I haven’t with this specific recipe, but I bet it would be amazing. I don’t think it would take a whole lot longer for thighs, maybe 10 more minutes. Just use a probe thermometer to check out the internal temp. I’d love to hear how they come out. 🙂
I tried thighs this evening and they didn’t take any longer than the wings recipe; probably because the thighs were kind of small. They were amazing! Can’t say the same about the clean up, though.
I absolutely can’t wait to try this with chicken thighs. Thanks for the great idea.
Hubby just bought me a Smart Oven so I have some “extra cooking” avenues for the holidays. I am going to try these on Saturday to go with our pizza.
Hey. Looks awesome!
I have not yet unpacked my Breville Air, but thought I would check out some recipes 🙂
Do you use more than one tray? (I bought extra trays, mostly for the dehydrating function…but also useful for the fryer 🙂 )
Thanks, Carolyn! You are in for a treat. It’s so much fun.
I only use one tray at a time, but I usually use sheet pans instead of the black tray that comes with the oven. The black tray and the air fryer basket that come with the oven are my least favorite parts of the oven. The air fryer basket is difficult to clean and they black tray is smaller than the fryer basket so it’s possible for crumbs to drip around it. I’ve heard that the “Copper Chef Crisper Tray” on amazon are a nice alternative. 🙂
Delish!! My coworkers would love these…next potluck I know what I’m bringing.
Highly Recommended
These were phenomenal