Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings

May 14, 2020

Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings

Buffalo wings started at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964: chicken wings deep-fried and tossed in a sauce of melted butter and cayenne hot sauce, served with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks. This version swaps the deep fryer for an air fryer but keeps the rule that made the original work — the wings are cooked plain and crisp first, then tossed in warm sauce. Sauce added before frying just steams the skin instead of crisping it.

The wings are separated into flats and drumettes, patted completely dry, then coated in a light dusting of baking powder, salt and pepper. Baking powder raises the pH of the skin and helps it brown and crisp in the air fryer, the same trick used for crisp roast chicken skin. Air frying at 400°F (204°C) for around 25 minutes, flipping or shaking the basket partway through, gets the skin deep golden and properly crackly, no oil bath required.

The sauce is just melted butter and Frank’s RedHot, whisked together while both are warm, at roughly one and a half parts hot sauce to one part butter. That ratio clings to the wings without turning bland or greasy. If it needs more heat, add ground cayenne rather than more hot sauce — extra hot sauce brings extra vinegar and throws the balance off.

Serve the wings hot, straight from the toss, with blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery sticks on the side. Standard bar food and game-day food, and just as good eaten off a plate in front of the television.

Ingredients

Serves 4

The wings

900 g chicken wings, separated into flats and drumettes, tips discarded
2 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
3/4 tsp fine salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp neutral oil (or oil spray)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

The sauce

120 ml Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
75 g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional, to taste)
1/4 tsp celery seed (optional)

To serve

blue cheese dressing (or ranch), to serve
celery sticks, to serve

Directions

The wings

Pat the wings completely dry with paper towels — this is the step that matters most for crisp skin. If working from whole wings, cut through the joints to separate the flats from the drumettes and discard the tips.

Toss the dry wings with the baking powder, salt, pepper and the optional smoked paprika and garlic powder until evenly coated. Sift the baking powder in rather than dumping it, so it doesn’t clump. Add the oil and toss lightly to coat, or skip this and spray the air fryer basket instead.

For extra-crisp skin, spread the coated wings on a rack and leave them uncovered in the fridge for an hour or more, up to overnight, to dry out the surface further. This step is optional but worth doing if there’s time.

Arrange the wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer with a little space around each piece, working in batches if they don’t all fit — crowding steams the skin instead of crisping it. Air fry at 400°F (204°C) for about 24–26 minutes, flipping the wings once halfway through or shaking the basket every 5 minutes, until deep golden brown and crisp. If a batch finishes before the rest, keep it warm rather than stacking it, which softens the skin.

The sauce

While the wings cook, gently melt the butter in a small pan, then whisk in the Frank’s RedHot, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne and celery seed until smooth. Keep the sauce warm — it separates and firms up as it cools.

To serve

As soon as the wings are done, tip them into a large bowl, pour over the warm sauce, and toss until every piece is coated. Serve right away with blue cheese or ranch dressing and celery sticks.

Notes

Baking powder must be aluminium-free, and it has to be baking powder, not baking soda — soda in this quantity turns bitter and soapy. In order of impact for crisp skin: pat the wings bone-dry, use the baking powder, air-dry uncovered if there’s time, keep them in a single layer, and flip or shake partway through.

Keep the heat in the sauce with ground cayenne rather than extra hot sauce — more Frank’s throws off the butter balance with its vinegar. More butter mellows the sauce; more hot sauce sharpens it.

Sauce keeps about 2 weeks in the fridge; rewarm gently before tossing. Leftover cooked wings keep 3–4 days but lose their crispness — re-crisp them in the air fryer at 350°F (177°C) for 6–8 minutes before serving.

To make these in the oven instead, bake at 400°F (204°C) for 25–35 minutes on a rack set over a sheet pan, rotating halfway through, then toss with the sauce as above.