Cookin' Fools
Whole chicken wings, separated into drums and flats, then coated in jerk seasoning, spritzed with olive oil and cooked in an air fryer till they reach their crispy, spicy potential. Jerk chicken wings in an air fryer are not just hot to be hot. Jamaican jerk seasoning is a well nuanced flavor profile with both sweet and spicy and oh so aromatic. Scroll down to see the trick to obtain some extra crispiness.
We are all about the wings at CookinFools.com. Some would say we are fans of wings, some would say obsessed.
For example, did you know you could take frozen chicken wings, season them and put them straight into the air fryer and they will thaw and cook at the same time going from frozen to fabulous in just minutes?
You don’t have to have an air fryer to make amazing chicken wings. How about baked Mango Habanero wings?
They don’t have to be spicy either. Baked garlic Parmesan wings can satisfy a wing fix without lighting your tongue on fire.
If you are here because you love all things Jamaican jerk, well, I have some good news. On the parent site to this one we have all sorts of jerk recipes.
One of my favorite recipes is jerk ribs. Or even bacon wrapped jerk ribs.
Or maybe some Jerk Chicken?
And this may just be a guilty pleasure of mine, but I love me some jerk and I love me some steak. I make jerk steak all the time.
Back to the recipe at hand… Jerk Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer.
Ingredients for Jerk Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer
- 3 lbs whole chicken wings, drums, flats and wing tips
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp Jerk Seasoning
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp olive oil or spray oil like avocado or olive oil
Prep the Wings
Forget buying those tiny little wings of just the drummies and the flats. Buy that econo-pack of wings and lop off the wing tip and then cut between the drum and the flat. Put those on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels and grab some more paper towels and pat the wings down to remove all moisture.
Discard the wing tips and toss the dummies and flats in a mixing bowl.
Add the salt and pepper:
With your hand or a set of tongs, work the salt and pepper around the wings in the mixing bowl
Then, add the jerk seasoning and mix that around as well:
***Warning ~ Jerk seasoning can be really spicy, depending on the brand, so be sure to either wash your hands really well after mixing it around the wings or use nitrile gloves and toss the gloves after handling the chicken***
Finally, sprinkle cornstarch over the chicken wings:
Mix up chicken wings to coat with ingredients. Leave the wings on the counter for 15-30 minutes to allow the cornstarch to pull out some of the moisture in the skin.
Gotta stop here and discuss the cornstarch which is F’n magical on chicken wings.
Why is Cornstarch Good for Chicken Wings?
Cornstarch is amazing for chicken wings. It forms a thin, crunchy coating as opposed to typical flour coating. The corn starch pulls the moisture out of the chicken skin and then the moisture evaporates while the wing cooks, which is the secret to the crunch. Leaving the wings out on the counter, coated with cornstarch, will make the seasoning a bit thick and cakey (not sure that’s a word), but the liquid it pulled from the skin will evaporate while cooking leaving the seasoning as part of a crispy outer skin.
After the cornstarch has pulled out some of the moisture, give them wings a spritz with spray oil or drizzle regular oil over the wings and work that through.
Cook the Wings in an Air Fryer in Batches
Don’t overload the air fryer basket with chicken wings:
The more they are stacked up, the more they will steam each other rather than crisp up.
Put chicken wings in air fryer basket trying to get them in a single layer.
I probably over filled here a bit, but I was starving and the aroma of that jerk seasoning was calling my name.
Turn Air Fryer to 380F and set the cooking time to 30 minutes. Flip chicken wings halfway through cooking time.
Check wings at about 30 minutes for doneness. Cook a few minutes more if you like them a bit more well done or crispy.
Serve with Celery and Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing.
Jerk Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer Summary:
I can’t tell you how amazing these are. A big part of this is picking the jerk seasoning. I’m a big fan of this stuff, Jammin’ Jerk, from Malcolm Reed, who is an absolute savant on the grill/smoker, and his rubs are amazing. He’s also just a fantastic dude. Find yourself a jerk seasoning you like and these wings will be in your regular rotation because they are just that good.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.
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Recipe Card
Jerk Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Lop off the wingtip from each wing and then separate the drummy from the flat. Discard the wingtips. Place the drums and flats on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Take more paper towels and pat off any moisture from the split wings.
- Once the wings are dried completely, drip the drums and flats into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt, pepper, jerk seasoning and corn starch and then using hands or tongs, work the seasoning through the split wings until they are completely coated with the salt, pepper, seasoning and cornstarch. Leave the wings on the counter for 15-30 minutes to draw some moisture out of the skin of the chicken wings.
- After 15-30 minutes on the counter, spray or drizzle the wings with olive oil or avocado oil. Work the oil through all the wings.
- Prepare the air fryer by setting it to 380 degrees for 30 minutes. Put a single layer of wings into the air fryer basket and and insert in the cooker. After 15 minutes, remove the basket, flip over all the wings and re-insert. When the timer goes off check the wings. If they aren't quite done, put them back in for a few minutes.
- Remove from the basket, serving with ranch or blue cheese.
