Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings

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• Recipe highlights
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Frequently asked questions
• Serving suggestions
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Recipe highlights

How good are chicken wings!

Finger food that you can hold in both hands as you gnaw away at every little bit of meat to get the bones clean as you then lick the juices of each finger!

Using a simple store bought lemon pepper seasoning, we take the effort out of cooking and make these wings super convenient.

The wings get air fried to perfection resulting in succulent, juicy chicken that literally pops as it comes off the bone.

This is a quick and easy recipe that works!

Serve the wings as dinner with a salad, appetizers, finger food or game day snacks.

Ingredients

The ingredients you need are shown in the photo below, they are all simple and can be found at the local shop (you might already have some of them!)

As you can see, the recipe calls for:

• chicken wings (nibbles): to save yourself time and effort, you can purchase chicken nibblets from the supermarket. These are simply the wings cut into 3 pieces that require no prep time (cutting yourself!).
• lemon Pepper seasoning (chicken seasoning): this is a very popular spice mix that works well for chicken and fish. It will be readily available at the supermarket in the herbs and spices section. It does dry out reasonably quick, so ensure the lid is tight and use regularly to maximise value.
• spray olive oil (optional): spraying the basket with oil, helps to ensure that the wings won't stick. It will also save you time in cleaning up the basket.

This simple combination is all that is needed. Pair it with chips and gravy for a complete meal!

Instructions

As you can see in the photos below, the whole recipe involves quick, easy steps!

• Add wings to zip lock bag and sprinkle with lemon pepper (Photo 1)
• Spray the Air Fryer basket with olive oil to prevent sticking (Photo 2)
• Add seasoned wings in one flat layer to the basket (Photo 3)
• Spray the wings with a small amount of oil (Photo 4)

If you want to skip the oil you can, however, the basket will get an amount of dried seasoning cooked to it and increase your clean up time.

You could choose to line the basket with baking paper to avoid this.

My recommendation is to use a little oil under and on the wings to achieve better tasting wings and save yourself hours of scrubbing!

• Cook the chicken wings for 10 mins (Photo 5)
• Then flip and continue cooking for another 15 - 20 mins (Photo 6)

I find the best method to cook wings in the Air Fryer is to let them cook initially for 10 mins, then (use tongs) to flip to other side and cook for a further 15-20 mins.

This method results in both sides of the wings with golden crispy skin and succulent, juicy meat.

Top tip: If you want to combine the seasoning and oil to start, then massage over the wings that will works also. Have a look at my Air Fryer Roast Chicken recipe where I use that method.

If you look under the wings in the photo above, you can see there will still be a small amount to clean up as the juices run off the wings.

Top tip: I recommend not using baking paper instead of oil (unless desperate) as you want the air flow in the fryer, in around and under your wings and the paper limits this to a certain degree.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make lemon pepper wings in an Air Fryer?

To make lemon pepper wings in the air fryer, we start by patting dry the wings then rubbing with the lemon pepper seasoning.

Drying the chicken wings with paper towel before we season them is to remove any moisture from the wings.

I do also recommend a spray or 2 of olive oil on the wings before cooking as this ensures the skin does dry out and helps to achieve succulent juicy chicken.

How long do you cook wings in an Air Fryer?

It takes 25-30 mins to cook raw or thawed wings in an Air Fryer.

You can also cook them from frozen, by keeping the same temperature, but increasing the cook time by an additional 5 - 10 mins.

Serving suggestions

To serve the wings, try pairing with a Quick Potato Bake, Duck Fat Roast Potatoes or Creamy Garlic Potatoes.

Or have a look at all Roasted Potato Side Dishes.

Expert tips

This is what I have learnt that will help you master the recipe from the 1st time and every following time:

• Ensure you pat the chicken wings dry to start (helps remove moisture)
• Using a zip lock bag and massaging the lemon pepper onto the wings ensures they each get well seasoned on both sides
• Spray basket to save clean up time or use baking paper
• Pull the basket out by the handle to check how the wings are cooking in the 1st 10 mins to ensure the wings are flat with a little space
• There are so many sizes and types of Air Fryers that some will cook faster or slower depending on the model.
• Frozen chicken wings will take longer to cook, give them an additional 5-10 mins but keep the temperature the same (ie increasing it is not the better option)

The sauces I recommend to dip the wings are the Lemon Yogurt Sauce (shown in photos) Spicy Yogurt Sauce or the Basil Yogurt Sauce.

Adrianne xx

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