Pineapple Chicken Wings (Air Fryer)

Learn how to make these mouthwatering gluten free pineapple chicken wings. These chicken wings are so easy to make, generously seasoned, flavoursome with a spicy pineapple dipping sauce. 

Are you a huge fan of succulent air fryer chicken wings? Well you won't be able to resist this appetiser.

I'm talking about chicken that is crispy to the bone, uber tasty and incredibly more-ish

I have to admit that I'm falling in love more and more each day with my air fryer. It's the best gift that a foodie like me could get.

Since hopping on the air fryer band wagon, I have never looked back because I love it that much.

What I love about the air fryer is its ability to replicate deep fat fried food using little or no oil. I'm partial to deep fat fried food but I don't care for the health risks.

I feel like the air fryer gives you a happy medium - a small amount of oil for deep fat fried results (depending on what you're cooking).

There are so many things that you can cook in an air fryer - steak, sprouts, fish, burgers, fries and of course chicken.

The list is endless but today I'm going to show you how to prepare some air fried chicken wings with a sweet pineapple glaze which doubles up as a dipping sauce.

Does cornstarch make chicken wings crispy

The answer is YES, however, any type of starch i.e tapioca, arrowroot etc.. will do the job. 

You can also use flour (gluten free) I like to use brown rice, that's a favourite of mine or baking powder is another great alternative to use.

Any of the aforementioned is the magic ingredient to making wings crispy without using a copious amount of oil.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to use large amounts of oil in order to yield crispiness.

Instead, flour, starch or baking powder is typically used to coat meat, fish or vegetables to yield a much crispiness finish.

With that being said, in my humble opinion starch and baking powder give off a crispier finish than flour.

Both starch and baking powder absorbs more moisture and expands, so while the food is being cooked or in this case air fried, that moisture responds to the heat by leaving a cracking, puffy coating.

This explains why it is often called for in a lot of recipes and while flour is another good option, you often need to use need to use more which can result in a more dense, chewy coating.

The preparation

The coating - First of all I would recommend preparing the coating. The coating will yield an extra crispy exterior which is why I like to follow this step. Some people choose not to apply any form of coating but in my experience the coating is should be added for best results.

I used tapioca starch combined with some seasoning - black pepper, onion powder, garlic granules, paprika and pink salt. The seasoning blend helps to give the chicken some flavour which compliments the glaze.

The chicken - I cut the chicken so only the wingettes (flat part) would be left and ready to be used. However depending on whether you purchase the whole wing or not, it's up to you which part of the wing you would like to cook. You will need about 2lb of chicken for this recipe.

Coating the chicken - Combine the wingettes with ingredients to make the coating. You will need to place both in a ziplock bag or a bag that can be closed tightly and give it a good shake so the wingettes are all evenly coated.

Cooking the chicken wings

The chicken wings need to be cooked in two intervals - without the glaze and then with some of the glaze (tossed/brushed) onto the chicken.

The first stage is getting the wings in the air fryer basket (sprayed of course) and then cook the chicken. Using temperature 190c (392F) for 20 minutes, turning half way through

Second stage is to toss the chicken in the glaze then placing them back in the fryer for 3 minutes so the glaze adheres to the chicken.

You won't need to use all of the glaze for this step, the remaining glaze can be applied again or used to simply dip the wings in.

The glaze - The best time to prepare the glaze is when the wings are being air fried. It's simply a concoction of pineapple juice, raw cane sugar, thyme, ginger, lime and chilli.

The aforementioned need to be simmered in a saucepan for 10-15 minutes and thickened with a small amount of tapioca starch.

How to cook frozen chicken wings in the air fryer

You can use frozen chicken wings to make this recipe, however, do make sure to completely thaw out the wings first and foremost.

The wings need to be dry before following the coating step, so use some kitchen towel to blot off the excess water.

From there you can follow the rest of the recipe steps.

How to cut chicken wings into wingettes

Place the whole wing (skin side up) on a clean chopping board.

Use a knife (I used my cleaver) or strong sturdy kitchen scissors to chop/cut the tip off then.

Cut off the other end of the chicken (the drumette) so you are left with a flat piece (this is the wingette and want you need to use for the recipe).

Either discard the other parts of the chicken or use it to make chicken stock

The steps

Use a cleaver to chop off the tail and drumette - discard the excess or use for stock.

• Place the washed/dried chicken in a bowl and add all of the ingredients in a ziplock or tightly concealed bag.
• Add the chicken to the bag, seal and shake so it's evenly coated.

• Remove the chicken from the bag, shake off any excess flour and place each wingette on the sprayed air fryer basket.
• Spray the tops of the chicken, switch on the fryer and set the temperature to 190c (374F) for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare the glaze by simmering the pineapple juice, lime juice, tapioca starch, chilli, ginger and thyme for 5 minutes until slightly thickened (like a thin syrup).

• Remove the wings from the fryer and pour half or use a brush to glaze the chicken before returning it to the fryer and increase the temperature to 200c (392F) for 3 minutes

Notes and tips

• Make sure to wash and dry the chicken as per Caribbean tradition lemon/lime with vinegar.
• You can add more chilli powder or omit altogether, if needed.
• For best results, serve them immediately or re-heat them in the air fryer so they become crispy again.
• These wings are not freezer friendly.
• Each model of air fryer may vary so temperature and cooking time may differ.
• 2lbs of chicken wings serves up to 4 people.
• You can make this recipe with any part of the wings i.e drumettes etc..

More air fried appetisers you may like

• Air Fryer Whole Fish
• Oyster Mushrooms (Vegan Fried Chicken)
• Paprika Wings
• Balsamic Maple Brussel Sprouts
• Air Fried Goat Meat Bites
• Green Banana Chips
• Blackened Cajun Salmon
• Lemon Pepper Air Fried Asparagus
• Pineapple Rings
• Kale Chips

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