Just learned my air fryer was ruining my chicken wings this whole time

I found out from a food science blog that cooking frozen wings directly in the air fryer makes them dry out because the ice crystals mess up the heat distribution. Last Wednesday I thawed them first and patted them dry with paper towels and got the crispiest skin I've ever had. Has anyone else noticed a huge difference with prepping your meat before throwing it in?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lisa28d ago

Gotta push back a little on the thawing thing - I've had way better luck tossing frozen wings straight in the air fryer with a light coating of baking powder before cooking. The ice crystals actually help steam the inside while the outside gets super crispy, as long as you don't overcrowd the basket. Just patting them dry after thawing works fine too, but you don't have to go through that extra step if you season them right from frozen.

robinson.paul28d ago

Threw mine in frozen with a light dusting of cornstarch once. Turned out way better than thawed, got that crunch without the mess. @the_lisa you're onto something with that baking powder trick.