Hot Honey Lemon Pepper Wings

Hot honey lemon pepper wings are the easiest, most incredible appetizer or finger food ever, especially for game day. Rub some chicken wings with lemon pepper seasoning, bake or air fry them until crisp, and toss them in a hot honey glaze or sauce. Then sit back and watch them disappear before your eyes!

Another delicious chicken wings recipe made in the air fryer: honey garlic wings!

These hot, sticky chicken wings are sweet, tangy, and a li’l spicy all at the same time. Make this easy recipe when you feel a snack craving creeping up on you or when you have guests and want to impress them without the grunt work. Oh, and do make a big batch because seriously, they are so addictive that I can’t imagine anyone just stopping at one or two.

Confession: Sometimes, when the boys are very hungry and are in a tearing hurry to eat, the chicken wings disappear before I can toss them in the hot wings sauce. They emerge so hot and crisp out of the air fryer or the oven that they’re gone in a trice!

Do try these buffalo chicken tenders and these Italian style chicken meatballs if you like crispy chicken snacks made in the air fryer.

Ingredients

• Whole chicken wings, separated into wingettes and drumettes. Here’s a helpful Youtube video on how to separate wings if you don’t know how to do it. Another option is to buy pre-cut wings, so you don’t need to separate them.
• Light olive oil or avocado oil

Dry rub/Seasoning

• Lemon pepper seasoning – this seasoning is what makes the wings so irresistible
• Paprika – adds an earthy flavor
• Cornstarch – makes the skins super crispy
• Baking powder – for soft, moist insides
• Sea salt – a little salt goes a long way in enhancing the taste of all the other ingredients

Hot honey sauce

• Honey – any brand of some good quality runny honey will do
• Hot sauce – I use Frank’s Hot Sauce but you can choose any brand you like
• Salted butter – because everything tastes better with butter
• Minced garlic – can be substituted with 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Lemon juice – one large lemon should be enough for juicing
• Black pepper – freshly ground is preferable
• Chilli flakes – optional, for extra-hot wings

Instructions (Air Fryer)

1. Prep and season the chicken

• Make sure the wings are dry with no moisture. If you washed them and there is some moisture present, pat dry with paper towels before seasoning them.
• Drizzle olive oil over the wings and make sure they are coated. Alternatively, if you have an olive oil spray, you can spray the oil onto the wings.
• Mix the ingredients for the dry rub in a bowl. Apply the rub all over the chicken, making sure to get both sides of each piece.

2. Air fry the chicken

• Preheat your air fryer to 375 Fahrenheit and set the timer to 20 minutes. Place the chicken wings in the basket. You can brush the basket with some oil if you feel the wings will stick to it. Make sure there is no crowding. If needed, air fry the wings in two batches. Although, in my experience, 20 pieces can fit in nicely in a large air fryer like the 6-quart Instant Pot Vortex without the need to batch them.
• Flip the wings at half time and take them out with a pair of tongs once the 20 minutes are up. Different air fryers have slightly different cooking times so do check on the chicken at least once to make sure it’s not under or over-done.

3. Make the hot honey sauce and toss the chicken in it

• While the chicken is air frying, put the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes so that it thickens slightly, stirring so it doesn’t stick. Take it off the hob and allow it to cool down a bit.
• Once the wings are cooked, toss the pieces in the sauce, making sure the coat them fully with the sauce. Serve while still hot.

Instructions (Oven)

Steps 1 and 3 remain the same. For baking the chicken wings, here’s what you need to do:

• Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit.
• Spray a baking dish with some cooking oil and place the seasoned chicken wings in a single layer in the dish.
• Keep the dish in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the skins are crisped and browned.
• Take out the dish and drizzle the hot honey sauce all over the wings, making sure they are coated with the sauce. If the sauce is still runny, you can put the wings back in the hot oven for 5-10 minutes.

Top Tip

Substitute honey with maple syrup if that’s what you have or like. Maple syrup works as a great substitute for honey.

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