I used to think air fryer chicken wings were just okay until my cousin's husband showed me his trick

He was over for the game last Sunday and said he always puts a little cornstarch on his wings before the air fryer. I tried it with a pound of wings, using maybe a tablespoon of cornstarch, and cooked them at 400 for 20 minutes. They came out way crispier than mine ever do, almost like they were fried. What other little tricks like that do people use for better texture?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana6171mo agoMost Upvoted

Saw a tip online about patting them dry with paper towels first.

riley_wood841mo ago

My grandma swore by baking powder for crispy skin. She'd dry the wings really well, toss them with like a teaspoon of baking powder and salt, and let them sit in the fridge on a rack for an hour. The skin gets all dry and puffy before it even hits the heat. I do that now and they come out crazy crunchy. I mean, it's not the same as deep fried, but it's close. For me it works better than cornstarch.

oscarc121mo ago

But that baking powder trick always leaves a weird aftertaste for me, like a faint chemical bite. It might get things crispy but it messes up the real chicken flavor. Honestly, just drying them super well and blasting them in a really hot oven has never failed me. All that extra stuff feels like a shortcut that doesn't pay off.