Noticed my air fryer cooks frozen chicken wings way better after I let them sit for 5 minutes first

Was at a friend's barbecue in Phoenix last Saturday and their wings came out super crispy compared to mine, so I asked and they said they take the wings out of the bag and let them rest on the counter before tossing them in, has anyone else found a specific wait time that works best?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomasgonzalez15d ago

Wait, you let them sit out for 5 minutes BEFORE cooking? That's wild to me, I always just toss them straight from the freezer. I've got to try this, maybe the thawing lets the hot air hit the surface better for that crunch.

charles83614d ago

Yeah, do you ever run into the issue where the outside gets too dark before the inside is done? I learned the hard way that going straight from freezer to air fryer gives you uneven results. @wren_mitchell is spot on about the clumping thing too. I actually lay mine out on a plate in a single layer for that 5 minute rest so they're not touching. Makes a huge difference in getting that even crunch all around. The steam can't escape if they're pressed together.

wren_mitchell15d ago

Oh yeah @thomasgonzalez, the thawing thing is key. I actually read this tip from a Serious Eats article about air fryer wings and it changed everything for me. So here's my question for you though - when you pull them from the freezer, are they stuck together in a clump or do you make sure they're separated first? Because I feel like even with the 5 minute rest, if they're frozen solid in a big block, the hot air still struggles to get between them. I've had batches come out okay but not fully crispy on the inside pieces when I got lazy about that. The surface dry-out from the short thaw makes a bigger difference than I expected, at least with my particular air fryer model.