LOVE THEM CHICKEN WINGS!

I am on my second air fryer now.  My first was a Ninja 5-quart basket fryer which served me well for a few years.  Eventually the mesh in the bottom of the basket let loose from the sides of basket and it had to be put out of service.  These type of fryers work well for chicken wings as well.  You just need to stir the wings periodically to ensure even browning of the wings.  My current air fryer is the Ninja SP101 Digital Air Fry Countertop Oven with 8-in-1 Functionality.  Making wings in this bad boy is a walk in the park!

Follow my 50/50 Wings recipe below to get crispy juicy wings that will be the hit of the party!  Make sure you have some of our famous Bear Dog’s Kitchen All Purpose Rub on hand to season your 50/50 Wings ahead of cooking these up in your air fryer.

The Prep

Start with fresh chicken wings and make sure they are thawed out and relatively dry.  Now you can apply the rub directly to the wings one by one, flipping and repeating as you go but this takes a lot of time and wastes a lot of seasoning.  I recommend using a gallon size zip-loc bag to apply the rub.  You may need to do this in two batches but it’s still quicker and easier than applying rub to wings by shaking the seasoning directly onto the wings.

To use the zip-loc method, place about 3 tbsp. of the Bear Dog’s All Purpose Seasoning & Rub into the bottom of the one gallon zip-loc.  Now place about 1 pound of wings into the bag and seal up the bag leaving a good amount of air in the bag as well to make shaking and coating the wings easier.  Shake the bag pretty quickly for about 5 or 10 seconds or until the wings are nicely coated with the rub.

The 50/50 cook

My 50/50 Wings rely on 15 minutes of air frying followed by 15 minutes on bake to achieve a wonderful crispy exterior while maintaining a juicy wing on the inside.  To accomplish this simply set your air fryer on ‘Air Fry’ for 15 minutes at 395 F degrees.  Once pre-heated, slide the mesh rack of wings into the fryer with the catch pan underneath to catch the juices/drippings from the wings while they cook.

Once the 15 minutes has expired, using a tongs or a fork, flip the wings over to get ready for the next portion of the cook.  For the second half of the cook, set the air fryer on “Bake” and set to 395 F degrees, cook for another 15 minutes to finish the cook on your 50/50 Wings.

The Serve

Now that you 50/50 Wings are done cooking simply go ahead and serve these up however you love to eat your wings.  One of my favorite ways to eat these is to toss 6 or 8 wings in a bowl and drizzle with ranch dressing and Frank’s Extra RedHot.  Now I know that’s probably not for everyone.  Of course tossing some wings on a plate and serving dipping sauce on the side is always a good way to go as well.  Suggestions for sauces and sides include BBQ sauce, sweet & sour sauce, ranch dressing, hot sauces, even a little of your favorite jam or jelly!

50/50 Wings

Print

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes 30 minutes

Nutrition facts: 431 calories 17 fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. chicken wings
• 1/4 cup Bear Dog's All Purpose Seasoning & Rub

Instructions

1. Make sure your chicken wings are thawed and relatively dry before cooking.
2. Toss the 1/4 cup of Bear Dog's All Purpose Seasoning & Rub into the bottom of a 1 gallon zip-loc bag.
3. Place the chicken wings into the zip-loc bag and seal the bag, leaving some air in the bag to aid in the shaking/mixing process.
4. Shake the bag to coat the wings in the rub.
5. Place the wings in a single layer on the air fryer mesh screen trying to leave a small space between each wing.
6. Pre-heat air fryer on 'Air Fry' setting and 395 degrees with the timer set to 15 minutes.
7. Once pre-heated, slide the mesh rack of wings into the fryer with the catch pan underneath to catch the juices/drippings from the wings while they cook.
8. Once the 15 minutes has expired, using a tongs or a fork, flip the wings over.
9. Set the air fryer on "Bake" this time staying at 395 degrees for another 15 minutes.
10. Remove wings at the end of this 15 minute "Bake' and serve with your favorite sauces!

The post 50/50 Wings first appeared on Bear Dog's Kitchen.

GO PACK!

My smoker is a Green Mountain Grill.  Sometimes just called a GMG.  It is the GMG Daniel Boone model that I have had since 2014. You can see their latest models here.  It’s been a good smoker for me and cranked out a lot of smoked meat, from brisket to whole chicken to pork butt (also called pork shoulder), which is the pork used to make delicious pulled pork.  Check out my Smoked Pulled Pork recipe too!

On game day just fire up the smoker, toss some thawed chicken wings in a gallon size ziploc with some of your favorite chicken wing rub, or grab some of my Bear Dog’s Kitchen All Purpose Seasoning & Rub to make life even easier, toss to coat the wings with rub and throw them on the smoker until fully cooked!  It’s that easy!

I have a favorite spice mix that I’ve bottled and shared with the world called Bear Dog’s Kitchen All Purpose Seasoning & Rub.   It can be purchased in my store on this site.  My all purpose rub is a great way to go and highly recommended but there are also lots of options when it comes to flavoring wings.  That’s the fun part of cooking.  Think about different flavor profiles you like and pick spices to match.  For instance Asian/Oriental spices, lemon pepper, bar-b-que, or even honey garlic.  Brush a little honey or bar-b-que sauce on each wing near the end and leave on the smoker for 15-20 minutes to set the sauce.  If you experiment you will sometimes fail but I guarantee you will also occasionally win and invent your new favorite recipe!

Smoker Wings

Print

Serves: 1 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes 45 minutes

Nutrition facts: 360 calories 12.6 fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1 package thawed chicken wings (usually about 2 pounds)
• SPICE MIX:
• 6 tbsp. Bear Dog's Kitchen All Purpose Seasoning & Rub
• or make a rub by combining:
• 2 tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1-1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
• 1-1/2 tbsp. black pepper
• OPTIONAL SAUCES (shown here):
• Frank's Extra Red Hot
• Ranch Dressing

Instructions

1. Start smoker and set to 275 F.
2. Make sure wings are thawed and somewhat dry.  If necessary pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Add Bear Dog's Kitchen All Purpose Seasoning & Rub to a gallon size ziploc bag or add all the individual spices if making your own rub.
4. Shake bag to combine spice mix if making your own rub.
5. Add wings to bag and shake until wings are evenly coated with the spice mix.
6. Once smoker is up to temp arrange wings allowing plenty of space between them to allow smoke and heat to circulate around them.
7. After 30 or 40 minutes start checking internal temp with an instant read thermometer.  Check temp in the thickest part of one of the biggest wings.
8. Once internal temp reaches 165 F remove wings from smoker.
9. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce(s).

 

Notes

I used Frank's Extra Red Hot and Ranch, my favorite sauce combo, but other great choices are bleu cheese dressing, your favorite bar-b-que sauce or even sweet and sour sauce (maybe add Chinese five spice to the spice mix for this one). Also, if you don't have gallon size ziplocs you can mix the spices in a small bowl with a fork and place the wings in a large bowl, sprinkle the spice mix over the wings, stir, sprinkle, stir, sprinkle, repeat until fully coated.

The post Smoker Wings first appeared on Bear Dog's Kitchen.