Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings with Sticky Honey Hibiscus Chili Sauce
Super crispy air fryer chicken wings with a super tasty sticky honey hibiscus chili sauce. Crispy, tangy, sweet and a little spicy.
Ingredients
- Times are approximate depending on how long it takes to prep and if you cook one or two batches of wings. Also add in additional time if making the sauce as well.
For the chicken wings
- 2-4 lbs chicken wings
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt I use Diamond salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground black pepper
- ½ cup Tapioca starch
- Oil spray ( I use avocado oil spray
- 1-2 cups Spicy Hibiscus Chili sauce or your favorite wing sauce or bbq sauce
- **See recipe notes for the hibiscus chili sauce recipe**
Instructions
For the Chicken Wings:
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 Deg F for 5 minutes
- Prep the chicken wings if separating into flats and drumettes. Cut off the wing tips, then separate the flats and drumettes with a sharp knife between the bones. Season the chicken wings with salt and pepper or any other dry seasonings you like.
- Set the tapioca starch in a small bowl and roll each wing in the starch to cover. Set each wing on a parchment lined tray after rolling in the starch.
- Set the preheated air fryer to 380 Deg F and 25 minutes.
- Spray the basket of the fryer with oil spray ( I use avocado oil) and spray the chicken as well, covering up most of the starch. Add in one and a half to two pounds of the chicken wings. Fry one and a half to two pounds of chicken wings at a time any more than that they won’t get crispy.
- Toss, stir or flip the wings every 10 minutes. At the 25 minute mark stir again and set the air fryer temperature to 400 Deg F. Fry for 5 more minutes.
- Transfer wings to a bowl and immediately toss in sauce. If you are making more than 2 pounds of wings, set the first batch on a wire rack set on a baking sheet in your oven set to 200 Deg F. Once all the wings are fried, toss in plenty of sauce and serve while hot. Serve with veggie sticks or fries and additional dipping sauces of choice.
Notes
Spicy Sticky Honey Hibiscus Chili Sauce:
Makes about 3 cups of sauce
Ingredients:
2 oz dried hibiscus flowers
2 dried guajillo peppers
2 dried ancho peppers
1 tablespoon chipotle pepper in adobo OR 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
2 ½ cups water, boiling
4 tablespoon oil, divided
½ cup white onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup honey
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
Instructions:
Remove the stem and seeds from the dried chiles and place in a medium sized bowl along with the hibiscus flowers. Once the water is boiling add all two and a half cups to the bowl submerging the chiles and hibiscus. Stir a little to make sure everything is submerged. Let soak for 20 minutes.
While the chilis and hibiscus are soaking sauté the onion and garlic in two tablespoons of oil in a deep sided sauce pan. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes until starting to caramelize. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a blender combine the water with the flowers and chilis along with the sautéed onions and garlic and add in the chipotles in adobo or the chipotle chili powder. Blend well.
Heat the remaining oil in the sauce pan used for the onions and garlic. Strain the hibiscus chili puree in to the pan, scraping as much of the liquid out that you can, there will be some solids left. Discard that.
Stir the puree well and then add in there remaining ingredients to the pan: the honey, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and mustard powder.
Stir until the sauce reaches a low boil then lower to a simmer, stirring constantly until thickened and is darker in color. This takes about another 20 minutes.
Let cool and then transfer to a resealable jar or container. You can use the same day you made it or let chill overnight for the flavors to develop further.