Instant Pot Wings (two step cooking)
These wings will change your LIFE. They do take some time and it’s two methods of cooking, but if you want that restaurant style quality at home, this is the closest I’ve gotten! You start by pressure cooking some raw wings, preferably thawed but not needed, and then flash frying them Before adding your sauce. Some may be wondering, why the hell would you waste time doing two methods of cooking Nicholas? You’re crazy. Well, by pressure cooking you can actually prepare all of the wings at once, and then the flash frying is real quick! I would recommend this when it is safe for in-home gatherings as this would be great at a party.
Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken wings (thawed is best but not necessary)
3/4 cup corn starch
Seasoning salt, I love Johnny’s but any is fine.
Oil for frying, canola is better than vegetable, peanut is best
Wing sauce I have a few variations below
Method:
In your instant pot put the wire rack in the bottom if you don’t have a wire rack, I strongly suggest investing in one. You can use it for anything. Put in two cups of water in the bottom of your instant pot, make sure it doesn’t touch the rack, if it does you need less. Layer in your wings and prepare them as you like in terms of cuts. I separated mine out from whole wings but just placing my knife in the joint and separating. I will try to get a video around this.
Place your wings in a single layer and season the top of the wings with seasoning salt, just a light sprinkle is fine, if you have too many wings for one layer, they can overlap, just spray a little pam on them, it doesn’t have to be perfect, that’s the beauty of the instant pot! They will cook no matter what!
Seal and set to high pressure for 13 mins for thawed fresh wings, 16 for frozen solid wings. Quick release the pressure when done.
While the wings are still hot using tongs gently take them out of the pot and lay them out on a cookie sheet or cutting board to cook just a bit. Don’t worry they will stay plenty juicy, and they are already so tender.
In a small bowl mix together your cornstarch and 1 tbs of seasoning salt. Heat oil in your skillet, you need only 1/4 inch or so on the bottom.
To fry, once the wings are cool enough to be handled, take your wings and roll them in the cornstarch mixture and shake them off and lay them back on your board or sheet pan, you may want to clean up any residue before you lay them back down. In your skillet add 1/2 of oil to fry and set to medium high heat, we want fast and hot! When the oil is shimmering you are ready. Lay your wings down in the pan one by one, be sure to shake off excess starch before placing, don’t over crowd, I could fit about 7 wings in my pan. After two minutes on one side, flip over gently and cook for another two minutes. Remove onto a paper towel to drain or better yet a cooling rack with paper towels under it.
Sauce the wings as you like! They are DELICIOUS and sooooo tender.
Sauces:
For a classic buffalo take 1/2 cup of Frank’s Red Hot with 2 tbs of butter and combine in a small sauce pan and coat your wings.
Another option and this is a little gem for my family, at most local grocery stores in the barbecue aisle you can also find Buffalo Wild Wing’s sauces! Our family favorites are the Garlic Parm and the Asian Zing! Just make sure they are warm before you put them on your wings, either by letting the bottle sit on the counter when you start cooking, or microwaving some in a small bowl before saucing. It doesn’t need to be hot, just not cold.