Crispy lime and pepper chicken wings

Here’s a crispy, spicy lime-flavoured chicken wings recipe with a delicious sweet and spicy sauce.

Chicken wings are a must for a Superbowl dinner party or a relaxed meal with friends and family.

And when it comes to chicken wings, we all have our preferences!

Sticky with sauce that stays on your fingers, crispy or coated with breadcrumbs… there is no bad choices.

For my part, I much prefer the crispy, spicy chicken wings, that make you think of fried chicken and that you can dipped in a spicy side sauce if you like!

With its tangy and spicy flavour, this lime and pepper chicken wings recipe falls right into that category.

They’re great on their own, but of course you can also serve them with a sweet & spicy sauce that’s super easy to make or just your favorite sauce!

What cooking method should I choose for these chicken wings?

They can of course be baked in the oven on a baking rack.

But as in many cases, it is on the bbq or cooked in an air fryer that these wings are at their best.

In fact, I was surprised at how PERFECT they were after cooking in the air fryer, with a shorter cooking time than in the oven or BBQ.

They were crisp, juicy, just delicious, with a slight lime and pepper taste!

Simply place them on the grill, avoiding overlapping, and bake at 400F for 25 to 30 minutes.

Depending on the model of air fryer you have, it is possible to get a Air Fryer Double Layer Rack like this one * so you can cook more wings at once, without them touching.

How to get crispy and tasty chicken wings?

In order for them to be tasty, the wings must be marinated for at least 2 hours. But if you have more time, even better!

And to make them crispy, it’s a moderately well-kept secret on the Internet, just add baking powder to the marinade!

How to cut whole wings?

At the grocery store, chicken wings are sold either whole or already trimmed.

If you buy them whole, just cut them into 2 or 3 pieces at the joints.

Many people throw away the small end, which tends to burn when cooked and has no meat on it, but I prefer to keep it (that’s where all the flavor is!!) so I cut the wings in half.

The sweet and spicy side sauce

Of course, you can’t serve chicken wings without sauce, even if you like them crispy!

Since the flavour of chicken wings is delicate, it’s best to opt for a slightly less spicy sauce. This way, you won’t mask the taste of the marinade.

To pair well with the slightly acidic side of the wings, a very good choice is a sweet and spicy sauce.

In this vein, I really like Tabasco’s Sweet & Spicy sauce, which is one of their milder sauces.

But since it is sometimes hard to find, I used it as inspiration to create this recipe for a sweet and spicy sauce that goes great with these chicken wings.

And by making it yourself, you also have more of it to dip your wings in!

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Yield: 4 portions

Crispy lime and pepper chicken wings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Crispy, spicy, lime-flavoured chicken wings served with a deliciously sweet and spicy sauce.

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Ingredients

• 1 kilo of whole wings, cut in 2

For the marinade

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (15 ml)
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 clove of garlic, chopped
• ½ Tbsp maple syrup (8 ml)
• 1 tsp paprika (5 ml)
• ½ tsp garlic salt (3 ml)
• ½ tsp salt (3 ml)
• 1 Tbsp ground pepper (15 mL)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder (15 ml)

Instructions

1. If the wings are whole, cut them in 2 parts* with a large knife. 
2. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the marinade
3. Add wings and coat well with marinade.
4. Let marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Cooking in the oven, on the barbecue or in the air fryer

In the air fryer

1. Place the chicken wings in the air fryer in one layer.
2. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes at 400F. Turn over halfway through cooking.

In the oven

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. on a rack.
2. You can bake the wings on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or, even better, in a dish with a rack.
3. Place the wings on the baking sheet (or rack), making sure they don't touch each other.
4. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Turn the wings halfway through cooking.

On the BBQ

These wings are even better cooked on the barbecue. Just cook them for about 40 minutes (or until golden brown) over indirect heat and turn them over halfway through cooking.

Notes

Serve the wings with a sweet and spicy sauce.

*You can also cut the wings into 3 parts and discard the small end that does not contain meat.