Traditional Wings

In the restaurant chain, they deep-fry chicken wings before tossing them with their classic sauce. We can’t deep-fry in an IP (yet!). But we can make very tender wings with LOW pressure. (Just FYI, High pressure tends to tear the wings apart and so makes it super difficult to toss them in a sauce!) We then create a spicy sauce right in the insert for those wings. If you want crunchier wings, empty the pot after cooking, then return the (hot!) insert to the IP and put all the chicken wings on the air-frying rack. Set the air-frying lid over the pot and cook at 400°F for 5 to 10 minutes, tossing the wings often, until a little crunchy at the edges. Unfortunately, you’ll never get them deep-fried crunchy without burning the coating. (You can also crisp them on a lipped baking sheet about 6 inches from a heated broiler, tossing the wings occasionally.) Chicken wings have three parts: the wingette, the drumette (that is, the part that’s like a little chicken drumstick), and the flapper (which doesn’t have much meat on it). These days, you can buy packages of wingettes or drumettes. Choose your favorite or some of both. If you want to replicate the whole restaurant experience, pluck the wings out of the sauce with kitchen tongs, serve them with celery spears on plastic trays covered with food-safe brown paper, and pile some French fries on the side.

Cuisine

American

Course

Appetizer, Snack

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

15-30 min

Cooking Technique

Pressure Cook, Sauté

Keywords

15-30 min, 4-6 servings, american, appetizer, bottled blue cheese dressing, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, butter, chicken wingettes and/or drumettes, chicken wings, chicken wings recipe, contributed, cook 15 min, cornstarch, easy, frank’s redhot sauce, garlic powder, granulated white sugar, ground black pepper, prep 10 min, pressure cook, sauté, snack, water, worcestershire sauce

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

15 min

Servings

4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
3 lbs chicken wingettes and/or drumettes
1 cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp granulated white sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp water
Bottled blue cheese dressing

Instructions

Pour the water into the insert set in a 5-, 6-, or 8-quart InstantPot. Put the wingettes and/or drumettes in the insert and lock on the lid.
For all Instant Pots, set to Pressure Cook or manual, low, for 12 minutes. Make sure the valve is closed and press Start.
When the pot has finished cooking, use the quick-release method to bring the pressure back to normal. Unlatch the lid and open the cooker. Use kitchen tongs to transfer the chicken pieces to a nearby large bowl. Use hot pads or silicone baking mitts to pour the water out of the (hot!) insert and wipe the insert out before returning it to the machine.
For all Instant Pots, choose Sauté and set to medium, normal or custom 300°F. Select 5 minutes and press Start.
As the pot heats, mix the Frank’s RedHot sauce, butter, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, garlic powder, and pepper in the insert. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until bubbling, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch and water in a small bowl until smooth.
Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the bubbling sauce, then continue cooking, whisking constantly, until thickened, less than 1 minute. Turn off the SAUTÉ function and use hot pads or silicone baking mitts to transfer the (hot!) insert to a nearby wire rack to stop the cooking. Add the wings, toss well, and cool for a minute or two before serving hot with little bowls of blue cheese dressing for dipping.