This recipe is a hold-over from the Super Bowl - I wanted to make some wings, but was too busy in the kitchen (and the weather was just dicey enough) that I didn’t go with my usual Grilled Wings. Occasionally I oven roast wings, and they are good, but I thought they could be better.
That’s when I decided to try my trusty pressure cooker with the wings, and started googling recipes. Turns out, I should have tried this sooner. Pressure cooking renders the fat in the chicken skin and cooks the wings through. But, they’re not done - I want crisp wings - and they need some time under the broiler to brown and crisp up.
As for wing sauce, I learned years ago that true buffalo wing sauce is nothing but Franks Red Hot sauce and melted butter. Franks is what gives it that “wings” flavor. Back in my day (get off my lawn, you meddling kids!) I had to make it from scratch, but now you can buy decent wing sauce at the store. I still prefer the Franks brand - it has that traditional “hot wing” flavor.) But, since I always have hot sauce in my pantry and butter in the fridge, I still whip up a batch of sauce when I need it.
My other trick is two layers of sauce. After I pull the wings out of the pressure cooker and pat them dry, I toss the wings in the sauce. I transfer the wings with tongs to a rimmed baking sheet, leaving as much sauce behind as possible. Then I brown the wings under the broiler. Once they are golden brown, I pull them out and give them another toss in the sauce, to give them a fresh coat, and serve them immediately. (Which means I pour the bowl - o - wings on a platter and dig in. I’m a bit of a monster when it comes to chicken wings.)
Recipe inspired by: Buffalicious Chicken Wings - HipPressureCooking.com
Video: Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wings - Time Lapse (1:28)
Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wings - Time Lapse [YouTube.com]
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Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: About 4 dozen wings 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wings - a big batch of Buffalo chicken wings from the pressure cooker and the broiler.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken wing pieces
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup water
Wing Sauce
- 1 stick of butter, melted (4 ounces)
- ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce (traditional for buffalo wings)
Instructions
- Pressure cook the wings for 8 minutes with a quick pressure release: Sprinkle the chicken wing with the salt. Put a rack in the pressure cooker pot, pour in 1 cup of water, pile in the wings on top of the rack, and lock the pressure cooker lid. Pressure cook on high pressure ("pressure cook" or "manual" mode) for 8 minutes in an electric PC or 6 minutes in a stovetop PC, and then quick release the pressure.
- Make the wing sauce: While the wings are cooking, microwave the butter in a large bowl until melted. (A microwave safe bowl, please.) Pour in the hot sauce and whisk until smooth.
- Dry and sauce the wings: Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Use a pair of tongs to move the wings from the pot to the baking sheet, laying the wings out in a single layer. Use more paper towels to pat the wings dry. Move the dried wings into the bowl with the hot sauce, and turn and toss until the wings are covered with sauce.
- Broil the wings: Throw away the paper towels on the baking sheet. Using tongs, and leaving any excess sauce in the bowl (we’ll use it later), move the wings back to the baking sheet, spread out in a single layer. Set your broiler to high and broil the wings until browned and the sauce is bubbling, 5 to 15 minutes depending on the broiler. Keep a close eye on the wings; they go from brown to burned quickly under the broiler.
- Sauce and serve: Move the wings from the baking sheet back into the bowl, and toss them one more time to coat with the remaining sauce. Pour the wings onto a platter and serve.
Notes
- This recipe will fit in a 6 quart or larger pressure cooker. I love my 6 quart Instant Pot pressure cooker
- Don’t have a rack? Don’t worry; the bottom layer of wings will be a little soggy, but otherwise OK.
- Don't trust your broiler? Use a ripping hot oven (450°F or higher) for about 15 minutes to brown the wings.
- I assume you are buying sectioned wings - already cut into the drumette and wingette portions. If you are buying whole wings, buy about 4.5 pounds, cut then into wingette and drumette sections and discard the wingtips.
- Want hotter wings? Cut the butter in half and double the Franks Red Hot sauce.
- Want hotter than that? Whisk a half-teaspoon of cayenne pepper into the sauce.
- Want a different sauce? Sure, go for it. In the time lapse, I did about half the wings in Teriyaki sauce - one of my kids is wild for Teriyaki wings.
- UPDATE 2017-01-27: I cut the cooking time back from 10 minutes at high pressure to 8 minutes. 10-minute wings were just a little too tender, and some would fall apart when I was tossing with the sauce. (If you like extra-tender wings, use the 10 minute timing - they're still good.)
- Cooking Individually Frozen wings? Increase the cooking time to 12 minutes at high pressure. Details here: Pressure Cooker Zing Wings (From Frozen)
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos
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Jessica Zelna says
So my husband said there is no way we could make good chicken wings at home. I had a 3 lb bag of frozen wings.... threw them in the instant pot and I am not going to lie when they came out they were rubbery and did not look appetizing. However, I tossed them in three different sauces and broiled them and voila! The best fall off the bone chicken wings!!! Everyone in the house was amazed... including my husband 😀 thank you for the help on perfecting the at home chicken wing!
★★★★★
Wood says
My wife loves Buffalo Wold Wings and I made your recipe for her. She said your wings are AWESOME!
★★★★★
Germaine says
Just like what I would order in a restaurant. I crisp mine in the actifry after cooking in the instant pot.
★★★★★
Carol Roberts says
Thanks for this! I'm brand new to pressure cooking and can't wait to try this. I'm not a big fan of sauces on chicken, but I can still follow your pressure-cooker process and broiling to make plain ol' crispy chicken wings.
★★★★★
Germaine says
This was delicious! Cooked from frozen in those 10 minutes and the fat went to the bottom of the pot. The sauce was delicious. Broil at the end was the perfect finishing touch.
david z says
What's the time in the pressure cooker if doubling the recipe? Thanks.
Mike Vrobel says
Same cooking time. Cooking time is determined by the size of the wings, not the total number.
Monica Crumley says
These were so easy and the recipe was perfect! So delicious!
★★★★★
Diane McVey says
Love your recipes, and the fact you cook. My son also does the cooking for his wife and girls. I taught him well! LOL I enjoy your recipes, and send kudos to you!
Susan says
I made this tonight. Was a bit skeptical because I just didn’t think I would much like that sauce. Tasted a bit vinegary right out of the bottle. Well, was I wrong or what??? They were delicious and both my husband and I were amazed!! The only thing I did different was brush a little butter on the wings and threw in the oven for a few minutes before tossing in sauce. Probably not necessary but when should there ever be a limit on butter?! So very, very good!! Thanks!
★★★★★
Monique Schaefers says
1 stick of butter is usually 8 ounces.
My 13 year old son loves this recipe and is making them for himself.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks!
And, a stick of butter *is* 4 ounces. It is also 8 tablespoons - that's probably what you were thinking of.
Trish says
Don't discard the wing tips! Freeze and use them the next time you make broth.
Jim Taylor says
I would recommend you try one of the air fryers. Then you don't need the broiler step. Only drawback is only about 12-16 wings can be done at per batch.
Eric Leidberg says
Actually, if you use margarine instead of butter
it has the real "wing sauce" taste.
This is the ONLY time I use margarine in my kitchen.
Seriously try it.
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks For the tip- I'll try it out! (My only problem is, like you, I don't buy margarine on a regular basis..)
★★★★★
BrianF says
Excellent food for thought! I'm gonna buy some wings and try this.
J Jolton says
I don't have a pressure cooker - is there a way this could be adapted for slow cooking?