Super Bowl Recipe: Air Fried Chicken Wings with Honey Barbecue Sauce

These beer-friendly, crispy chicken wings come together quickly and require not even a drop of oil.

If you haven’t put your chicken wings through an Air Fryer yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. They come together quickly using a fraction of the oil necessary for real frying — or in the case of this recipe, none at all.

The dish, including the divinely sweet and sticky barbecue sauce, was created by Molly Stevens DuBois, co-owner of Stone Cow Brewery in Massachusetts, and it’s one of 70 beer-friendly creations in “The Craft Brewery Cookbook” by John Holl. It will make the perfect snack for Super Bowl Sunday or any day, especially when paired with a slightly tart sour ale, Holl says.

Air Fried Chicken Wings with Honey Barbecue Sauce

Serves 2 to 4

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 cup barbecue sauce

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons honey, plus additional for serving

½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (or ¼ teaspoon dried)

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon fine sea salt or to taste

Coarse sea salt, for serving

2 dozen fresh chicken wings, drums and flats

DIRECTIONS

To make the sauce: In a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until well caramelized. Transfer the onions to a food processor then add the barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, molasses, honey, rosemary, cayenne pepper and salt. Blend until fully combined and smooth. Transfer half the sauce to a large bowl; reserve the rest for dipping.

To make the wings: Pat the chicken drums and flats dry with paper towels, sprinkle with salt, let stand for 15 minutes and then pat dry again. Arrange the wings in a single layer in the fryer basket of an air fryer. Cook at 365 degrees for 12 minutes. Flip the wings and cook for 5 more minutes, until golden with some char.

Transfer the wings to the bowl of sauce and toss to coat. Increase the air fryer temperature to 380 degrees then return the wings to the basket and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the sauce has caramelized. Serve immediately with the reserved sauce for dipping — and a lot of napkins.

— From John Holl’s “The Craft Brewery Cookbook” (Princeton Architectural Press, owned by Chronicle Books; $30)