Thought air fryer wings were overrated till I burned a batch and figured out why
Made wings in my air fryer last Friday in the garage and pulled them out after 12 minutes at 400, and the skin was rubbery and pale while the meat was already dry. My buddy who cooks at a bar in Reno told me to dry the wings on a rack in the fridge for an hour first and then hit them at 380 for 24 minutes, flipping once. Tried it Sunday and the skin actually crisped up, not quite fried but close enough that I stopped missing my deep fryer. Turns out the problem was never the air fryer, it was me rushing the dry time. Anybody else fridge-dry their wings before cooking, and does it work the same for thighs?
The fridge dry thing is real and it works even better if you leave them uncovered overnight, not just an hour. That dry cold air pulls moisture out of the skin and that is the whole game with wings. For thighs though you can skip it honestly, the skin is looser and has more fat under it so it crisps up fine on its own. What I do for thighs is pat them dry with paper towels, salt them heavy, and hit the skin side at 400 for about 20 minutes. Score the skin a couple times first so the fat renders out and bastes the top. Way less fuss than wings and you still get that crackly bite.