How To Reheat Leftover Chicken Wings In An Air Fryer

Whether you prefer wings from Wingstop or prepping them at home, wings are an affordable, tasty choice. But they're also one of the easiest foods to over-order. If your gameday party ended up a little under-attended, don't fret. Pop those leftover wings in the air fryer and they'll be almost as crispy and delicious as when they were fresh.

An air fryer is the best tool for this job because it functions as a convection oven. Convection ovens evenly circulate heat throughout the cooking vessel using a fan, meaning you won't have a few hot wings in the center of the basket surrounded by cold ones. Plus, since an air fryer doesn't literally fry the food, it's not going to weigh your wings down with extra oil in the reheating process.

One drawback is that an air fryer is small, so if you have a lot of wings to reheat, you may have to do so in batches. However, the wings should only take about 10 minutes to reheat per batch. Simply take room temperature wings, spritz them with cooking spray, and heat at 350 degrees to 375 degrees Fahrenheit to achieve chicken wings as good as the day you ordered them.

It's crucial to let chicken wings reach room temperature prior to reheating. This ensures that the meat isn't cold in the middle when it comes out of the air fryer. 15 minutes on the kitchen counter should do the trick. Always preheat your air fryer; 350 degrees Fahrenheit is recommended for wings, but you can crank the heat as high as 375 and save a few minutes of cooking.

Remember that the goal is to achieve crisp skin and a moist interior when reheating your wings. A little cooking spray helps this out a lot. Add a bit to the wings, then spread them in an even layer within the air fryer basket. As with most cooking in an air fryer, give the wings a little space in the basket to allow freer circulation of hot air. If heating bone-in wings at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, the process could take up to 10 minutes before the wings achieve an ideal middle temperature. Shave a couple of minutes from that time if using boneless wings, or if you've heated the air fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

This approach is recommended for un-sauced chicken wings. If you want to add sauce to your reheated wings, it's best to wait until they are out of the air fryer. That said, you can also use your air fryer to bring sauced chicken wings back to hot, juicy perfection.

As a rule, overly saucy foods should not be prepared or reheated in an air fryer. This is because pasta sauces and soups tend to spatter while heated, which could cause damage to the air fryer — or to yourself when you open the basket. However, already-sauced chicken wings can be safely reheated using an air fryer with a few quick precautions.

Before adding the chicken wings to the air fryer basket, line the bottom of the basket with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Not only will this aid in clean-up, but it will also prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your air fryer by keeping any potential sauce spills from leaking into the machinery. If using parchment paper, be sure to punch or cut some vents in the paper before inserting in the basket. This ensures that the convection flow of the air fryer is undisturbed and keeps the paper from potentially burning.

Whether sauced or dry, prepared chicken wings will keep in the refrigerator for around five days, as long as they are stored in an appropriate food storage container. The wings can also be frozen for up to three months; if reheating from frozen, be sure to thaw the wings for at least 24 hours before placing inside the air fryer.