Fried Jerk Chicken wings are a nice and spicy surprise for the taste buds!!!! Anyone that reads our blog or follows us on Instagram knows we love spicy food. We know this is not a traditional Jerk Chicken but it has all the flavor and spice to make you happy if you love spicy food. We also have a fun Grilled Jerk Chicken and sweet and spicy chicken wings recipe. I love both of these dishes.
For me, I want the traditional Grilled Jerk Chicken in the summer. I just love the heat of the chicken and really love it during the heat of the summer. Plus, I'm not spending time in the house during the summer so why not grill out?
I have to say, I will be using this recipe's seasoning (without the breading) on chicken wings this summer on the grill. It has such a nice flavor, it's easy to put together, and I'm sure it will be as good on the grill as in the air fryer.
How to make the Jerk Chicken Wings!
Marinade the chicken in a spicy buttermilk bath! Yes, give that chicken a bath. Haha. This is not like a typical buttermilk bath.... it's spicy!!! We added a ¼ cup chopped habanero. The buttermilk makes the chicken super tender and juicy. Then the habanero gives the jerk chicken wings a spicy kick!
The buttermilk bath consists of buttermilk, vinegar, habanero, eggs, and salt. Marinate the chicken for at least an hour preferably overnight and up to two days.
Dry Spice Mix
This jerk seasoning dry mix is so good homemade. You can buy a mix but we always like making homemade spice mixes because:
- Save money
- If you have a spice you want to shine a little more, just mix in some extra.
- You can control the salt. I always think that some of the purchased spice mixes have a lot of salt in them. It's nice to make your own season blend at home and control the salt to your taste.
This Jerk seasoning mix consists of onion powder, garlic powder, ginger, thyme, salt black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, paprika, nutmeg, sugar, chicken bouillon, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and cumin. (phew, that's a lot of spices!😆)
Breading the Jerk Chicken Wings
After the chicken wings have marinaded for at least an hour remove them and dip into the breading mix. The breading mix is an easy combo of bread crumbs, the Jerk Seasoning, and corn starch. We found for this recipe breadcrumbs work better than Panko. When we tried the Panko it didn't get as crispy as the breadcrumbs and corn starch browned nicely and had a great crunch!
Mix together the 1 ½ Cups of Breadcrumbs, 4Tablespoon of the Jerk Seasoning and ¼ cup of corn starch. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and let any excess marinade drip off. Place the chicken into the breadcrumbs. Coat the Chicken and gently press the breadcrumbs into the chicken.
To Air Fry or To Bake? - That is the question.
Air Fry Jerk Chicken Wings
Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil or butter cooking spray. Place the chicken wings in the air fryer basket and spray the wings with cooking spray. Air Fry at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Flip the jerk chicken wings. Spray and cook for additional 10 minutes or until chicken wings are browned and reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Baking the Jerk Wings Chicken in the Oven
Same method for breading the jerk chicken wings as air frying. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. We put parchment paper or aluminum foil on our baking sheet. The only reason we do this is to save cleanup time! Spray the baking sheet with olive oil or butter cooking spray. Place the chicken wings on the baking sheet. Spray the chicken wings with olive oil or butter spray. This helps crisp the wings and gets that really nice fried chicken color. Bake for 30 minutes or until the wings reach 165 degrees internal temperature.
Enjoy!!!!!!
We like ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce. Or better yet Ranch dressing with chunks of blue cheese mixed in. So good! 😄
Air Fried Jerk Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3 Pounds Chicken Wings
- 1 ½ Cups Buttermilk
- ½ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ Cup Habanero Chopped
- 2 Eggs
- ½ Tablespoon Salt
- 1 ½ Cups Bread Crumbs
- ¼ Cup Jerk Seasoning
- ¼ Cup Corn Starch
Instructions
Buttermilk Bath
- In a large bowl mix together Buttermilk, Apple Cider Vinegar, Chopped Habanero, and Salt. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the buttermilk. Add chicken wings to the buttermilk mixture. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Marinate chicken wings for at least one hour or up to 2 days. I prefer to marinate the wings overnight.3 Pounds Chicken Wings, 1 ½ Cups Buttermilk, ½ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar, ¼ Cup Habanero, 2 Eggs, ½ Tablespoon Salt
- Remove chicken wings from the marinade and allow any excess marinade to drip off.3 Pounds Chicken Wings
Breading Mix
- In a bowl mix together the Breadcrumbs, Jerk Seasoning, and Corn Starch1 ½ Cups Bread Crumbs, ¼ Cup Jerk Seasoning, ¼ Cup Corn Starch
- Put chicken wings in the breadcrumb mix. Gently press the breadcrumbs mixture onto the wings to coat.
Air Fry Chicken Wings
- Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray
- Place the breaded chicken wings in the air fryer basket. Lightly spray the wings (top and sides) with olive oil or butter cooking spray.
- Air Fry the chicken wings at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Flip the wings and spray them with cooking spray. Air fry for an additional 5 minutes until the wings are golden brown and the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
Baking Chicken Wings
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Spray the baking sheet with a cooking spray like olive oil or butter spray
- Place the breaded chicken wings on the baking sheet. Spray the chicken wings with olive oil or butter cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken wings are done. The internal temp of the wings should be 165 degrees.
- Enjoy!!!!! We like to have a ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce.
Please let us know what you think