Serious question about getting wings extra crispy without drying them out

I've been using my air fryer for wings for about a year now, and I always had this problem where the skin would get crispy but then the meat would be kinda dry. Tried all the usual tricks like patting them dry and tossing them in baking powder. Last week I tried something different after reading a comment on a random cooking blog. I parboiled the wings in salty water for about 7 minutes before air frying them. Pat them dry, then into the fryer at 380 for 12 minutes. They came out perfect. The meat stayed juicy and the skin was actually crunchy, not that chewy leathery texture I kept getting. Has anyone else tried this method or do you have a different trick that works better?

2 comments

2 Comments

williams9018d ago

Parboiling is wild... I actually read somewhere that it helps break down the collagen so the meat stays tender while the skin gets all crispy. I think I saw a chef mention it on a food show once, said it's a game changer for wings. Gotta try this next time I'm making them for the kids.

the_sam18d ago

Parboiling is way overhyped honestly. You're just boiling the flavor out of the meat and steaming the skin before you even fry it. If you want tender wings, just do a low and slow bake first then crank the heat up at the end, plenty of recipes do that without dunking them in water first. The whole collagen breakdown thing sounds like fancy talk but really you're just making the wings soggy on the inside before you even start. Kids probably won't care either way but I'd rather not mess with a step that adds more work for zero payoff lol.