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Peri Peri Chicken Wings Oven Baked or Air Fryer

Peri peri chicken wings in a deliciously spicy, garlic-rich, tangy coating with instructions for cooking in an air fryer & baked in the oven.

Cooking the wings takes 35 minutes in an air fryer and about an hour in the oven, and you can make the coating whilst the wings are cooking as a result prep time is negligible.

Peri peri chicken wings with fries, spicy mayonnaise and salad.

Spicy Hot Chicken Wings

These delicious and simple peri peri chicken wings use the same wonderful spicing that I use in my peri peri chicken burger, whole peri peri spatchcock chicken and peri peri chicken livers.

They join a whole host of other wing recipes on my site ranging from Korean-inspired chicken wings and mango and habanero wings to Thai-inspired chicken wings to simple lemon pepper wings.

Peri Peri hails from Portuguese influences in South Africa and Mozambique. It was little heard of in the UK before the explosion of the Nandos chain.

It is typified as being spicy, zingy and garlic, which makes it a perfect coating for wings as far as I am concerned!

Like most of my wing recipes, I have given you options for cooking in the oven and the air fryer. The air fryer does a wonderful job at cooking wings and if you are only cooking for two it is a perfect choice.

Close-up peri peri chicken wings with fries and spicy mayonnaise.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to cook these wings?

For me, that depends on what you are serving them with. If the oven is fired up for your side dishes then you may as well throw them in there!

However, if you are serving them with a salad as a munch and you are not cooking for lots of people then the air fryer is perfect for the job.

If you are interested in what does the best job I would say the air fryer, but it is marginal!

Can I make this in advance?

I’m not particularly fond of reheating wings, they have a tendency to dry out.

Having said that you can cook the wings to the point where they need to be dressed, then set them aside.

When you are ready to cook, just throw them through the coating and give them 10-12 minutes in the air fryer or a very hot oven.

Can I use milder chillies?

Yes, of course! Peri peri spicing is “traditionally” quite fierce, however it is your dinner and you should enjoy it!

What is malt vinegar?

Malt vinegar starts off life as an ale made with mated barley, it is then allowed to turn to vinegar. It is incredibly popular in the UK and it has a great flavour for peri peri spicing.

You can sub for anything from red wine vinegar to a mild white vinegar.

Overhead peri peri chicken wings with fries, spicy mayonnaise and salad.

Serving Suggestions

I’ve served these peri peri chicken wings with some French fries, a side salad and some spicy mayonnaise.

You can cook French fries really well in an air fryer, but I tend to cook them in the oven with the wings.

The spicy mayonnaise consists of my homemade mayonnaise with a little extra peri peri dressing.

Sticking with the potato theme, it is also really good with potato wedges and chunky air fryer chips. If you are feeling particularly motivated these are great with cheesy polenta chips too!

When it comes to salad you can keep it simple with a dressed green salad, but if you wanted something a little different these wings are great with my spicy cucumber salad!

Spicy peri peri chicken wings.

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

  • Oven or air fryer.
  • Baking tray and an oven rack if you are oven-baking the wings.
  • Mini blender.
  • Kitchen Knife.
  • Chopping board.
  • Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
  • Mixing bowl.
  • Kitchen paper.
  • Mixing spoons and tongs.
Hot and spicy peri peri chicken wings served with spicy mayo, fries and salad.
Yield: 2 Servings

Peri Peri Chicken Wings Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

These delicious zingy and spicy peri peri chicken wings are super easy to cook in an air fryer or the oven and will go from your fridge to your table in a shade over 40 minutes!

Ingredients

  • 12-14 Chicken Wings
  • ½ Tsp Coarse Sea Salt
  • ½ Tsp Black Pepper

For the Peri Peri Coating

  • 15g (6-7) Thai Birds Eye Chilli Peppers
  • 50g (⅓ Cup) Onion
  • 4 Garlic Cloves
  • 2 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp Groundnut Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
  • ½ Tbsp Lime Juice
  • 1 Tsp Dried Basil
  • 1 Tsp Dried Oregano
  • ½ Tsp Dried Rosemary
  • ½ Tsp Salt

Instructions

  1. Separate the drumstick into winglets and drumettes and if the tips are on them remove them too. Keep the tips and use them to make stock if that is your thing.
  2. Dry the wings with kitchen paper and then season them with salt and pepper.
  3. Place the wings in an air fryer or oven and cook as per the instructions below.
  4. Whilst the wings are cooking remove the stems from the chillies and place them in a mini blender.
  5. Peel the garlic cloves and add the blender.
  6. Peel the onion, roughly chop it and add it to the blender.
  7. Add the remaining ingredients for the peri peri coating and blitz until very smooth.

To cook in an Air Fryer:

  1. Place the chicken wings in the air fryer and cook at 130ºC or 250ºF for 20 minutes.
  2. Give the wings a shake and turn the temperature up to 200°C or 400°F and cook for a further 10 minutes.
  3. Remove the wings and place them in a bowl toss them to coat in the spice paste, then return them, to the air fryer and cook for a final 5 minutes at 200°C or 400°F.

To Oven Bake:

  1. Place the chicken wings on a baking rack (skin side down) over a baking tray (lining the tray with foil helps with cleaning later), and bake at 130ºC or 250ºF for 30 minutes.
  2. Remove the wings and flip them over so that they are skin side up on the backing rack, turn the oven up to 200°C or 400°F and cook for a further 20 minutes.
  3. Remove the wings and place them in a bowl toss them to coat in the sauce, then return to the baking rack and drop them in the oven for a final 10 minutes.

      Nutrition Information:

      Yield:

      2

      Serving Size:

      1

      Amount Per Serving: Calories: 840Total Fat: 60gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 38gCholesterol: 154mgSodium: 1913mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 3gSugar: 17gProtein: 35g

      Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.

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