When it comes to pub grub, finger foods, and game-day goodies, chicken wings always reign supreme. Deep-fried wings were once king, but a new air-fried contender has come to challenge the crown. To air fry foods successfully, you need to play to your air fryer’s strengths. You can’t prepare foods the same way you would if you were deep frying—at least not if you want the same kind of crispy, crunchy, tender, and juicy results. So our first step is to dredge and pre-bake the wings. The breading mixture contains baking powder, which raises the pH of the skin, breaks down the proteins, and enhances the Maillard reaction (it will amp up browning when the wings are “fried”). Baking powder also makes the air frying more efficient, because it pulls moisture from the skin, which dries out the surface of the chicken wings, enhancing the final texture and increasing crispiness. Baking hydrates the starches in the flour so they gel, which means that crust will get crispy when air-fried, instead of dried out and sandy. Cooking the wings in a moist environment (created by sealing them in foil) also helps convert collagen into gelatin, which will make the the wings succulent and nearly fall-off-the-bone tender.

Every good yakitori shop takes pride in their tsukune, or chicken meatballs, because they test the limits of a cook’s creativity and ingenuity. You have to transform a humdrum food, often made with scraps, into something extraordinary. Yakitori chefs dial in the proportions of lean and fatty meat to skin and cartilage in order to produce the most texturally interesting meatball they can. Then, they figure out a cooking process that complements those choices. Some meatballs are steamed before skewering and grilling; others are formed into fat logs on two skewers and all the cooking is done over the coals. We ultimately settled on a mix of finely hand-chopped knee cartilage, blitzed skin pieces, and ground leg meat, which we season minimally with scallions and sansho pepper for a little grassy, floral heat. Bound with egg yolks and panko and then chilled, the mixture can be formed into smooth, perfectly spherical balls and cooked hot and fast over a [link https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/diy-hibachi-grill-konro hibachi grill]. When cooked, they have a tender, falling apart texture, and the bits of skin and cartilage provide a little crunch and pops of juiciness with every bite. Tsukune are often dipped in a sauce, or tare, that’s fortified by all the grilled chicken and vegetables that get dipped into it. To replicate that flavor profile, we grill the leg bones of the bird and a scallion and steep them into the sauce. Thickened slightly with cornstarch to mimic the gelatinous viscosity of a yakitori shop’s tare, the sauce is easy to glaze onto the tsukune right at the end of cooking.

Fun fact: You can find more teriyaki spots in Seattle proper than all other fast-food brands combined, which makes teriyaki the city’s iconic fast-food item. The first teriyaki shop, Toshi’s Teriyaki, opened in 1976, and ever since, the city's been in love with the stuff. But Seattle’s teriyaki is less traditional Japanese food than it is a homegrown evolution of a style of cooking. “Teriyaki” is a term for a cooking method: grilled meat, most often fish, seasoned with a tare, or sauce, that has enough sugar from the inclusion of mirin to form an attractive glaze—the “teri” in teriyaki refers to that glazed surface. The teriyaki that’s so popular in Seattle today is a direct descendent of Toshi’s, and it refers to meats cooked in a sugar-sweetened, soy sauce-based marinade. While making teriyaki typically involves a grill, that doesn’t mean you can’t make the dish using other methods. Using the forced convection of an air fryer as a finishing step offers comparable results, and these teriyaki chicken wings have all the charred flavor that’s a hallmark of great teriyaki. Before turning to the air fryer, we braise the wings in a teriyaki sauce made from soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and grated garlic and ginger. The short braise gently breaks down the connective tissue in the meat and skin, converting it into gelatin, without any risk of burning or drying out the wings. The converted gelatin and rendered fat from the wings enriches the sauce, which, when reduced, will form a beautiful glaze. Brush the glaze over the wings and give them a quick blast in the air fryer and you’re all done: sweet-savory wings with a charred, smoky, and slightly crispy exterior.

Rolled-up chicken never tasted—or looked—this good. Literally meaning “rolled” in French, the word roulade signifies a lot of things for us, and not many of them are positive. Traditionally, it’s a preparation reserved for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, stuffed to the gills with cheeses, vegetables, and other meats that mask the bland flavor of processed chicken. C’mon, it doesn’t have to be like that. We all know that when cooked properly, chicken is super juicy, with a tender texture and full flavor. (And why the f*$# doesn’t anyone use the skin on a roulade? Isn’t that the best part of the chicken?) So we set out on a mission: make a better roulade. We used Activa to achieve tight bonds in the meat, yielding a unique and flawless product, with golden, crispy skin included. The contrasts in color and texture lead to an overall more intense flavor and better eating experience—no more chewy, rubbery meat. Sounds good to us. PSST: This technique can be applied to other poultry too! Try it with your [link /activities/turkey-roulade turkey]!

Lemon pepper wings are an S-tier food, a perfect mix of crunch and spice punctuated by pops of tangy citrus, all of it giving way to moist, succulent meat. The mild astringency of the lemon makes your mouth water from the first bite, and it keeps you coming back for more. The main obstacle to good wings is you typically have to fry them. With our go-to technique for making wings in an air fryer—dredging them in flour, baking them, cooling them, then blasting them in the air fryer to finish—making S-tier food at home is so easy you can do it on a weeknight, with very little cleanup. Atlanta is the undeniable home of lemon pepper wings, and two styles are typically offered: dry and wet. Dry wings feature a simple, fried wing with little adornment; the wings are coated with lemon pepper spice before frying and then tossed with it again straight out of the fryer. Wet wings are typically tossed in a fat-based sauce that contains the spice blend, resulting in a messier but richer tasting wing. For our take on lemon pepper wings, we chose wet style. To ensure the wings are properly cooked and crispy, we stick to our air-fryer wing technique and then toss them with a simple mixture of clarified butter and a super aromatic lemon pepper seasoning we make from scratch. Since all the water’s been evaporated from the butter, the crispy air-fried wings will stay crispy even after they’re sauced.

Creamy, buttery chicken liver pâté—it’s the stuff you order at the all-organic, farm-to-table establishment in the trendiest neighborhood in town. Making it at home has maybe never crossed your mind—it’s just one of those foods that seem to exist outside the domain of the home kitchen, its liver-y beginnings perhaps better left a mystery. So imagine your friends’ surprise at your next dinner party when you serve up **grilled bread topped with a gorgeous rose-colored smear of the stuff, drizzled with honey and topped with mounds of flaky salt**. One bite, and they’ll think they died and went to that trendy neighborhood, minus all the beanies and attitude. With nothing but a simple sous vide setup, a blender, and some super-cute mini mason jars, the previously unattainable chicken liver pâté is yours to master.

If you’re a fan of Buffalo wings, you’ll love these crispy, flavor-packed morsels. We pressure-cook the skin, deep fry, and then grill over Binchotan charcoal. The combination of cooking techniques yields an irresistible texture and juicy flavor that will astound and please your guests. We included these on the menu at two recent events and they were a huge hit! Prepped and skewered ahead of time, they would definitely steal the show at a tailgate party.

Delicate, yet crisp—with a crackling bite reminiscent of chicharróns—these taco shells fashioned from fried chicken skin will delight even the most ardent soft-taco lover at the table. There is a comforting chicken essence, but the technique doesn’t yield an overly poultry-ish shell. This is about texture—which is why we like to fill these crisp carriers with a flavor-packed poke. We’ve also used them as a cheesy nacho base, scooped up various dips, and just straight-up snacked on the skin. The possibilities are endless—the world is your empty Crispy Chicken-Skin Taco Shell.

Crispy-outside, tender-inside, homemade chicken wings in two hours. Need we say more? Okay, fine: These wings are ridiculously easy to prepare. Pressure-cooking tenderizes the meat very quickly, and a dusting of cornstarch before deep-frying keeps the outside crispy. We finish ours with Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce (Ben’s favorite), but you can use any sauce you like. (Teriyaki? Mustard sauce? Sriracha?) Whip these up in time for the Sunday game, and you’ll have lots of happy guests, whether the Seahawks win or lose. PSST: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, don’t fret. Braise the chicken wings in a covered pot with a splash of water or chicken stock for about three hours, and then start from Step 3.