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Video recipe

About this recipe

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Recipe highlight

Why you’ll love it

Crispy chicken skin, smoky guajillo chili, sticky lime glaze, creamy avocado, cilantro, and fresh jalapeño create bold Mexican-style wings without deep frying. 🌶️

Ingredients

• Guajillo-lime wings 🍗
• 🍗 900 g chicken wings, separated into flats and drumettes (2 lb)
• 🫒 15 ml olive oil (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🌶️ 2 tsp ground guajillo chili
• 🌶️ 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 🌿 1 tsp ground cumin
• 🌿 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 🧄 1 tsp garlic powder
• 🧅 ½ tsp onion powder
• 🥄 1 tsp baking powder
• 🧂 1 tsp fine sea salt
• ⚫ ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 🍋 Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• Guajillo-lime glaze 🌶️
• 🌶️ 2 dried guajillo chilies, stemmed and seeded
• 🍯 30 g honey or agave syrup (1½ tbsp / 1 oz)
• 🍋 30 ml fresh lime juice (2 tbsp / 1 fl oz)
• 🧄 1 small garlic clove
• 🍅 15 g tomato paste (1 tbsp / 0.5 oz)
• 🫒 10 ml olive oil (2 tsp / 0.35 fl oz)
• 🌿 ¼ tsp ground cumin
• 🧂 ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 💧 30–45 ml hot water, as needed (2–3 tbsp / 1–1.5 fl oz)
• Avocado-cilantro crema 🥑
• 🥑 1 large ripe avocado
• 🥛 120 g Mexican crema, sour cream, or thick Greek yogurt (½ cup / 4.2 oz) dairy
• 🌿 20 g fresh cilantro (½ cup / 0.7 oz)
• 🍋 25 ml fresh lime juice (1½ tbsp / 0.8 fl oz)
• 🌶️ ½ jalapeño, roughly chopped
• 🧄 1 small garlic clove
• 🧂 ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 💧 15–30 ml cold water, as needed (1–2 tbsp / 0.5–1 fl oz)
• To finish 🍽️
• 🌿 Fresh cilantro
• 🌶️ Thinly sliced jalapeño
• 🍋 Lime wedges
• 🧅 Finely sliced red onion
• 🌶️ Crushed dried guajillo, optional

Preparation

• 1 Soften the guajillo chilies 🌶️ Place the dried guajillo chilies in a heatproof bowl and cover them with very hot water. Leave them for 10 minutes until softened, then drain well.
• 2 Dry the chicken 🍗 Pat every chicken wing thoroughly dry with paper towels. Removing as much surface moisture as possible is essential for crisp skin in the air fryer.
• 3 Season the wings ✨ Place the wings in a large bowl and add the olive oil, guajillo powder, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, baking powder, salt, black pepper, and lime zest. Toss until every wing is evenly coated.
• 4 Preheat the air fryer 🔥 Preheat the air fryer to 190°C (375°F) for approximately 3 minutes. Lightly coat the basket with oil only when required by the air fryer model.
• 5 Arrange the wings 🍗 Place the wings in the basket in a single layer with a little space between them. Cook in batches when necessary rather than stacking or overcrowding the basket.
• 6 Air-fry the first side 🔥 Cook at 190°C (375°F) for 10 minutes, then turn every wing. Continue cooking for another 8 minutes.
• 7 Make the guajillo-lime glaze 🌶️ Blend the softened guajillo chilies, honey, lime juice, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, cumin, salt, and 30 ml hot water until completely smooth. Add a little more water only when needed to create a thick pourable glaze.
• 8 Make the avocado crema 🥑 Blend the avocado, crema, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeño, garlic, salt, and enough cold water to create a smooth thick sauce. Keep refrigerated until serving.
• 9 Crisp the wings ✨ Increase the air fryer temperature to 205°C (400°F). Cook the wings for another 4–6 minutes, turning once, until the skin is deeply browned and crisp and the chicken reaches at least 74°C (165°F) internally.
• 10 Glaze while hot 🌶️ Transfer the hot wings to a clean bowl and add enough guajillo-lime glaze to coat them lightly. Toss immediately so the warm surface grabs the glossy sauce without becoming soggy.
• 11 Finish and serve 🍽️ Arrange the wings on a dark serving plate and add avocado-cilantro crema on the side. Finish with cilantro, sliced jalapeño, red onion, fresh lime wedges, and a small amount of crushed guajillo when using.

Timing details

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