Air-Fryer Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks

TIME45 minutes (22 minutes cook time) WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS The catch is that, for well-crisped pieces, you must cook wings in batches—even for two servings—which didn't thrill us. To avoid this, we opted for more substantial drumsticks, turning the snack into a main dish, and found we liked the meatier pieces (still with plenty of crispy skin) prepared Buffalo style. We poked holes in the skin to render the fat efficiently and rubbed them with a touch of oil to ensure they crisped up. To build flavor, we coated the drumsticks with a blend of paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper before cooking. For the namesake sauce, we microwaved equal parts melted butter and hot sauce but found the coating to be greasy. Using less butter fixed that problem but did not keep the sauce from sliding off the chicken. Adding just ¼ teaspoon of cornstarch yielded a thicker, glazy sauce that coated the drumsticks perfectly, and a bit of molasses deepened its flavor and brought a hint of sweetness. Instead of preparing a blue cheese sauce, we simply crumbled blue cheese over the drumsticks, which balanced the Buffalo sauce's heat. Read Less GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS 1½ teaspoons paprika ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 4 (5-ounce) chicken drumsticks, trimmed 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 3 tablespoons hot sauce 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons molasses ¼ teaspoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese BEFORE YOU BEGIN Classic Buffalo sauce is made with Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce. 1 Combine paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper in bowl. Pat drumsticks dry with paper towels. Using metal skewer, poke 10 to 15 holes in skin of each drumstick. Rub with oil and sprinkle evenly with spice mixture. 2 Arrange drumsticks in air-fryer basket, spaced evenly apart, alternating ends. Place basket in air fryer and set temperature to 400 degrees. Cook until chicken is crisp and registers 195 degrees, 22 to 25 minutes, flipping and rotating chicken halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. 3 Meanwhile, microwave hot sauce, butter, molasses, and cornstarch in large bowl, stirring occasionally, until hot, about 1 minute. Add chicken and toss to coat. Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with blue cheese. Serve.
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