Instant Pot Easy Chicken Wings

 

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. chicken wings trimmed of loose fat and separated (tips discarded)
• 2-3 tablespoons seasoned salt - like Cajun garlic powder, or any favorite seasoning mix
• 1/2 cup cold water See note regarding this

For Buffalo Wings

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup favorite barbecue sauce If you want more heat, eliminate bbq sauce and increase hot sauce to 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup hot sauce like Frank's Wing Sauce

For BBQ Wings

• 1 cup barbecue sauce bottled or homemade

Instructions

• After the chicken wings have been trimmed and separated, pat dry and place in a medium bowl.
• Sprinkle seasoned salt liberally over wings and toss until covered.
• Place a trivet in the Instant Pot.
• Pour 1/2 cup cold water in the pot. (see recipe notes about using 1/2 cup water vs. 1 cup)
• Place the seasoned wings in Instant Pot or other tabletop electric pressure cooker, on the trivet. 
• For Instant Pot - Secure and lock the lid of the Instant Pot and turn the pressure to SEALING function. Select MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK operation and the pressure should automatically show as HIGH. Using the + or - button, select 5 minutes pressure cooking time. The Instant Pot will indicate as ON while the pressure is being built to the appropriate level, typically taking about 10 minutes for pressure to rise. Indicator will switch to 5 once the pressure is ready and will count down from there.
• Meanwhile, set your oven on Broil (High) and place the oven rack one above center position. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a cooling rack on top of the foil-lined sheet. Spray the cooling rack with nonstick cooking spray. Set the sheet aside while the wings cook in pressure cooker.
• Once the wings have finished cooking in the pressure cooker, let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then turn the knob to the Venting position to release any additional steam. Remove lid.
• Place the wings in a large bowl and pour half of the sauce over the wings. Using a large spoon, toss the wings until all are covered with sauce.
• Arrange the wings on the wire rack and place in oven. Vent door and broil on each side until desired crispness is reached, 5 to 10 minutes. (You may want to rotate the sheet 1/2 way when turning the wings on second side)
• Remove wings from the oven when they're as crisp as you'd like. Place wings back in the bowl, pour remaining sauce over the wings, toss to coat. 
• Serve immediately with blue cheese dip, ranch dip, or as is. Accompany with carrot sticks, celery sticks, red pepper slices, etc. if desired.

Buffalo Style Wings

• For Buffalo style flavor: Use 1/2 cup hot sauce, 1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick), and 1/4 cup BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce in this mixture is optional but it adds a nice tang that isn't too hot. Omit the BBQ sauce and increase hot sauce to 3/4 cup if you want fully classic Buffalo wing flavor and more heat.

BBQ Style Wings

• For BBQ style flavor: Use either 1 cup BBQ sauce, or for a little more kick, mix 3/4 cup BBQ sauce with 1/4 cup hot sauce.

Notes

• Your Instant Pot manual suggests 1 cup of liquid be added to reach pressure but for this recipe, that amount can make the wings near the bottom of the pot a little "soggy". 1/2 cup has yielded perfect wings many times over so make this adjustment with confidence. You may still use 1 cup if you are nervous about using less than this. I've made the wings several dozen times now and 1/2 cup works without any issues with my appliance.

1. If you like your wings to be really "saucy", double the recipe but still only add about a cup of sauce while finishing in the oven.
2. For even more flavor, you can add a little liquid smoke to the water that you place in the Instant Pot.