Honey Lemon Pepper Wings (crunchy & crispy)

There's so much to love about these ultra crunchy, crispy honey lemon pepper wings.

First, these crispy chicken wings STAY CRISPY FOR HOURS. Truly. I've tested this recipe multiple times to make sure of this (you're welcome ;)).

Then, it's juicy, lemony, sweet and garlicky with a delightful peppery finish. These mouthwatering, addictive honey chicken wings are so good that I think you're going to want to make them again and again!

Since the wings hold their crunchiness so well, they are perfect for entertaining.

For more crispy goodness, also try my aromatic salt and pepper squid! Love chicken wings? Try my 5 ingredient oven-baked sticky soy garlic chicken wings.

Close up of crispy chicken wings coated with honey sauce and sesame seeds

Jump to:

Ingredients
Cooking instructions
Reducing the glaze is key
Useful tips and tricks
Good to know
Leftovers/storage
📖 Recipe
More party foods (finger foods)

Ingredients

Deep frying oil - opt for neutral flavoured oils with a high smoke point. Here are some good oils for deep frying: sunflower oil, canola oil, vegetable oil and rice bran oil. You can use peanut oil too if you like the slightly nutty flavour. Stay away from flavour-rich, expensive oils such as extra-virgin olive oil.
Cornflour (aka cornstarch) - key ingredient in making ultra crispy and light coating!
Chicken wings - cut into drumettes and winglets. Tip: save the wing tips in the freezer to make chicken stock in the future.
White pepper - adds a gentler, earthy flavour compared to black pepper.

Cooking instructions

Another appeal of these delightful crispy honey lemon pepper wings is that they take about just 25 minutes to make (excluding marinate time)!

Although, marinating the wings for about 1 hour or longer can make a difference to the overall flavour of the wings. Yummier, of course.

Marinate

To start, marinate the chicken wings with lemon juice, soy sauce, minced garlic, salt and white pepper.

2 step collage of marinating chicken wings with captions

Mix well then cover and let the chicken marinate in the fridge for 1 hour or longer (if you wish).

If you're planning on making these for a party, I suggest marinating the wings the night before to ease the workload on the day!

Prepare the batter and flour coating

When ready to cook, prepare a thin batter and flour mixture coating. This combination is the key to super crispy chicken wings!

2 step collage of preparing frying batter with captions

First, make the thin batter mixture. In a small bowl, combine cornflour (cornstarch), plain flour and a little water. Mix well until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Set aside.

2 step collage of preparing flour coating with captions

In a separate large bowl, combine cornflour, plain flour, salt and white pepper. Mix well. This will be the dry flour coating for the chicken wings. Set aside.

Batter and flour the wings

Preheat the oil for deep frying. Opt for a large pot, wok or fryer.

Meanwhile, pour the prepared thin batter into the marinated chicken wings. Mix well.

Then, coat the chicken wings with the dry flour mixture, working in batches of ~4 pieces at a time. Gently shake off any excess flour mixture once the wings are coated.

3 step collage coating chicken wings with captions

Once all of the wings have been coated, check that the frying oil is hot enough.

An easy way to see if the oil is hot enough is by dipping the tip of a wooden chopstick into the oil. If the tip starts to sizzle straight away then the oil is hot enough.

Alternatively, the oil is hot enough when it reaches about 170°C - 180°C (340°F to 360°F) when tested with a food thermometer.

2 step collage of deep frying chicken wings with captions

Double fry for truly crispy wings

The most important trick to crispy chicken wings that STAYS CRISPY is to double fry them.

First fry: deep fry the coated chicken wings for 4 minutes on medium heat. You most likely will have to work in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding. Once 4 minutes is up, the colour of the wings should be lightly golden. Set the wings aside on a paper towel lined plate.

Once both batches have been fried once, allow the oil to come back to a hot temperature of 170°C - 180°C (340°F to 360°F) or when it passes the chopstick test.

Second fry: deep fry the wings (again, in 2 batches) this time for 2 minutes on high heat. After 2 minutes, the wings should be deep golden in colour and crispy. Set the wings aside on a paper towel lined plate.

2 plates of chicken wings, 1 fried once and 1 fried 2 times with captions

A total of 6 minutes of deep frying should be sufficient for the chicken wings to be fully cooked. If you're using extra large wings, add an extra 1 minute when frying for the second time. You can test the doneness of the wings by cutting a piece open with a knife to make sure.

Avoid over-frying the wings as they can turn out a little dry.

A large plate of fried wings surrounded by honey sauce ingredients

Now that the wings are golden, crispy and cooked, it's time to coat them with a mouthwatering, appetising honey lemon glaze!

Coat with honey lemon glaze

To make the glaze, simply combine honey, lemon juice, soy sauce and salt in a large wok (or a large frying pan).

Mix the ingredients well and bring them up to a bubbling simmer (just like the picture below). Simmer the glaze for about 3 minutes to let the glaze reduce to a thick, sticky consistency. Turn the heat off.

3 step collage of coating fried wings in honey sauce

Add double-fried chicken wings into the wok and coat well with the sweet, zesty glaze.

Look at how crispy and yummy these honey lemon pepper wings are! A crowd pleaser for sure.

Reducing the glaze is key

You've doubled-fried the chicken wings, they're crispy, a little crunchy and perfect. Juicy on the inside.

The last thing you want is to cover it with a sauce that will soften the crispy coating and ruin all that hard work!

This is why reducing the honey lemon glaze to a thick, sticky consistency is super important. This step will evaporate the excess liquids (killer of crispiness) from the lemon juice and soy sauce.

The result is mouthwatering, crunchy, crispy, sweet, zesty, garlicky, lemon honey glazed chicken wings!

Close up of a plate of crispy golden wings

Useful tips and tricks

Do not overcrowd when deep frying. Overcrowding will quickly lower the temperature of the oil and stops the chicken from crisping up. There are 2 ways to avoid this:
1. Use a large pot or wok to deep fry the chicken wings with plenty of oil, allow plenty of wiggle room.
2. Deep fry in batches. Roughly fry 500g/1 pound at a time.
Firmly press the flour coating onto the chicken before deep frying for extra crispiness.
Marinate the chicken wings the night before for extra flavoursome wings.
Reduce the honey lemon glaze to draw out excess liquids. This is super important for the wings to stay crispy and not soften up!

Good to know

How do I make my wings more crispy?

Double fry the chicken wings for these honey lemon chicken wings to be extra crispy.

How long does it take to deep fry wings?

6 to 8 minutes is all it takes.

What is the best oil to deep fry chicken wings?

High smoke point oils such as sunflower, canola or vegetable oil.

Leftovers/storage

In the unlikely scenario of any leftovers, these finger-licking crispy honey lemon pepper wings last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Always store in airtight containers.

Made this recipe? Let me know your thoughts or questions by dropping a note in the comments section below! I'd love to hear from you. 🙂

- Gen

Honey Lemon Pepper Wings (crunchy & crispy)

Ingredients