These air fryer chicken wings have something to be happy about after being drenched in a delicious BBQ Bacardi Rum Sauce. Tossed in this homemade BBQ sauce and served with air fryer sweet potato fries, this dish makes an excellent lunch, dinner, or a party appetizer.
Even though chicken breast is my favorite part of the chicken, most people probably prefer chicken wings because they are the tastiest and most flavorful. This is why they are the most popular appetizer, menu item, or party food.
Furthermore, you can’t go through football season, Super Bowl or other sporting events without indulging in a slew of delicious sauce-dripping chicken wings.
History Of Buffalo Chicken Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings is my favorite sports bar to visit. The restaurant/bar is famous for its various flavored sauces and the levels of heat they add to the deep-fried wings.
Back in the day, chicken wings were the least favorite part of the chicken. However, Buffalo Chicken Wings were somewhat “invented” and gained popularity in the early 1960s.
Clair Suddath in her Time Article shared a brief, but interesting history of Buffalo Wings. The name buffalo wings stemmed from the family-owned Anchor Bar in Buffalo New York.
Furthermore, it is reported that Teressa Bellissimo, a member of the family business, was asked by her son to whip up a quick late-night bite for him and his friends at the Anchor Bar.
Teressa tossed the restaurant’s leftover wings in her invented Buffalo Sauce, which is now commonly made of melted butter, hot sauce, and red peppers, resulting in a bright reddish-orange sauce.
National Chicken Wing Day and Buffalo Wing Festival
The Buffalo Wings became the restaurant’s top menu item. Furthermore, these wings have spearheaded the City Of Buffalo to name and celebrate July 29th as Chicken Wing Day. In addition, every year in September up in Buffalo is held The Buffalo Wing Festival.
Air Fryer vs. Deep Fried Chicken Wings
Oil is used to deep-fry Buffalo Wings. However, I am sharing a healthier version of chicken wings in this recipe by air frying the wings. The real star of the wings, however, is the delectable BBQ Rum Sauce, which will have you licking all ten fingers; you won’t miss the extra grease.
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Air Fry Chicken Wings In BBQ Rum Sauce.
Here are all the ingredients You Will Need.
Below are some amazon ingredient links for your shopping convenience.

Air Fryer Chicken Wings Tossed In BBQ Rum Sauce.
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Saucepan
- Tong
Ingredients
Chicken Wings
- 2 lbs Chicken Wings (drumb and flats)
- 3 tbsp Slap Ya Mama Cajan Seasoning
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Salt
BBQ Rum Sauce
- ½ cup BBQ Sauce (Kraft Brown Sugar)
- ¼ cup Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Escovitch Sauce or White Cane Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 4 tbsp Bacardi Coconut Rum
- 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
Instructions
Air Fry Chicken
- Toss raw chicken wings into a bowl. The chicken drummettes and wingettes can be purchased from Amazon Fresh; see link above.
- In a small bowl, mix seasonings together (salt, black pepper, and Slap Ya Mama seasoning). Drizzle season blend over wings and mix together until every crevice is coated.
- Allow wings to rest and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or preferably overnight.
- Remove the chilled chicken wings from the fridge. Layer chicken wings on the Gourmia Air Fryer's crisper tray. Cook for 25 minutes at 400°F, or until golden brown.
Let's Make The BBQ Rum Sauce
- While the wings are air frying, combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan (BBQ sauce, soy sauce, rum, paprika, vinegar, honey, sweet and sour sauce). Mix the ingredients together with a whisk.Instead of the plain white vinegar called for in the recipe, I used my favorite Jamaican Escovitch pickled sauce.Furthermore, the Escovitch Sauce gives the BBQ sauce a great depth of acidic flavor and a bit of heat. See the link below to learn how to make my escovitch sauce.
- Over low to medium heat, heat sauce for 2-3 minutes while occasionally stirring with a whisk.
- Transfer each cooked chicken wing to a mixing bowl with tongs. Pour the BBQ Rum Sauce over the wings and toss until completely coated and dripping in this delectable BBQ Rum Sauce.
- Arrange on a platter and serve. There were 18 wings in total. Serves approximately 4-5 people.In addition, I paired these air fryer crinkle sweet potato fries with BBQ chicken wings. They are also available on Amazon Fresh; see the link above for more information.
Video
Notes


You will also love this CrockPot: Slow Cooker Coconut Yogurt Chicken. Click HERE for the recipe.
CrockPot: Slow Cooker Coconut Yogurt Chicken
Airfryer wings are always good and this recipe is simple with amazing flavors! Great combo.
Oh my goodness, this looks incredible! So succulent and delicious!
My husband and I love our air fryer; it’s such a useful piece of kitchen equipment to have as it cooks such a wide variety of things. I really like the sound of this recipe — thanks for sharing it!
That BBQ sauce sounds delicious! I have this bookmarked for the next time I grill wings.
Everything you share has my mouth watering. These look and sound blooming delicious and I’ll for sure be making these for myself and my fam asap! I love that these are done in a air fryer too. The bbq sauce just sounds heavenly! Thank you so much for sharing with us Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
Air fried wings look awesome with that glazing sauce. Coconut rum is a surprise for me. How does airfried meat taste ? Is it more crispy than oil fried ones?
Thanks for dropping by Nithin. Air fry chicken is surprisingly very crispy. Search and Check out my air fryer drumstick recipe. Haven’t fried any food since I purchased my Gouria Air fryer. Give it s try, you will love it.
Kevin, these wings look absolutely delicious! I love the idea of BBQ rum sauce, need to try them as soon as possible x
Yes! The air fryer for wings. And the recipe sounds delicious thank you for sharing.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Awesome recipe, this looks delicious. Definitely fitting for this time of year, too. Thanks for sharing!
These look and sound amazing. Great as a meal or an appetizer.
Thank you
A drunken rum sauce sounds awesome! I’ve been looking for a new chicken wing recipe, and now I have found it!
The rum coating sounds delicious and I need to try air frying.
I am really surprised at how easy this recipe is! The wings look very delicious and I love that you have posted also a few photos! It makes to cooking process easier! Thank you for that!
Thanks for visiting. Hope to see you again.
Besides looking amazingly delicious, you get points for seasoning that chicken properly and spiking it with likka (rum) lol.