Crisp Chicken Wings with a Warm Apple-Ginger Dip

Gatherings are easier when there is finger food you can set out and eat freely, without buffalo sauce, soy, or any of the usual hidden ingredients. These wings get a short marinade and a hot oven, plus a simple dip you whisk together while they roast. It is one more way to stay fully at the table with everyone else.

The nourishment here is real. Chicken wings are rich in collagen and connective tissue that support skin, joints, and the gut lining. Fresh ginger carries compounds traditionally turned to for digestive comfort, and the apple butter in the dip brings natural sweetness with fiber rather than refined sugar, so it stays light on sugar while still tasting rich.

Cook the wings with care and they reward you with crisp skin and tender meat. There is something steadying about preparing a dish you can actually share, full presence at the table instead of watching from the side.

Ingredients

Marinade:

• 2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger juice
• Coconut aminos, 2 tbsp (in place of soy sauce)

Dipping sauce:

• 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
• 3 tbsp apple butter
• 1 tsp ginger juice
• Coconut aminos, 1 tsp (in place of soy sauce)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Grated fresh ginger, for garnish

For roasting:

• 3 lbs chicken wings and drumettes (makes 22 to 24 pieces)
• Coconut oil, 2 tbsp for the pan (instead of butter)

Swaps made: coconut aminos in place of soy sauce, and coconut oil in place of butter, both to keep the dish AIP Core compliant.

Method

• Place the wings in a sealed bag with the salt, ginger juice, and coconut aminos. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 400F and grease a metal broiler pan tray well with coconut oil.
• Arrange the wings in a single layer and roast for 50 minutes, flipping them once or twice along the way, until the skin is browned and crisp.
• While they cook, whisk the coconut milk, apple butter, ginger juice, coconut aminos, and salt into a smooth dip. Finish with grated ginger.
• Serve the wings warm with the sauce alongside. The dip keeps a couple of days refrigerated.

The pan matters more than the seasoning for crispness. A metal broiler tray browns the skin where glass bakeware never quite does. To deepen the flavor, double the sauce and brush half of it on the wings before they go in the oven.

Air fryer variation

Arrange the marinated wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer, no crowding, and cook at 400F, turning once, until browned and crisp. The hot circulating air suits wings well and crisps the skin quickly, so check before the time you would expect from the oven. Work in batches for the full 3 pounds.

*Adapted from a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen*