Pressure Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Chicken wings are one of those popular, well-loved appetizers that are suitable for pretty much any occasion. Whether it’s a smaller gathering or a large buffet, a plate of chicken wings is usually the first thing that walks away.

One of my favorite wings recipes is sweet and gooey Japanese-inspired teriyaki chicken wings cooked in the pressure cooker.

How to make chicken wings in the pressure cooker

Preparing chicken wings in a pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, simplifies the process. Prep is quick and easy as you simply add all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce to the Instant Pot, then add the wings and toss to coat.

To cook, close the pot and press the Poultry button. Reduce the time to 10 minutes and make sure the pressure is high. Once cooking is complete, quickly release the steam vent.

Pressure cooking results in a tastier wing in less time because you can skip marinating the wings in the sauce. The Instant Pot high pressure poaches the wings in the marinade, adding flavor.

Crispy Wings? Use the broiler!

Once the wings are cooked in the Instant Pot, they’re quickly grilled to give their skin a nice char.

Meanwhile, use the sauté button on the Instant Pot to thicken the sauce to maximize cooking time. The resulting sauce contains any leftover chicken juices from cooking in the pot, meaning the final glaze has a dash of chicken umami in it too.

Traditionally, teriyaki sauce is allowed to simmer and thicken slowly, resulting in an intense flavor. To speed up the process, I used cornstarch to thicken the glaze so it still sticks to the wings, eliminating the time it would take to reduce the sauce to one glaze.

From start to finish, you can have flavorful teriyaki chicken wings on the table in 45 minutes with minimal effort.

How to cut up chicken wings

You can buy “party wings” at the grocery store, which are wings that are already disassembled into their individual parts: the drumette and the flat. But I often buy whole wings because disassembling is easy and cheaper. (Save the wingtips in a freezer bag to make chicken broth!)

How to disassemble whole wings:

1. Find out where the connection between each piece is by wiggling the wing – where it moves is where you cut. There is a joint where the tip connects to the wing and another where the drum and wing connect.
2. Cut down right between these joints to separate the wing pieces. You can also “feel” the knuckle between the wing panels. Cut right between the knuckles to separate the wings.

Simply!

What Are the Ingredients for Teriyaki Sauce?

Here in the United States, teriyaki is associated with a sweet soy-based sauce, but in Japan teriyaki refers more to the way the food is cooked: Teri refers to the glossy or glossy coating that comes from the sweetened glaze that is brushed onto the food during cooking. Yaki refers to grilling or frying the food.

Making teriyaki sauce from scratch means buying some Asian ingredients you might not have in your pantry:

• soy sauce is a fairly common ingredient for most people. I highly recommend you buy one that doesn’t contain caramel coloring or artificial flavors or ingredients. If you wish, you can use reduced soy sauce in this recipe.
• mirin is a lightly sweetened, low-alcohol rice wine and a key ingredient in teriyaki sauce. You might find a bottle on the shelf labeled “Aji-Mirin,” which translates to “tastes like mirin,” which works well (it’s a little sweeter than regular mirin). If you can’t or don’t want to get mirin, you can substitute dry sherry or white wine, although the flavor won’t be as great.
• favor is a rice wine. I use it in this teriyaki sauce for the complexity it adds to the sauce. If you wish, you can substitute a dry white wine. If you avoid alcohol, you can just use water instead.
• A hint of rice vinegar prevents the sauce from becoming too sweet. The acidity of the vinegar cuts through the salt and sweetness, creating a balanced sauce. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can add an equal amount of apple cider vinegar instead.

You can find all of these ingredients at grocery stores with a good selection of Asian ingredients, or look for them at Asian grocery stores or online.

I also used brown sugar as a sweetener in this teriyaki sauce. It’s not traditional, but I like how the molasses in the brown sugar adds a bit of caramel flavor and darkens the color of the finished sauce.

If you wish, you can use six tablespoons of honey instead of the brown sugar for a different twist! Just remember that the resulting sauce will be lighter in color and taste different.

Ways to Use Up Extra Teriyaki Sauce

This recipe makes extra teriyaki sauce that’s worth its weight in gold in the kitchen! Serve the wings with the extra sauce, but also save the leftover sauce for a quick flavoring for weeknight meals.

Here are a few more ideas:

• Marinade for meat: Use for chicken thighs, meatballs, salmon, pork ribs or vegetable skewers. Marinate overnight in a bag with half the leftover sauce, or cook on a grill or in a skillet over low heat
• grain shells! You can also quickly make a cereal bowl by topping some of the leftover sauce over steamed veggies and your choice of cooked protein over your favorite cereal.

Make the sauce ahead of time

You can also prepare the sauce ahead of time and marinate the wings overnight if you want to save time on the day of your party.

Simply combine all the sauce ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag, then add the wings and refrigerate overnight. Then, carefully place the contents of the ziplock bag into the Instant Pot and cook as directed. The wings will be even more flavorful after marinating!

Want more great chicken wing recipes?

• Chicken wings from the old bay
• Chicken wings glazed with bourbon maple
• Ginger Honey Chicken Wings
• Chicken wings with miso glaze
• Chicken wings with honey mustard