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This post is all about how to make hot lemon pepper chicken skewers. Hot lemon pepper is an Atlanta staple chicken wing flavor. We are using this delicious tangy, spicy and zesty homemade sauce on air fryer chicken tenders that are so juicy they just fall apart.
An ATL staple, hot lemon pepper is super lemony-peppery, with lots of tang, garlic, butter and a kick of sweetness. You can find this flavor at every wing spot across town and there is great debates over which wing spot has the best version.
Today we are using this incredible buttery sauce and marinade to make this incredible tender and juicy hot lemon pepper chicken skewers. I love to serve these with warm rice with some of this lemon pepper butter on top and roasted vegetables. A quick cozy comfort meal that’s perfect for weeknights.
Using an Air Fryer these chicken skewers are made in just 15 minutes with this super easy recipe. You can also make these on a grill or roast them in the oven.
This recipe post is all about how to make Hot Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers.
Key Ingredients for Hot Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers:
Chicken – chicken tenders or thighs are cut into chunks and packed onto skewers to create the juiciest chicken.
Lemons – a few lemons are needed for this recipe, the zest and juice. Be sure to scrub them clean first!
Pepper and Hot Sauce – lots of freshly cracked pepper and your favorite hot sauce (preferably Louisiana, Frank’s or Crystal)
Seasonings – garlic powder, paprika, lemon pepper seasoning, and salt.
Honey – just a dab of honey to round out the heat and tang.
Garlic – fresh garlic is added to the chicken for incredible aromatics.
Butter – a whole stick of butter is used for basting the chicken throughout the cooking process.
How To Make Hot Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers
Step 1: Place chicken chunks in a bowl. Add all of the seasonings, hot sauce and oil. Mix well until chicken pieces are evenly coated and allow them to rest while preparing butter mixture.
Step 2: In a small bowl, add the butter and heat until it’s slightly melted. Add remaining ingredients and mix together to form a paste. Remove a portion of the butter mixture and place into a separate bowl for basting the finished cooked chicken (to prevent cross contamination).
Step 3: Skewer chicken pieces onto wooden skewers packing them tightly together. This helps it stay juicy.
Step 4: Spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray and place 2-3 skewers at a time. Cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and baste with butter mixture, return to the Air Fryer for 4 minutes. Flip the chicken, baste with butter and return to Air Fryer for another 6 minutes. Baste the chicken on both sides one final time after it finishes cooking.
Tools I Love To Use:
Dual Air Fryer with Large Baskets
Air Fryer Liners
Basting Brushes
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I hope you enjoy this easy Air Fryer recipe for Hot Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback! If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Hot Lemon Pepper Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 lbs. chicken tenders or thighs cut in 2-3” pieces
- 1 tablespoon Lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Paprika
- 2 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 lemon zest only
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1-2 tablespoon hot sauce Crystal, Frank's, Louisana, etc.
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
Hot Lemon Pepper Butter Mixture
- 1 - 8oz. stick salted butter slightly melted
- 2 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 lemon, zest and juice start with juice form half the lemon, add more if needed for the right tangy balance
- 2 tablespoon hot sauce Crystal, Frank's, Louisana
- 2 tsp honey
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Prep and Marinate Chicken
- Place chicken chunks in a bowl. Add all of the seasonings, hot sauce and oil. Mix well until chicken pieces are evenly coated. Allow them to rest while preparing butter mixture.
- In a small bowl, add the butter and microwave until it’s slightly melted. Add remaining ingredients and mix together to form a paste. Remove a portion of the butter mixture and place into a separate bowl for basting the finished cooked chicken (to prevent cross contamination).
- Skewer chicken pieces onto wooden skewers packing them tightly together. This helps it stay extremely juicy.
Cook in Air Fryer
- Spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray or use an air fryer liner. Cook in batches of 2-3 skewers at a time as to not overcrowd.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and baste with butter mixture. Return to the air fryer for 4 minutes. Flip the chicken, baste with butter and return to air fryer for another 6 minutes.
- Once chicken is finished cooking and internal temp reaches 165, remove and baste the chicken on both sides one final time. It's great served over rice with roasted vegetables. Use any leftover lemon pepper butter to top rice and veggies.
Sorry about the previous comment, I didn’t scroll down far enough
Since some ingredients are listed twice, can you break down which ingredients are for the marinade, and which are for basting? Thank you so much, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe.
This was absolutely delicious 🤤 I love lemon and this was perfect!
My daughter made this chicken and it was delicious. Looking over the recipe I saw that it called for 1 stick 8 oz of butter. 1 stick of butter is 4 oz. She used 2 sticks. What is the proper amount 1 stick or 2 thank you for such a delicious recipe