I made fried chicken in an air fryer. Now everything is different

Those of us who own one know it: The specific magical power of the air fryer is the imitation of food that you would normally fry, but without the actual frying part.

Restoring frozen foods like tater tots and chicken tenders to their former glory, as if they were actually fried, and restoring fried takeout foods like mozzarella sticks and onion rings to their former glory is where the air fryer really shines. An air fryer has countless other uses, but the capacity with fried items alone is worth the price.

But can you actually make fried foods from scratch in an air fryer? Can an air fryer, with ‘fryer’ in the name, deliver on its promise and produce convincing, homemade fried chicken?

“You can get a great fried texture by making fried chicken in the air fryer,” says Yvette Ervin, owner and chef of Brooklyn Chckn ‘N’ Lbstr. “It won’t have exactly the same consistency as when fried in oil, but it will still be very crispy and be a healthier alternative to conventional fried chicken.”

As a chef who has staked her claim on fried foods, Ervin shared her best practices when it comes to making fried chicken in an air fryer. I went ahead and tried them.

How does an air fryer work?

Frying and air fryer cooking are both considered dry heat cooking methods. Both achieve results through 360 degree contact with the heat source. In a frying situation it’s oil, and in an air fryer it’s – you guessed it – air. “An air fryer uses convection, just like a convection oven, and it is the air circulation that cooks and transforms the food without using any form of trans oil or direct contact heat,” says Ervin.

Although technically no frying takes place, the radiant heat from the air fryer’s preheating is moved into an enclosed space via a circulating fan, causing rapid cooking and creating an atmosphere that can effectively crisp the skin or brown any layer on the food can make in a way that produces fry-like results.

Read more: Everything you always wanted to know about Air Fryers

Considerations for Air Fryer Chicken

When it comes to making fried chicken from scratch in the air fryer, think about the chicken first. While white and dark meat are individual preferences, just like bone-in chicken versus bone-in tender meat, different cuts of meat require different approaches.

“The air fryer is mainly intended for quick, simple meals that you can set and forget,” says Ervin. “Gardenloos cooks faster and, due to its uniform thickness, also gets an even crispy texture from the air fryer.”

“Larger pieces of chicken on the bone tend to take more time and require more attention,” Ervin added. This may include turning them during the cooking process and checking to see if they are done.

However, bone-in chicken retains more flavor and juiciness during the cooking process, while boneless chicken is easier to overcook. Dark meat contains more fat than white meat; when released during cooking, it can add an extra oil element to make the skin crispier.

Preparing the chicken

Whatever chicken you’re working with, “cooking time will vary if you have different size pieces,” Ervin said. You can do yourself a favor by cutting them into similar sized pieces, especially for bone-in chicken.

While frying allows you to observe the cooking and remove smaller pieces as they are done, most air fryers do not have windows to see what is happening inside the fryer. You can cut breasts and some thighs in half to fit smaller cuts like wings and drumsticks. (Kitchen scissors are a great way to achieve this.)

The chicken should also be as dry as possible to start, to adhere better to the coating and not to create an opportunity for steam to build up during the cooking process, which will hinder the ability to get the outside crispy or crispy.

The coating is crucial

You can air fry chicken with skinless or skinless pieces. But without any kind of coating, “it’s not really fried chicken,” Ervin said, “but maybe more like roasted or rotisserie chicken.” It’s still a potentially excellent result in an air fryer, but it doesn’t qualify as fried.

“You want flour or batter, or even a layer of fish fry, because the item will be crispy and feel like fried chicken,” Ervin said.

An argument can be made for skin-on chicken wings, which are typically fried without coating (note: without a coating) before tossing them into the traditional hot sauce mixture, and the air fryer excels at this too.

When getting different air fryer fried chicken recipes, there are two schools of thought regarding the coating. The first involves a simple brine of milk or buttermilk, and a single dip in a dry coating, such as those made with flour, cornstarch, cornmeal, bread crumbs, or a combination of those things. Cornstarch absorbs moisture and prevents the development of gluten in flour, promoting a crispy result.

The second method is more similar to fried chicken, in which the chicken is coated in flour or a flour-based spice mixture, dipped in egg or milk, and coated again in flour. This creates a thicker, fried-like layer on the chicken, while the first method produces more of a thin crust, or an extension of the skin.

Either way, “you don’t want it wet,” Ervin said. Although a deep fryer can handle coatings such as a light liquid beer batter, the air fryer is not suitable for that style.

Just a touch of oil

The final step is a thin layer of oil, to ensure that no dry flour ends up on the surface of the chicken. Some fat will be released from the meat itself and help hydrate the flour during the cooking process, but you need just enough oil to moisten the coating. Ervin suggests olive oil or grapeseed oil, which can be applied gently, or is best dispensed into a spray or pump bottle.

This is what sets fried chicken apart from air fryer fried chicken, because much less fat is absorbed by the coating, resulting in a fried-like exterior with a crispy coating, but with a much healthier result.

The verdict on fried chicken from the air fryer

Using all the wisdom available, I swung for the fences with bone-in, skin-on chicken, cut into similarly sized pieces, and used a coating similar to that of a fried chicken. The pieces were dredged in a flour mixture containing both flour and cornstarch, dipped in an egg wash with Tabasco added, and coated a final time with the flour mixture.

What I would recommend is to drizzle oil on all sides of the chicken before putting the pieces in the air fryer, or brush some oil on the air fryer basket itself to prevent it from sticking. Following the online recipe I foundI sprayed the top, and again after the pieces were turned over, but some of the coating remained.

After about 8 minutes on each side, the result was a convincing facsimile of fried chicken, without the hassle of deep-frying. No frying smell, no oil to throw away, just a tasty, crispy and healthier alternative to the real thing.

For more air fryer favorites, see how we made one whole chicken And 10 minute salmon in the countertop stove.