Air-Fryer Fried Chicken Thighs

Submitted by duonyte

"I based this recipe one one I saw on the blog From Valerie's Kitchen, with some changes and observations based on my experience. I ended up with really crispy and juicy chicken. Prep time does not include extended marinating time, cook time does not include multiple batches."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 bone-in chicken pieces (skin-on or skinless, thighs or drumsticks suggested)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup buttermilk, see note
• 1 -3 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 -3 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
• cooking oil (in sprayer)

directions

1. If using skin-on chicken, trim any excess fat from the edges, or remove it completely, and season both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Go light on the salt, as Old Bay is essentially a seasoned salt.
2. Whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce in a medium mixing bowl. Add the chicken pieces and push the down to submerge them in the liquid. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
3. Line a platter or large plate with foil or wax paper. Add the flour and Old Bay Seasoning to a large plastic storage bag and shake it to combine the mixture.
4. Drop one piece of chicken into the flour mixture and shake the bag to coat the chicken well, shaking off any excess flour. Transfer the coated chicken to the foil-lined dish and repeat the process with remaining chicken. Let the coated chicken rest while you preheat the air fryer to 390 degrees F for 5 minutes.
5. When air fryer is preheated, use an oil mister to lightly coat the bottom of the air fryer basket with oil. Lightly coat both sides of the chicken with oil and transfer them to the preheated air fryer. It's okay if the chicken is touching but the pieces should not overlap. Set the air fryer to 390 degrees F for 25 minutes, see note.
6. Check on the chicken about halfway through the cooking time and spray any dry spots with additional oil.
7. The internal temperature of the fried chicken should read at least 165 degrees F at the end of the cooking.
8. Note1: I had no buttermilk at home, so used some plain yogurt thinned out with milk. You could also use plain kefir.
9. Note2: I found 3 tbl of Old Bay too salty, but use your own best judgement. I think you could also use any number of other seasonings, Italian and Cajun come to mind.
10. Note3: I could only fit two thighs into my basket, so I had space around them. They were fully cooked in 20 minutes. I did not bother turning over the second batch and these were nicely crispy on both sides. The time to cook will depend on how many pieces you cook, how crowded they are in the basket, what chicken pieces you use. My photo is of bone-in, skin-on thighs.
11. Note4: I called this four servings, as some thighs are large enough to be a serving, but you might want two drumsticks, if that's what you are using. Don't whine about it.

Reviews

[ellie_]

Very easy and good! I used Italian seasoning instead of the Old bay. I also used milk w/ lemon juice for the buttermilk. My air fryer has racks instead of a frying bowl, so I was able to make all 5 thighs using two racks. Very good and easy too!