Air Fryer Spicy Fried Chicken

 

I recently purchased an air fryer, I know a lot of you already have one and I am really late to the partly. I had a lot of trouble convincing myself that the space it was going take up in my kitchen was going to be worth it. Boy am I glad I purchased it and really wish I had done so sooner.

I do admit that I really didn’t research the brand/model that I purchased. I had done enough research to know what size I wanted (around 4 quart) and I knew what the prices should be. One recent Sunday afternoon I was looking around on the internet and came across one that was the size I wanted and the best price I had seen, it was also sold by Best Buy so I knew it was a reputable sale. So I bit the bullet and purchased. It only took a few days to be delivered right to my door (no need to go out into the frozen temperatures or stand in any lines) and I was off and running.

I knew one of the first recipes I wanted to try in it was for fried chicken. I love nice crispy fried chicken but I don’t love the mess of frying it. I wanted a less oil, less mess really crispy fried chicken. I tried a couple of different recipes and then decided what I really wanted flavor wise was a spicy fried chicken. Something like you might get at a certain fast food place that shares its name with an old cartoon character…..

I found a lot of copycat recipes for said chicken and I looked over several picked the ingredients that I felt would give me the end result I was after and that is what we have today.

Like a lot of really good fried chicken recipes this one starts by soaking the chicken for a period of time. In this case we are using buttermilk (or soured milk if you forget to pick up the buttermilk like did) mixed with some hot sauce. I recommend doing this for at least 2 hours but longer is better if you have the time. I find that 6 to 8 hours seems to be ideal. This soak does a couple of things, if helps to flavor the chicken and it helps to give the chicken a fantastic texture (tender but not tough or chewy) It also helps the coating to have a really nice texture when it gets cooked.

One the chicken has soaked drain it and dry it off with paper towels.

Now we get to dredge the chicken first in seasoned flour, then an egg mixture and back in the seasoned flour.

Then it is a simple matter of cooking the chicken in the pre-heated air fryer until cooked and crispy.

You can find a downloadable/printable version of this recipe here.

Air Fryer Spicy Fried Chicken

1 cup buttermilk (see notes at end of recipe for substitution)

1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce (or hot sauce of choice)

2 chicken drumsticks, bone in and skin on

2 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

1 egg

2 Tablespoons water

1 ½ teaspoons Tabasco sauce

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Combine the buttermilk and 1 Tablespoon of Tabasco sauce in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces making sure they are submerged as much as possible. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, 6 to 8 is perfect. If possible rearrange the chicken in the mixture a few times.

At the end of the soaking time remove the chicken from the soaking mixture and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the soaking mixture.

Pre-heat your air fryer to 390°F as directed for your model.

Whisk the egg, water and 1 ½ teaspoons of Tabasco sauce in a shallow dish until combined and set aside.

In another shallow dish combine the flour and seasonings.

 

 

Dredge the chicken first in the flour mixture, coating the surface completely. Press the flour onto the surface of the meat then shake off any excess.

 

 

Immediately move to the egg mixture again coating completely again shaking off any excess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now back in the flour mixture to coat completely again. Shake off excess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spray the basket of your air fryer with cooking spray add the chicken pieces and spray them generously with cooking spray.

Cook the chicken pieces in the pre-heated air fryer at 390°F for 15 minutes.

At this point in time check the internal temperature of the largest piece of chicken. You want it to reach 165°F, if it is not there yet cook in 5 minute intervals until it reaches the correct temperature.

As a note mine took a total of 20 minutes this time. Your air fryer might cook slower or faster than mine and the pieces of chicken you are using might vary also.

Note: if you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can simply sour some fresh milk. Add a Tablespoon of vinegar to a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 1 cup. Let is sit on the counter a couple of minutes to sour a bit. Then proceed with the recipe.