Nothing really beats a perfect, crispy bite of chicken, whether you’re eating a batch of wings or a whole homemade rotisserie. Sometimes it may feel like you can’t recreate that texture at home, but with the combined powers of an air fryer and proper ingredient prep, you can achieve restaurant-quality results in your own kitchen. To learn more, we spoke to Dennis Littley, chef and recipe expert at Ask Chef Dennis.
“When it comes to air-frying chicken, patting it dry is one of those small steps that make a huge difference. Moisture on the surface of the meat creates steam in the air fryer, which softens the skin or coating rather than crisping it,” says Littley. While moisture is good for the inner meat, nobody likes soggy crust on their chicken — or crust that peels off into a mushy pile. Littley adds, “I always recommend patting chicken dry both before marinating and before breading. This gives you better contact for seasoning and a more even crust that browns and crisps properly.” So whether you’re using the rumored 11-ingredient KFC copycat seasoning blend or a simple flour mixture, patting your chicken dry will benefit both flavor and texture throughout the air frying process.
More tips for crispy air-fried chicken
In addition to chef Dennis Littley’s tip about patting your chicken dry to avoid sogginess, there are a few other basic air fryer tips for great chicken. The first is adding particular ingredients to your marinades and dry rubs to achieve extra crispiness — particularly baking powder. This ingredient acts as a leavening agent, keeping your batter light and helping to form a nice crust in the air fryer. Next, make sure to cook the chicken at the right temperature for both even cooking and a satisfying crunch — most recipes recommend 10 minutes per side at temperatures between 370 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
The final secret tip for crispy air-fried wings is to cook the chicken with maximum skin exposure. This allows the largest portion of the chicken skin to touch the heat source, promoting more airflow and better crisping. To achieve this, you must be mindful not to overcrowd your air fryer — leave space between your chicken pieces, whether they’re wings or cutlets. Once you’ve physically set your chicken up for success, you’ll have a tender, crisp bite in no time. Just remember Littley’s tip about patting your chicken dry before setting it in the fry basket, and you’ll have skin so crunchy it’ll taste like it’s straight from your favorite drive-thru.
