The whole chicken

Air fryers are great for many things. Air Fryer chicken wings? wonderful! Air fryer fries? delicious! This air fryer chicken recipe was a bit surprising. I had never tried to cook something so big with an air fryer so I was a little nervous about what would happen.

In the end I had nothing to worry about. The whole air fryer chicken may not be as fast as the air fryer chicken breast, but there are all the other qualities that I like to cook chicken with an air fryer. .

Why we love the whole air fryer chicken

Absolutely the perfect chicken. With my perfect blend of crispy skin, juicy meat and seasonings, this whole air fryer chicken is overall tasty. It’s also healthier than store-bought rotisserie chicken.

Crispy skin without grease. The hot air circulation in the air fryer cooks the chicken evenly and makes the skin perfect like a convection oven. No need to add a lot of oil or butter to get great results!

Building blocks for easy meals. If you’ve picked up rotisserie chicken from Costco and used it to make dinner for a few days, this air fryer chicken will give you a homemade version. It becomes dinner for dinner on your favorite side, and use leftovers to make curry chicken salad, and the corpses are boiled to make homemade chicken noodles soup soup.

Ingredient Notes

Whole Chicken: Stick to about 4-4½ pounds as you need chicken that fits in an air fryer. Olive Oil: Scrub the olive oil seasoned on your skin, and season the chicken and helps to make your skin crisp. Seasonings: Mix assortment of pantry spices including kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, coarsely ground black pepper and smoked paprika. You can also use my purposeful seasoning, Cajun seasoning, or any other seasoning you want. For a cavity: I like to stuff half the lemon and half the garlic cloves into the cavity. These are optional, but they infuse the entire chicken with a flavour when cooking on an air fryer. They also smell really great as a roast of chicken. If you have it on hand, you can add some fresh herb twigs.

How to fry the whole chicken

Prepare the chicken. Tap the chicken with a paper towel. This is important if you need crisp skin. (And of course, I want crispy skin!) If you have chicken, throw away the Giblett packets and let the chicken sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. It helps the chicken cook more evenly.

season. Combine the seasonings and olive oil in a small bowl. Scrub the mixture over the whole chicken, including inside the cavity. Carefully loosen your skin and get the seasonings underneath without tearing it. If you are using lemon and garlic, add it to the cavity.

I’m going to start cooking. Place the chicken in an air fryer basket with the chest down. Cook at 360°F for 40 minutes.

Flip and continue cooking. Carefully turn the chicken over, raise the breasts up and continue to fry for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

rest. Remove the chicken from the air fryer and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Useful Tips

Make sure the chicken fits. If it’s a little too big and hits the heating element of the air fryer, you can crack the sternum to flatten it a little and try again. If it’s still too expensive, you’ll need to go to Plan B. Try the whole chicken in a crockpot or roast chicken.

Use an instant-lead thermometer. Ensuring that the entire chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F is important for food safety and to ensure that the entire chicken is not overcooked in an air fryer. Use an instant reading thermometer for the thickest part of the breast or where your thighs connect to the body to check the internal temperature of the chicken. Do not touch the bones.

Do not skip rest time. Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes after cooking to allow the juice to be redistributed throughout the meat. Without this rest time, the juice will be all over the chopping board.

Provide ideas

There are many ways to put the rest of the air fryer chicken to use! Throw it in a ranch pasta salad, roll it up into a chicken enchilada, or turn it into a chicken king.

Refrigerator: Remaining air fryer chicken can be stored in a fridge airtight container for up to 4 days. I prefer to remove the chicken from the bone and cut it off before refrigerating it.

Freezer: You can also freeze remaining chicken for up to 3 months. To prevent the freezer from burning, it is recommended to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place the wrapped chicken in an airtight container or frozen bag. Thaw in the fridge before reheating. If the chicken is removed from the bone and cut, it is easier to freeze and thaw and ready to use in your recipe.

Reheat: To reheat, place the chicken in a roasting pan with a splash of soup, cover with foil and heat in a 350ºF oven. The exterior isn’t very crispy, but reheating like this will help keep the chicken moist. I think this is more important than crisp skin. Microwaves work too, but they are less ideal as they are likely to make chicken rubber.

Before you begin, make sure your chicken fits into the air fryer without touching the heating elements. If it’s a little too big, try this. Place the chicken on the cutting board and press down firmly on the sternum to crack (if the chicken is tied, remove the tie before removing the crack). This will flatten your chicken and potentially fit. If it’s still too big, check out the recipes for whole oven-baked chicken or whole crockpot chicken (see link below).

Whole chicken, 4-4½ pounds

Using a paper towel, tap the outside of the chicken to remove any excess moisture. This helps you achieve crisp skin. If there are jibbles in the cavity, discard them. Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix olive oil, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, black pepper and smoked paprika.

2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 ½ tsp onion powder, 1½ tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper, 14 teaspoons of smoked paprika

Scrub the olive oil mixture all over the chicken to make sure you thoroughly coat it, including under the skin and inside the cavity.

Optional: Place half the lemon and garlic cloves in the cavity to add flavor.

½ lemon, options, 4 Garlic Cloves, Options

Place the chicken breasts down in an air fryer basket. Cook at 360°F for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, carefully turn the chicken over and the chest side is facing. Check for another 35-40 minutes, or with an instant read meat thermometer on the thickest part of your thigh and cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (avoiding bones).

Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the air fryer and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slice.

Serving: The whole chicken can serve up to 6 people depending on the size of the chicken. Nutritional information is based on 4½ pounds divided into six tablespoons of chicken. Nutrition depends on which portion of chicken is consumed. Alternative cooking methods: If the chicken is too large and fits in an air fryer, try the whole chicken in an oven roast chicken or a crockpot. Both methods are simple and tasty. Seasoning: Feel free to season your chicken with your favorite seasonings. It’s a passing favour that I like my blend (smoked paprika gives the chicken a slightly smoky flavour). Storage: For best results, remove meat from the bones before refrigerating or freezing so that chicken can be used in the recipe. It gets colder and thaws faster. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

calorie: 395kcal, carbohydrates: 1g, protein: 31g, fat: 29g, Saturated fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated fat: 6g, January Saturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, cholesterol: 122mg, sodium: 503mg, potassium: 321mg, fiber: 0.2g, sugar: 0.04g, Vitamin A: 274iu, Vitamin C: 3mg, calcium: twenty twomg, iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is calculated automatically and should only be used as an approximation.

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