Americans consume almost 100 pounds of chicken yearly, more than any other animal protein. While summer months are spent grilling lean and sometimes dry chicken breasts for endless meals, when the weather starts to cool, we bring our cooking indoors as our bodies crave comfort foods. While roasted chicken is one of my favorite meals, nothing beats fried chicken. 

A multisensory experience, golden fried chicken, excites the brain before we take our first crunchy, salty bite into the juicy, flavorful chicken. Like Padma Lakshmi, I, too, belong to the “church of fried chicken!” Aside from being delicious, frying chicken alleviates one of the most common issues plagued by lean chicken, drying out, which is especially difficult when preparing a whole chicken since the white meat requires an internal temperature of 165 degrees while dark meat should register at 175 degrees at fully cooked, often resulting in dried out white meat. 

The delicious dish, however, is a project to prepare at home and loaded with unnecessary fat. Although there is a time for duck-fat fried chicken, an air fryer is an excellent cooking method to achieve that crisp exterior that fried chicken should have, without all that oil required to deep fry. Brining the chicken adds moisture to the meat to address drying out. While brining simply requires soaking the raw chicken in salty water or buttermilk, it requires some planning which is why I was so happy to find buttermilk brined half chickens at Trader Joe’s- perfect for two people (or a hungry single). 

Starting out with a brined chicken makes this recipe so simple, and gets it on the table within 30 minutes allowing you to make this any day of the week. Serve it with steamed veggies and a salad to keep the meal under 30 minutes and light, or go for it and make mashed potatoes to make up for the calories you saved from air frying. 

Tips:

• Double the recipe to feed more people. Avoid crowding the basket while cooking, and make the fried chicken in batches if needed. Keep cooked chicken warm in the oven while you continue cooking.

• Save money by breaking down a whole chicken yourself. Poultry shears make it simple to butterfly or spatchcock a chicken. A 4-pound chicken can be cut into eight pieces -two breasts, two wings, two legs, and two thighs.

• You can brine the chicken overnight yourself by combining 2 cups of buttermilk, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper. 

• To make buttermilk combine 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar with 1 cup of milk. Stir and watch it curdle.

• Hot honey is delicious on top!

• Invest in a cooking thermometer. It makes cooking and baking foolproof. 

Air Fryer “Fried” Chicken

Serves 2

PREP 15 minutes

COOK 16 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 Trader Joe’s buttermilk brined half chicken

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon paprika

Olive oil 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the air fryer for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

2. In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and spices.

3. Remove the chicken from the packaging. If serving two people, cut the chicken in half with shears. If it’s for one, just leave the chicken as is (no one is judging you).

4. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture covering the entire piece. Tap off excess flour and place the chicken parts in the air fryer basket. 

5. Gently spray or drizzle oil on both sides of the chicken. Place the chicken in the air fryer for 8-10 minutes, until the top is golden brown, then flip the chicken and cook for another 8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown. If you notice areas of flour that aren’t browning, add additional oil to that spot. I use a thermometer to take the guesswork out, but juices should run clear when the chicken is done. Browned skin does not mean it’s cooked, so check the meat. 

6. Season the hot chicken with additional salt, and enjoy!