Whole roast chicken in an air fryer

It seems like an eon since I last wrote about food. I am back to my blog after a long hiatus and I am still hobbling around a bit, maybe it will take some time for me to get back my writing mojo.

To be honest, I have not been experimenting much with food lately. Have just been cooking normal stuff, barring a few twists here and there.

And then, I got a new appliance as a housewarming gift the other day. The current hot pick of the season – the air fryer! Everywhere I turned to, I saw people cooking with the air fryer and exclaiming what a superb boon it was to the kitchen. I made a wry face and said “Oh yeah?” I had taken it to be another new cooking fad, which would soon be forgotten in a few months. I mean, I hardly cook anything in my microwave oven, except thawing/heating food and making the random chocolate mug cake for my son. In comparison, I use my conventional oven (OTG) much frequently.

So, when I opened the carton that arrived at my home and found the air fryer there, I did not know what to think of it. My cousins were already using the air fryer and apparently, you can cook a lot with it. Now, I had to cook something in it which I could carry it to office for my colleagues who had gifted the appliance. I knew that only one thing could please them – a whole roast chicken.

And it came out really well! I had not expected it to be so easy and fast, roasting a whole chicken in an air fryer as opposed to my sturdy OTG where I usually do it. Soon, I was using my air fryer more often, trying out a lot of recipes. But my best still remains the whole roast chicken.

I have been trying out a lot of roast chicken recipes and I feel brining brings out the most flavor in the chicken. While there are different brining methods, I chose one of the simpler ones.

Here’s how I made the chicken:

Whole roast chicken in an air fryer

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken with skin, giblets removed, and preferably weighing 1 kg

For brining

1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste

2 teaspoons salt (I used my own discretion here)

1 packet buttermilk (I used Amul spiced buttermilk, small tetra-pack)

For seasoning

1 tablespoon each of tomato sauce, soya sauce and Worcestershire sauce

Assorted seasoning mix (rosemary, thyme, oregano, chilli flakes) and butter to taste

Method:

Wash the chicken and pat dry.

For the brining, combine the brining ingredients and dunk the chicken in it. I left it covered overnight in the fridge.

After sufficient brining, take the chicken out of the solution and wash it thoroughly.

Then mix all the sauces – tomato sauce, soya sauce and Worchestershire sauce and apply this mixture thoroughly on the chicken, particularly below the skin and in the cavity. The skin separates easily from the chicken if you carefully insert your fingers and break the fatty layer.

Push the butter and dry seasoning spices (I used an Italian seasoning mix from the brand Only) below the skin and inside the cavity, but take care not to break the delicate skin.

Marinate the chicken uncovered, for an hour, in the fridge.

Now, take the chicken out of the fridge and let it come to normal temperature. Pre-heat the air fryer at 180 degrees for 10 minutes. Place the chicken in the basket of the air fryer and roast for 20 minutes, based on the size of the chicken. Flip the chicken after the 20 minutes are over and cook for another 20 minutes.

Once the time is up, let the chicken sit for around 15 minutes. By then, there would be superbly crisped up skin and a pool of amazingly flavoured sauce at the bottom of the basket. Slice up the chicken, drizzle this dripping/sauce over the pieces and you are good to go! Do take care to see if the chicken is cooked fully through. Insert a knife around the thigh region of the chicken check if the juices run clear. If not, cook for another 10 minutes or till the chicken is done.

The brining ensures that the chicken does not become dry and remains absolutely juicy and moist. I am usually not too fond of the breast meat in a roast chicken but even that part of the chicken remained tender and succulent.

Do try this recipe and please mail me or post your query in the comments section if you require any help. Take care!

PS: I also roasted some potatoes to go along with the chicken. Just boil a few potatoes, cut them into quarters, sprinkle some salt and seasoning mix, drizzle some chicken juices and let it roast in the air fryer for around 20 minutes. Give a shake to the potatoes during half-time to ensure even cooking. That’s it!

PPS: My other recipes for roast chicken can be found here.