AirFryday: Southern fried chicken in your air fryer

Here’s some southern comfort brought to you not by Colonel Sanders but courtesy of your air fryer. That’s right, we’ve adapted a good ole southern family favourite for the electronic beast in your kitchen that you’ve been getting to know better lately.

It’s a fairly straightforward recipe. In one bowl, you whisk eggs and buttermilk together. In another, you mix flour and cornflour with a range of spices and dried herbs. The chicken portions get dipped into the liquid mixture first, then into the seasoned flour, and then they go right into your air fryer.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken drumsticks

For the spice mix:

1 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder or flakes

1 Tbsp salt

1 tsp fine black pepper

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs

1 Tbsp dried oregano

Plus:

¾ cup cake flour

½ cup cornflour

Method

Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together in a bowl suitable for dipping the chicken portions in the mixture.

In another bowl, mix the flour and cornflour together, and stir in all the spice mix ingredients listed above.

Preheat the air fryer to 190℃ for 5 minutes.

Dip the chicken thighs into the buttermilk mixture first, then into the flour mixture, being sure to coat the portions thoroughly.

Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray, and place the thighs in the basket with space between them. Spray the upper side of the coated chicken portions in the air fryer generously with olive oil spray. 

Air fry for 30 to 35 minutes at 190℃, turning halfway through and spraying with more cooking oil spray on the turned side.

Serve with a mound of Granny Betty’s air fryer chips. That’s southern comfort. DM

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.