Crispy skin. Juicy interior. Perfectly seasoned.
This is chicken we’re talking about… not anything weird.
Air Fryer Whole Chicken
Course: DinnerDifficulty: EasyServings
4
servingsPrep time
10
minutesCooking time
40
minutesResting Time
10
minutesTotal time
1
hourIngredients
1 Whole Chicken
Sesame oil, to coat chicken
Olive oil, for the air fryer
- Chicken Rub Ingredients
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
Directions
- Combine the chicken rub ingredients in a bowl
- To prepare your chicken, you can either leave it whole or SPATCHCOCK your chicken if you have the room in your air fryer. Instructions for how to spatchcock a chicken are in THIS VIDEO.
- Have a tray or cutting board lined with tin foil. Rub sesame oil all over your chicken, approximately 2 Tablespoons or enough to coat. Dust the chicken with the chicken rub to coat thoroughly, getting every crevice. Any unused rub can be reserved as long as you didn’t touch the chicken then dip your hands in the rub. If you put your raw chicken hands in the rub, DISCARD IT.
- Spray the base of the air fryer with olive oil.
For whole chicken: Place the chicken breast side down, and cook at 360°F for 50 minutes. Around the 30 minute mark, flip your chicken and let cook on the other side for remaining time.
For spatchcocked chicken: Place chicken skin side up, and cook at 360°F for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken has reached 165°F internally. - Once chicken is done, place on a clean cutting board and let rest for at least 10 minutes prior to carving. Serve with anything!
- BONUS: Take the drippings from the bottom of the air fryer, and add it to a rice cooker for some flavorful rice, or save it to boost any chicken stock (especially store bought!)
Notes
- I promise I didn’t make up the word “Spatchcock.” It’s a real word. See more below!
- This chicken can go well with any side dishes.
- Save the carcass – and use it to make a flavorful chicken broth! Combine the carcass with one onion, some garlic, a few carrots, some celery, and some of the chicken schmaltz (chicken juice from the bottom of the air fryer) you saved
- Using sesame oil to grease the chicken is more of a flavor preference than a necessity. You can use avocado oil, olive oil, any kind of oil you’d like if you aren’t a fan of the sesame oil flavor/scent.
“Spatchcock” is a method of breaking down a bird to splay it out more evenly. It’s not very glorious, and I was personally weirded out by the method, so if you would prefer not to, ya know, snip the spinal chord of the bird and break it’s breastbone to get it to be flat I won’t judge you. It does actually make for a more even cook, and makes all of the skin crispy since it’s all on the flat side.
