Air Fryer ‘KFC’ Fried Chicken

Better than KFC fried chicken cooked in the Vortex Air Fryer!

Chicken:
8 pieces of free-range chicken – thighs and drumsticks (bone and skin on)
250ml buttermilk
1 free-range egg
1 Tbsp hot sauce (I use Cholula chipotle hot sauce)

Flour coating:
2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
6 tsp dried herbs (thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, basil)
1 Tbsp celery salt
1 Tbsp fine white pepper powder (or a mix. Of black and white)
2 tsp Hot English mustard powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground ginger
Sunflower or canola oil for brushing / dabbing on the chicken

INSTRUCTIONS
Make the day before. Mix the buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce in a bowl and then add it to a Ziploc bag with the chicken. Seal and lay this flat in a dish overnight in the fridge.

Take the chicken out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to cook it so that it comes up to room temperature. Mix all the ingredients for the flour coating in a bowl until well combined.

Get a tray set out and lined with baking/silicone paper.

Dredge the chicken in the following order: Take the chicken from the buttermilk into the flour mixture and toss to completely coat then set aside on the lined tray. You could dab/brush a little oil over the chicken at this stage and then proceed to the next step but first tossing it into the flour. Once all pieces are coated, quickly dip, and coat each piece 2 – 3 more times each. If some of the flour mixture clumps don’t worry, try and press it onto the chicken.

Dab the top of each piece generously with olive oil. I used a silicone brush.

Preheat your Instant Vortex / Duo Crisp to 180C/350F. When it reaches temperature, spray the basket with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil / neutral oil spray. It’s ok to use an aerosol spray if you have one. Or brush lightly with sunflower or canola oil.

Carefully place the chicken pieces in the basket and cook for 24 minutes. Turn them over halfway at 12 minutes. They should be golden brown and crunchy. Cook for a few extra minutes if you like them to be a darker colour. Serve with coleslaw or any other condiment of your choice.

For more recipes by Sam, click here.