Air Fryer Whole Chicken

By FoodfaithfitnessMay 20, 2024Jump to Recipe

Who knew a winning chicken dinner was so close at hand?

Table of Contents

Nothing says “feast” quite like a whole chicken, beautifully crisped and juicy throughout. The aromatic allure of delicious herbs and the mouth-wateringly supple meat of perfectly roasted chicken can feel like a lot of work, what with oven temperatures, cooking thermometers, sheet pans, basting, and every other careful step that goes towards making fantastic fowl; but, what if there was an easier way? What if, sitting on your kitchen counter, was the answer to your poultry prayers?

Your air fryer is a lot of things but, fundamentally, it is a convection oven that’s small enough to sit on your countertop! That’s not to say that it’s not capable of a lot of things – we’ve been air frying delicious baskets of breaded tenders, poaching perfect eggs, and even whipping up tantalizing tortillas here at FoodFaithFitness! But the reason why an air fryer can do all these things is the same as why your oven can (and the reasons it can do it better are for all the reasons your oven simply can’t!)

Some people might think that I’m crazy for consistently calling the air fryer a countertop convection oven (but it is, and I’m tired of pretending that it isn’t!) If it weren’t, there’d be no way you could cook a crispy chicken in it. That’s just what we’re doing today with our air fryer whole chicken! Give yourself something to salivate over with a beautiful bird you’ll be downright drooling over for dinner with succulent skin and scintillating scents!

Is Air Fryer Whole Chicken Healthy?

A whole chicken is composed of two types of meat: white and dark meat. White meat is how we refer to the chicken breast and wing meat and it’s brimming with bountiful nutrients like iron, B vitamins, and lots of protein! Dark meat (that’s the meat in those juicy drumsticks!) contains amino acids, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and minerals like zinc! Composed entirely of meat with no carbs to speak of and a simple cooking method, air fryer whole chicken sates even your craziest keto craving and makes the perfect paleo centerpiece! That means there’s not a bite of this air fryer chicken that won’t have you nourished and flourishing!

The Convection Cooking Conspiracy

The oven and the air fryer share a lot of traits that make them both perfect for creating delicious dinners – which makes sense because they both function on the same basic principles of cooking!

An air fryer is a convection oven, same as most contemporary ovens in most kitchens! That means it circulates hot air around an enclosed space to ensure consistent heat is applied to all parts of the food and conductive pans. Putting a little bit of oil on anything and placing it into a hot air fryer will fry it up perfectly because it would do the same in a classic oven too!

So what is the deal with air fryers? If your oven does the same thing in the same way, why bother owning an air fryer at all? It can seem like a conspiracy to sell you more kitchen appliances when it’s explained so simply; however, there is a distinct difference that defines the air fryer’s necessity (and what puts it above the oven both literally and figuratively!)

Air fryers are, naturally, smaller in scale than a whole oven. With less air and closer application of its heat source, an air fryer comes up to temperature significantly faster than a regular oven can, conveniently cutting your cook time! That said, by sacrificing space, air fryers can’t handle many of the tasks that a classic oven can simply for the lack of room inside. Next time you’re doing a small batch bake in a limited time, whip out the air fryer and surprise yourself!

INGREDIENTS

1 whole chicken (approximately 3 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/6 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare

Empty and dry the chicken.

Season

Rub with oil and spices.

Cook

Air fry and flip halfway.

Rest

Let the chicken rest before serving.

Devour!

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store?

Air fryer whole chicken is so easy to make that the real question is how to store it! A whole chicken is typically a pretty awkward shape, meaning that you’ll have to cloak it tightly in tin foil before storing it in your fridge for up to two days (any longer and you run the risk of losing valuable moisture!). When you want to heat it up, pop that aluminum foil bird into the air fryer or oven and bring it back up to a safe internal temperature! If opting for the air fryer, just remember to weight that foil down so it doesn’t blow about the basket and never let the foil touch the heating element either.

Uh oh! My chicken is too big for my air fryer! what do I do?

Not every air fryer is built the same! Some are smaller than others and, as a result, you might not be able to cook your whole bird inside! Not to worry, though, as the perk of an air fryer being a countertop convection oven is that you can make almost anything that would require an air fryer in a standard oven instead (which should give you plenty of space!)

How do I keep my chicken from drying out?

Chicken stock and broth are excellent tools to ensure that your chicken doesn’t dry out when cooking! Injecting the white meat with stock can help saturate the meat with flavor and keep it juicy even as your air fryer cooks!

Serving Suggestions

A whole chicken makes a beautiful centerpiece on any dinner table, but especially when surrounded by complementary flavors like those found in twice baked potatoes! Roasted vegetables couple nicely with air fryer whole chicken too, whether it be broccoli and carrots or brussels sprouts and asparagus! While your air fryer is hot, go ahead and whip up delicious blooming onion or avocado fries to keep it crispy!

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