Air fryers have taken kitchens by storm. They make cooking quicker, easier, and often healthier, and that includes roast chicken. Many people now use air fryers to make the Sunday classic, but getting it just right can still be tricky. The skin doesn’t always crisp up, and sometimes the meat comes out dry.
But YouTuber Justin from Cooking with Coit says there’s an easy way to fix all of that. “Once you see how incredible a whole chicken comes out in the air fryer, you’re never going to go back to the oven again,” he said.
Justin shares easy comfort-food recipes online and says the key to crispy skin and juicy meat is down to a few simple steps, and one thing you must do before cooking.
He starts by making a quick marinade using one teaspoon each of paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. “I try to keep the measurements simple, no fractions,” he said.
Then he adds two tablespoons of olive oil to the spice mix and stirs it into a thick paste.
The marinade is rubbed all over the chicken, including underneath, using hands or a kitchen brush.
“Just start massaging the chicken,” Justin said. “Not too hard, just nice and gentle, like a Swedish massage.”
But before the chicken goes into the air fryer, Justin shares the one thing that makes all the difference.
“I forgot a step,” he said mid-video. “You’ve got to do a light coating of olive oil spray in the basket so that the skin doesn’t stick.”
He explains this is crucial if you want to keep the chicken skin crispy and intact when flipping it halfway through.
The chicken is then placed breast-side down in the basket. “The white meat dries out the fastest,” he said.
“By starting breast-side down, the juices from the darker meat run into the breast and keep it moist.”
Justin sets the air fryer to 350F (around 175C) for 60 minutes, flipping it at the halfway point. “Look at this chicken, look how crispy the skin is.” he said at the 30-minute mark.
After cooking, the chicken is left to rest for 10 minutes. “We don’t want to cut it too quickly or the juices will run,” he added. “Look at how juicy this is, come on, get a shot of this!”
Justin said air fryers make the skin crispier, the cooking easier, and the cleanup simpler. “I’m definitely not going back to the oven anytime soon.”
“Give it a try,” he told viewers. “You guys are going to love this recipe.”