Air Fryer
Air Fryer Fried Chicken Thighs
Air fryers need a lot less oil to create a deep-fried crispy crust. Here, chicken thighs are marinated in buttermilk and dredged in a simple breadcrumb coating. With the help of a little cooking spray, they cook up nice and crispy with a lot less fat. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce or slice them up to top a salad.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce, such as frank's redhot
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 pound total), trimmed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
- cooking spray
Directions:
- Combine buttermilk, hot sauce and garlic in a medium nonreactive bowl. Add chicken thighs. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Combine flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Add eggs to another shallow dish and breadcrumbs to a third shallow dish.
- Working one at a time, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade. Coat with the flour mixture, then the egg. Finally, coat both sides with breadcrumbs. Coat both sides of the chicken with cooking spray.
- Lightly coat the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray. Place the chicken thighs in a single layer in the basket. (Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may have to cook in batches.)
- Cook the chicken at 400°F until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the chicken registers 165°F, turning the thighs over halfway through, about 16 minutes. (If cooking in batches, cooking time for the second batch may be shorter.)