Air Fryer Cracklin’ Chicken (Keto, Whole30)

Love my Cracklin’ Chicken, but hate the mess? It turns out that my popular and tasty take on Whole30-friendly fried chicken thighs isn’t just easier to make in an air fryer, it’s less messy, too! Make Cracklin’ Chicken in an air fryer, and you won’t spend any time cleaning the grease from your stovetop and floors!

Almost as soon as the air fryer craze started sweeping the nation, questions from loyal Nomsters started landing in my inbox, asking if my Cracklin’ Chicken recipe (a.k.a. Ollie’s Cracklin’ Chicken) could be made in this gadget. There’s no question that Cracklin’ Chicken is a super delicious and easy recipe to cook, but it makes an unholy mess every time I fry it on the stovetop. Even when I use a splatter guard or fry the chicken in a cast iron skillet on my outdoor grill, hot schmaltz still gets everywhere. You just have to take the good with the bad—or so I thought. Enter the air fryer!

What’s an air fryer?

An air fryer is a stand-alone countertop kitchen appliance (mine kind of looks like a ginormous Darth Vader’s helmet) that “fries” food with circulating hot air, using a minimal amount of fat. Basically, it’s like a self-contained convection oven.

Should you buy an air fryer?

To be honest, I don’t think it’s necessary to get one if you already have a good wall or countertop oven. I resisted buying an air fryer for a long time because the reviews were mixed (at least from many of my trusted sources) and I already own a Breville Smart Oven Air, which has an air fryer function. That said,  I never used the air fryer function on my Breville because on the rare occasion that I did,  it was such a pain to clean up afterwards.

But after seeing some of my blogger pals show off lots of tasty, crispy foods that they were making in their air fryers, I had a bad case of FOMO and broke down and bought one. Plus, the model I wanted was marked down 50%  at the time, and who can resist a bargain?

Which air fryer should you buy?

As with all of my kitchen purchases, I did tons of research to find the best reviewed model. After weighing all the pros and cons, I settled on the Philips Avance Digital Turbostar Airfryer because it was highly recommended by Cook’s Illustrated. It’s also the priciest air fryer on the market, so I waited for it to go on sale before I bought it. (I didn’t buy the XL model because it wasn’t on sale and Cook’s Illustrated says the extra capacity isn’t substantial.)

The verdict? All in all, I’m very happy with my purchase…but then again, I’m a compulsive kitchen gadget hoarder.

What are the pros of making Cracklin’ Chicken in an air fryer?

Clean-up is a breeze because you can just plop the greasy parts of the air fryer in a dishwasher or wash them by hand with warm soapy water. Also, the chicken skin gets really thin and crispy because the hot circulating air melts away all of the fat under the skin. It’s no wonder I’m now making Cracklin’ Chicken several times a week now that I have an air fryer!

What are drawbacks to making Cracklin’ Chicken in an air fryer?

Although I love making Cracklin’ Chicken in my air fryer, it’s not perfect. There are three main drawbacks:

• Because of the size constraints of the air fryer , you can cook only up to THREE chicken thighs at a time.
• If you don’t dump out the accumulated grease at the bottom of the basket in between batches, the appliance can emit a lot of greasy smoke.
• The chicken thigh meat can turn out a little drier than when you fry it according to the original recipe. (For me, the lack of mess does make up for the slightly less moist chicken, though!)

Can you reheat Cracklin’ Chicken in an air fryer?

Yes! Place the leftover Cracklin’ Chicken skin-side up in the air fryer basket and cook it at 400°F for 8 minutes or until the skin is crispy.

Psst! If you just like the crispy skin, make my Air Fryer Chicken Cracklings!

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Let’s make Air Fryer Cracklin’ Chicken!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on (1.25 pounds or less)
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• Magic Mushroom Powder (optional)

Equipment:

• Kitchen shears
• Meat pounder
• Cutting board
• Air Fryer

Method:

Grab some chicken thighs and a sharp pair of kitchen shears. Blot the chicken dry with a paper towel. If the thigh bone isn’t exposed, use the shears to snip down to expose it. Then, starting at one end, carefully cut out the bone, making sure you don’t cut through the meat.

Trim as close to the bone as possible. When you get to the other end, trim around the joint and cartilage and remove the bone. Save these bones for homemade bone broth! Repeat with the remaining thighs.

Flatten the chicken with a meat pounder to ensure uniform cooking.

Sprinkle Diamond Crystal kosher salt on both sides of the chicken thighs. If you want to spice things up, you can sprinkle your favorite seasoning salt (e.g. Magic Mushroom Powder) on the meat side—but avoid sprinkling anything but salt on the skin side. (I don’t recommend putting anything besides salt on the skin because the spices can burn.)

Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer in the the air fryer basket.

You can actually smoosh up to three chicken thighs in a single layer in the air fryer basket without leaving any space in between them. They’ll turn out fine—the pieces will shrink as they cook.

Set the air fryer to 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes, depending on the size of the thighs. (My air fryer does not need to be preheated, but preheat yours if necessary.)

The Cracklin’ Chicken is ready when the skin is crispy and the meat is thoroughly cooked (at least 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh). If you’re making another batch, pour out the rendered fat before cooking another batch to reduce the amount of smoke.

Slice up the Cracklin’ Chicken and enjoy!

No air fryer? Make the original Cracklin’ Chicken on the stovetop!

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Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).

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