12 Nov Recipe: Donna Hay’s Air Fryer Crispy Buttermilk Chicken
Do you have an air fryer? One of those great time friendly additions to family cooking. Then Donna Hay’s crispy air fryer chicken is a family-friendly alternative to takeaway fried chicken, and the ingredients are reasonably affordable at approximately $30 for the whole meal, or $5 per person when serving six, including the sides serves. The chicken thighs are the biggest expense, but you can bring the cost down by buying the larger supermarket packs.
Ingredients
- 8 x 125g (4½ oz) chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
- 2 cups (500ml/17 fl oz) buttermilk
- 3 teaspoons Chinese five-spice
- 4 cups (240g/8½ oz) panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- Spray oil, for cooking
- Slaw, potato chips and mayonnaise, to serve
Method
- Combine the chicken, buttermilk and five-spice and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat air fryer to 200°C (400°F) for 4 minutes.
- Combine the breadcrumbs, paprika, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.
- Spray the hot basket with oil. In batches, drain the chicken from the buttermilk mixture and immediately press into the breadcrumb mixture for a thick and even coat.
- Add the chicken to the basket and spray generously with extra oil. Cook for 8 minutes, turn over, spray with more oil and cook for a further 8 minutes or until crispy.
- Serve with a simple slaw, potato chips and mayonnaise. Serves 4–6
Cook’s note:
Spraying the chicken with oil before you cook it works a treat to evenly coat the chicken, resulting in a super-crisp, golden crumb. If you don’t have any spray oil, be sure to oil the chicken well with a brush.
Photography: Con Poulos
This recipe is from Donna’s book Too Easy – view here
Info: Budget extras
- Make your own buttermilk substitute. Add about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar per 250ml of milk. Leave for 5–10 minutes. It won’t be identical to cultured buttermilk, but works well in a marinade.
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Reduce the panko. The recipe uses 240g, which is quite generous. You may be able to use 180–200g if you coat carefully.
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Make a simple slaw. Shredded cabbage, grated carrot and a little mayonnaise are all you need.
