The Best, Quickest Method to Crispy, Juicy Rooster Thighs

A crispy-skinned rooster thigh paired with a number of sides—like a cucumber and tomato salad, steamed or air-fried broccoli, or mashed potatoes—is considered one of my favourite straightforward dinners. It’s easy and dependable, and one thing I can do with out a lot effort. There’s a purpose why many residence cooks, together with myself, flip to rooster thighs once they’re in the hunt for a zero-fuss meal: They’re juicy, flavorful, and inexpensive, to not point out extremely versatile. Win, win, win, win. I usually bake thighs, however now I’ve a good quicker, extra environment friendly option to cook dinner them: the air fryer. As we have famous earlier than, the equipment is principally a mini convection oven that circulates sizzling air to cook dinner meals shortly and evenly.

As we identified in our recipe for primary air-fryer rooster breasts, the air-fryer is an undeniably fast and straightforward option to make rooster, nevertheless it’s not a on condition that that rooster can be juicy and flavorful. So we requested our take a look at kitchen colleague and veteran recipe developer Julia Levy to give you what we described as a primary technique for air-fryer rooster thighs which might be ultra-tender and flavorful with splendidly crispy pores and skin. Via quite a few checks and tweaks, Levy did simply that. Learn on for the essential recipe, together with ideas for getting the moistest, most appetizing rooster within the air fryer. You’ll additionally discover 5 variations on the essential recipe, together with lemon-pepper, za’atar mint, chipotle-lime, and miso-ginger, which considered one of our testers described as having a “pretty caramelized crust that was simply on the sting of being burnt,” including, “It tasted like they simply got here off the grill, which is a taste that’s onerous to duplicate in an air fryer.”

3 Easy Ideas for the Greatest Air-Fryer Rooster Thighs

1. Select bone-in, skin-on thighs. Whereas boneless, skinless thighs do not dry out as simply as boneless, skinless breasts, we nonetheless suppose it is value choosing bone-in, skin-on right here for essentially the most succulent outcomes. Not solely will you get optimum juiciness, however you will additionally get superbly browned pores and skin that considered one of our recipe testers described as “past crispy.”
2. Dry-brine the thighs for juicier, extra flavorful meat. We’re longtime advocates for dry brining—this easy course of makes for a lot juicier, extra flavorful meat, and, in contrast to moist brining, you need not fuss with a container of liquid taking over house in your fridge. On this recipe, we name for merely rubbing the meat with a mixture of kosher salt, pepper, and baking powder, then letting it sit for no less than an hour (and as much as 24 hours) within the fridge. 
3. Add some baking powder to the dry brine for crispy pores and skin. As we’ve famous earlier than (see Niki Achitoff-Grey’s article about crispy rooster and turkey pores and skin), baking powder is barely alkaline and raises the pH stage within the rooster pores and skin. This permits proteins to interrupt down extra effectively, resulting in crispier, evenly browned pores and skin. Achitoff-Grey notes that because the baking powder comes along with the chook’s pure juices, carbon dioxide gasses kind, producing “a layer of tiny bubbles” that “improve the pores and skin’s floor space, permitting it to develop a crunchy texture as soon as cooked.”

Cook dinner Mode
(Maintain display awake)