Game-Day Watch Party Recipe: Air Fryer Chicken with The MeatStick Mini

Air frying is a straightforward way to get dinner done right. It's also a fast and easy way for you to cook up an entire chicken for this year's Game Day watch party. Serve your chicken with potato, salad, or a bread basket for a dinner better than a touchdown! 

We all love those succulent rotisserie chickens at the grocery store. You just pick one up and have all sorts of meal options ready to go. Well, with the MeatStick Chef X and your air fryer (or oven!), we're about to put those rotisserie chickens to shame. Air frying your own chicken is cheaper than buying one, and most importantly, with the MeatStick Chef X you can have it cooked the way you like. By monitoring your chicken's temperatures with the MeatStick Chef X, cooking a whole chicken in your air fryer or oven becomes super easy. The skin comes out incredibly crispy and the meat perfectly tender, juicy, and full of flavor. And all you have to do during the cooking process is to watch (the game)!

What You Need to Air Fry a Whole Chicken

• Whole chicken:  Make sure to choose a whole chicken that leaves at least half an inch of space around your air fryer basket, so it cooks evenly throughout. In general, we recommend an 8-quart air fryer for optimal results. Remember to remove the giblets completely. 
• Olive Oil: For coating the chicken to help it fry and the seasoning to stick.
• Italian Seasoning: An aromatic combination of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram (with other herbs and spices sometimes) that'll make your chicken mouth-watering. Feel free to switch up the seasonings to your liking!
• Garlic Powder: Garlic and chicken are a good match.
• Paprika: To add some color and flavor to the chicken.
• Salt and Pepper: Add to taste.

How To Air Fry a Whole Chicken with the MeatStick Chef X

Photo by @castingandcookingbbq

You're going to love how hands-off this is recipe going to be – just let your MeatStick Chef X do the job. The only thing you'll have to do is to flip your chicken once halfway through cooking (you'll have to set a timer for this), let it continue air-frying, and you'll end up with a perfectly juicy chicken.

Pat It Dry: After you remove the giblets, pat the chicken dry. Doing this will help the olive oil and seasonings stick to the chicken. Additionally, it'll crisp the skin up better; if there's extra moisture on the skin, it will just steam.

Prep the Chicken: Rub the entire chicken with the olive oil you've prepared.

Seasoning:  In a small bowl, combine the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika and salt and pepper. Then rub them all over the chicken

Make sure your MeatStick Chef X Set is fully charged. Because an air fryer is essentially an oven, we'll be selecting "Oven" as our cook option in the setup page. Set up your cook by choosing "Oven" > "Poultry" > and "Chicken". You should then see this screen below on your device: 

With just a few steps, you can have the best chicken ready in about an hour. 

• Insert the MeatStick Mini to read the Internal Temperature: You want to make sure to cook the chicken until its internal temperature reaches 165 °F. Insert the MeatStick Mini into the thigh area of the whole chicken and away from the bone. Be careful where you insert the MeatStick Mini as you will be flipping your chicken. Set the early warning temperature at 120 °F so you'll know this is when to flip your chicken.

• Start with the breast-side down: Begin by placing your chicken breast-side down into the air fryer. Doing this will keep the drier part of the chicken juicier while it's being air fried. Starting with the opposite side down will result in a drier chicken.
• Flip: You want to flip the chicken once halfway through the process to make sure the skin gets crispy all over. This is usually 30 minutes into the cooking (remember to set your timer for this step).
• Let it Rest: Leave your chicken covered on a plate or in a basket once it's done cooking or place it on a cutting board and cover it in foil. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes so all the juices are reabsorbed into the meat before cutting. Remember, the temperature will continue to rise 5 to 10 °F after the chicken is removed from the air fryer.
  
  Photo by @castingandcookingbbq
• Ready to serve!

Explore the MeatStick Chef X

Explore the MeatStick X