The Crispiest Air Fryer Southern Style Fried Chicken
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I have been on a huge air fryer kick this summer. I love that it makes delicious foods that taste fried but without all of the added oil and grease. My most recent air fryer challenge has been to make fried chicken. I tried several different recipes before I came up with what I think is the crispiest chicken I’ve made in the air fryer.
Want to know my secret for making a crispy coating on the chicken? It’s using Argo® Corn Starch! It’s no surprise that I use it to help thicken up all of my soups and sauces, and I frequently use it in my Asian style cooking to quickly crisp up meats and veggies.
Corn starch can also be used as a binding agent in baking, which is why I always have a container of it in my pantry. I use it for so many different things! 
Today, I’m sharing my recipe for The Crispiest Air Fryer Southern Style Fried Chicken. We eat chicken at least once if not twice a week, so I’m always on the look out for new chicken recipes.
Since it’s been so hot outside, I’ve been using the air fryer more and more to make my dinners. It helps not heating up an oven, which in turn heats up the entire kitchen.
In order to make this crispiest chicken, I started with a basic mixture of flour and corn starch. Then I added in some seasonings to make it taste southern style. In a separate dish, I mixed together eggs, hot sauce, and buttermilk.
I figured if I dredged the chicken in the flour and cornstarch mixture, then put it in the egg mixture, and finished it off with the flour and corn starch mixture, that it would make a crispy coating on the chicken.
Corn starch is often used as a thickening agent for sauces and soups and is commonly used in Asian cooking for stir-fries. When it is used in your batter to fry chicken, it will leave you with an audibly crunchy and beautifully browned exterior while sealing in the juices of the chicken. Argo® Corn Starch makes your fried chicken the crispiest. You won’t be disappointed with the results; you will have the crispiest chicken in town!
I put the coated chicken in the air fryer and hoped that it would turn out well. I have to say that it smelled amazing while it was cooking. The seasonings and hot sauce really had a delicious aroma.
While the chicken was cooking, I mixed up a batch of my homemade buttermilk ranch dressing with fresh herbs to use as a dipping sauce for the chicken.
When I checked on the chicken, I was super excited to hear how crispy it sounded! There’s nothing like a great piece of fried chicken.
I used chicken breasts and thighs in my recipe, but you can certainly use wings and legs, as well. I arranged the chicken on a plate surrounding my ranch dressing and put it on the table just in time for dinner.
I knew the real test would be what my husband thought of the fried chicken. He used his knife to cut into it, and the crunch was nice and loud. After taking a bite, he told me he was surprised that it came out of the air fryer because of how crispy it tasted!
I agreed that this was certainly the crispiest chicken I’ve made, and it had such an airy texture thanks to the addition of corn starch in the flour mixture.
The chicken paired perfectly with the buttermilk ranch dressing and made for a tasty Sunday night dinner. I should also mention that this was a fairly easy recipe, as well, which meant I could spend more time with my family both before and after dinner.
The Crispiest Air Fryer Southern Style Fried Chicken
Ingredients
For the fried chicken:
- 1/2 c. flour
- 1/2 c. Argo® Corn Starch
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce
- 1/4 c. buttermilk
- 2 lbs. chicken pieces I used boneless breasts and thighs
For the buttermilk ranch dressing:
- 3/4 c. sour cream
- 1/2 c. buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill minced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh chives minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the eggs, hot sauce, and buttermilk. Mix well.
- Dredge the chicken through the flour and cornstarch mixture, then dip into the egg mixture. Put back in the flour cornstarch mixture to coat completely. Set the chicken on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Allow the chicken to sit for 10 minutes so some of the flour is absorbed.
- When ready to cook, turn the air fryer to 380 degrees and spray the basket with cooking spray.
- Place the chicken in the basket, taking care to leave a tiny pocket of space in between each piece. You will probably need to cook these in two batches.
- Spray the tops of the chicken with the cooking spray then cook for 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and crispy.
- Meanwhile, whisk together all of the ingredients for the ranch dressing in a medium bowl.
- Serve the chicken while it is still hot with the ranch dressing for dipping.
Notes
