Chicken is one of the most liked meat by people generally. There are so many recipes that you can come across with so much experimentation and success.
The trick of making a good chicken is that it remains juicy from the inside, which is one challenging task.
You can make your chicken in many ways, one of them being blackened chicken. Blackened chicken is often misunderstood as unhealthy food, but in fact, blackened chicken is healthy eating with rich protein contents.
There are so many ways in which you can make this sort of chicken. You can use strips, breast fillets, wings, and much more, but the one I feel is more filling is the one with the chicken breast fillet.
Traditionally, blackened chicken is cooked in an iron fillet but it leaves the whole house in smoke in the end.
After so much thinking and appreciation, I tried this recipe with an air fryer and I am pretty sure that there is no going back from it. And I think you should know about it too.
So, let’s get started with everything you must know about blackened chicken in the air fryer.
Can you put raw chicken in an air fryer?
Yes, why not? You can always go for a raw chicken fillet to prepare your meal in an air fryer.
All you have to do is to be careful about the temperature and timings that raw chicken take because it is going to variate from the frozen chicken.
The total cook time the raw chicken takes in an air fryer ranges from 15 to 16 minutes.
As for me, I prefer frozen chicken as it gives a more crispy and crunchy outer layer in an air fryer. One of the reasons for my use of an air fryer is how crispy food this appliance can make, other than this reason how air fryer is a healthy cooking method.
How long should you cook chicken in an air fryer?
The amount of time chicken takes to cook in an air fryer varies from cut to cut of the chicken.
As for now, I am concentrating on the chicken breast, so let me tell you about the time chicken breast takes for cooking in an air fryer.
Cooking time for chicken breast also varies from size to size. Check out the table below to learn about the time taken to cook different sizes of chicken breasts in an air fryer.
| Sizes (approx. weight in ounces) | Timings |
| Small (approx. 7 ounces) | 7 to 10 minutes |
| Medium (approx. 10 ounces) | 10 to 12 minutes |
| Large (approx. 12 ounces) | 12 to 16 minutes |
The temperature and timings required for cooking any particular dish can variate from air fryer brand to brand and model to model. No one can be definite about it until you have tried working with the recipe.
Which is better grilled or blackened?
There are so many cooking methods that you can use to prepare your meals, and there are unlimited possibilities with what you can do with the recipes.
Grilling & blackening are two of the cooking techniques people like to engage in.
While grilling is an old technique, blackening food is relatively new to people. Both of the techniques require dry heat for cooking, but blackening leaves the whole outer crust charred, whereas, only some lines of grilled can be seen on the meat charred when you grill your food.
Both techniques are equally loved and used by people. It is just about the preferences and taste buds of an individual that determines which method is better than the other.
If you like your food to smell like the smoke of charcoal and have a taste of it too, then grilling is the go-to technique for you, as grilling is done over burnt charcoal and in the open air.
And, if you wish to have intense species but without the smokey touch, try blackening your meal.
Chicken, fish, pork, and steak are the meats that are preferably blackened.
Does a blackened chicken have a burnt taste?
People who have not used the blackening method of cooking often hesitate before using it, but trust me, there is nothing to worry about here.
Blackened food has an intense taste of herbs and species but it does not taste burnt at all. Even if you take the smokey charcoal taste as a burning taste, blackened food even do not taste as a grilled chicken would.
Burning and blackening are two different things. The last thing that anyone would want to do with their food is get it burned.
However, if the blend of ingredients you choose for your recipe is too hot, it is possible that after cooking the taste of that blend will give you a hint of burn in your food.
Always try to keep your ingredients simple and well-blended to give your meal the appreciation it deserves.
Generally, the ingredients that go well in a blackened chicken recipe are; pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Check out this recipe and follow it exactly how it is for a better chicken-blackened experience.
How Will I Know If My Chicken Tenders Are Ready?
When cooking chicken, make sure it achieves an internal temperature of 165 degrees. If you use your air fryer frequently, you will find that having a meat thermometer makes frying meats easier.
Color is another element to consider. The fried chicken should be golden brown. As long as your fryer is set to the proper temperature, the perfect color and doneness will normally happen at the same moment.
Can I Put The Chicken Tenders In The Freezer?
You can season them ahead of time and then freeze them until ready to cook.
You may even cook them frozen in the air fryer; simply add 8-10 minutes to the cooking time, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
Place cooled leftover chicken tenders in an airtight plastic freezer storage container. As a reminder, write the storage date on a piece of freezer tape and stick it to the lid.
Summary
When it comes to cooking, the possibilities of experimenting with flavors are huge, and air-fried food increases the horizon to another level.
Blackened recipes are new to people but they are highly appreciated by individuals who have tried them.
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