Air Fryer KFC Copycat Fried Chicken

Air Fryer KFC Copycat Fried Chicken - made July 13, 2020 from Dine Dream Discover

From the pictures, you can easily see that this doesn't look much like a KFC copycat. And you would be right because I took some liberties with the recipe, thereby foiling the copycat aspirations.

For one thing I don't like dried mustard or mustard in any form so I left it out. And after dredging the chicken in flour and egg, I gave it a final coating of panko crumbs. I love the crunch from panko crumbs and since I wasn't deep frying these, I wanted to give it a fair chance that it would actually be crunchy, hence the assist from the panko crumbs.

While this didn't meet the KFC copycat status with any accuracy, as air fried chicken goes, it was pretty good. The outside did get somewhat crispy (thanks, panko crumbs) and, more importantly, the inside was moist. It's a great way to enjoy "fried" chicken.

10 chicken drumsticks or thighs
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/3 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried mustard (omitted)
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 teaspoons white pepper

1. Soak the chicken in buttermilk for up to 24 hours.
2. When ready to cook chicken, beat the eggs in one bowl and combine the flour and spices in another shallow bowl.
3. Preheat air fryer to 390 degrees F.
4. Place a wire rack inside a baking sheet. Remove the chicken one piece at a time from the buttermilk. Dredge each piece in the flour, then the eggs, then the flour once again (I dredged in panko crumbs for the final coating), placing on the wire rack as you complete each piece.
5. Lightly spray bottom of air fryer rack with nonstick cooking spray. Lay chicken in a single layer in air fryer basket. Air fry for 13 minutes. Flip over. Spritz with olive oil if any dry flour is showing. Air fry for another 13 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees F and outside is crisp. Serve immediately.