Name: Air-Fried Southern Fried Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 5 h 5 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 2 cups (480ml) whole buttermilk; 2 large eggs; 1/4 cup (60ml) dill pickle brine, drained from 1 jar of pickles, plus pickle slices for serving; 2 tablespoons (30ml) Louisiana-style hot sauce (such as Crystal); 2 tablespoons (30ml) honey; 4 tablespoons (36g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste; for table salt, use half as much by volume or same weight; 4 small bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (5 to 7 ounces; 141 to198g each); 2 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (about 1 pound; 454g each); 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (6 3/4 ounces; 192g); 1 cup white rice flour (about 5 1/4 ounces; 150g), see notes; 1 tablespoon onion powder; 1 tablespoon granulated garlic; 2 teaspoons smoked paprika; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons (30ml) canola oil, divided; Cooking spray

1 In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, pickle brine, hot sauce, honey, and 3 tablespoons (27g) of the salt together until well-combined. Add chicken thighs and breasts and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours. Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.

2 When ready to cook, line two baking sheets with wire racks. In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, rice flour, onion powder, granulated garlic, smoked paprika, baking powder, pepper, and remaining 1 tablespoon (9g) salt until well-combined.

3 Pour about 1/4 cup (60ml) of the buttermilk marinade from bowl with chicken into flour mixture, using your hands or a flexible spatula, stir to form small clumps (most of flour should be dry).

4 Working with one or two pieces at a time, remove chicken from marinade, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl, and pat excess marinade from chicken using paper towels. Place chicken into the bowl with flour mixture and turn, pressing to coat chicken evenly in flour mixture.

5 Drizzle more buttermilk mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, over breaded chicken in bowl and turn once more so additional craggy bits of coating stick to chicken.

6 Transfer breaded chicken to one of the prepared baking sheets (leave one of the baking sheets empty for cooked chicken). Let chicken sit on wire rack for 15 minutes before cooking. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 225°F (110ºC). Using a fork or a sharp knife, pierce a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil large enough to wrap the basket of a 6-quart air fryer all over, then wrap the basket tightly with foil.

7 Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the canola oil over foil and set the prepared basket in the air fryer. Preheat air fryer to 380°F (195ºC) for 3 minutes. Once preheated, place 4 thighs or 2 breasts, skin-side down, in the air fryer. Spray all over with a generous amount of cooking spray until no dry flour is visible.

8 Cook chicken until golden-brown and crispy on both sides, and an instant-read thermometer registers 170°F (77ºC) for chicken thighs and 155°F (68ºC) for chicken breasts, about 22 to 25 minutes for the chicken thighs and 30 minutes for the chicken breast, flipping and spraying the top side of the chicken with more cooking spray halfway through. Transfer the cooked chicken to the clean baking sheet and season to taste with salt. Place in oven to keep warm while preparing the remaining chicken. Brush now-empty foil-lined basket with remaining tablespoon of oil and repeat cooking with remaining chicken. (Let chicken rest 10 minutes.) Serve with your favorite sides.