Haha, yes, I know, it doesn’t rhyme. Sometimes I have to be weird.
I received an air fryer for Christmas, and I must say, it’s been my favorite gift. I really wanted one, and I’ve used it almost every week since I received it. I love fried chicken thighs, and this cranks them out in spades.
Cooking the chicken is easy. It simply needs to be coated with a teaspoon each of salt and baking powder per pound of chicken and allowed to sit overnight in the fridge, giving it time to absorb the salt. The next day, it cooks in the fryer for about 16 minutes on each side, and then it’s ready to eat. This skin is so crispy, and the meat is juicy! Honestly, it’s so good, it’s all I use the fryer for.
What I also love about air fryer chicken is that it can be reheated the next day right in the air fryer, which means you don’t have to heat up the oven (and the house), and it comes out crispier than using the microwave.
Since it’s Summer, I’ve taken to cooking a little more chicken each week so I can use it in salad—yes, you read that right—fried chicken salad!
It’s so easy, you can actually cheat if you want to. You can buy some from the deli section in your supermarket or use leftovers from ’The Colonel.’ I’ve also found that a buttermilk-based dressing works well for dressing it, though any ranch-style dressing will also work. I like to make my own, since I know what’s in it. You can also tweak the dressing to your taste by adding extra garlic, or adding horseradish, which I particularly enjoy.
Fried Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- ~2 pieces fried chicken, air fried, leftover, or purchased
- 4 cups lettuce
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 Persian cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 ear of corn, kernels sliced off from the ear
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 1 radish, thinly sliced (use a mandolin, if can)
- A few thin slices of red onion
Arrange the ingredients on a platter with the chicken on top. Serve with the dressing. Easy.
Makes about 2-3 full-meal servings.
For the Buttermilk Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp celery salt
- 2 tsp fresh dill, minced
- 2 tsp fresh chives, minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 dash hot sauce
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl or cup, tasting and adjusting until it’s perfect to your taste. Serve with the salad. Yum.
