Air Fryer Chicken Drumettes

When we think of chicken wings we don’t always think of healthy. Fried, greasy wings coated in a thick sauce, dipped in blue cheese dressing and washed down with beer. This sounds really good, trust me, I’ve had my share, but does not fit into a healthy lifestyle. Well, using a little modern technology, a little bit of prep, chicken wings can be on the menu again. So, read on for air fryer chicken drumettes.

Most kitchens these days have a lot of tech, everything is “smart” and “connected”. But most of them are just updated existing kitchen appliances. The air fryer is one of them. In reality, just an updated countertop version of the convection oven that has been around since the 40’s.

Before convection ovens were used in our kitchens, they had an industrial use, they reduced curing times and used less energy than regular ovens.

When we cook meat using heat, two things are happening. Firstly, it has to be heated above a certain temperature to ensure it is cooked properly and any bacteria has been killed. But also the Maillard Reaction has to occur to create the colors and flavors of the meat.

The standard oven we grew up with was just heat an insulated box, heated to a certain temperature, for a specific amount of time till the meat was cooked. But, the heating process is uneven. Frying, on the other hand, envelops the meat in cooking oil at a specific temperature, this creates perfectly even cooking around the the entire surface of whatever was being cooked. There are a few problems with this though. Firstly, not everything can be fried, but, also, lately there has been a shift toward more healthy eating, and fried food does not fit well with healthy. Hence, the air fryer. The air is heated, and then circulated by a fan around the cooking container, evenly heating the entire surface of whatever you’re cooking. The hot air replaces the hot oil, it cooks evenly and healthier.

So, now we’ve figured out how, let’s talk about what. Chicken drumettes. They’re like mini chicken legs, quite meaty and delicious, certainly more meat than the wingette. Health wise, all you have to do is remove the skin. Chicken skin contains fat and cholesterol, so, pull off the skin before you prep. As far as the taste, well, I’ve always preferred the dark meat, I feel it’s more flavorful. And prep is easy too. Put the skinned drumettes in a bowl, add a little olive oil to help everything stick, now add, salt, pepper and rosemary, because rosemary just goes well with chicken. When you’re done prepping the chicken remember to wash up, I have a post about safe food prep, it’s very important.

Now to put into the air fryer. There is a technique to this. Because the hot air circulating around the cooking container cooks the food, the drumettes have to be placed in such a way that the air can circulate. So, line the edge of the container with the drumettes upright, then lay a few on the bottom in a single layer. The cooking process is threefold. 15 mins at 350, rotate the drumettes and 15 more minutes at 350 does most of the cooking. Use tongs to rotate the drumettes, they’ll be hot. But, we need crispy, and that happens in the third step. 15 mins at 400, no need to rotate for the third step. And what you have is the perfect wing drumette, delicious, crispy and healthy too.

Air fryers come in different sizes, so I base the recipe on 1 pound of drumettes. Once cooked, well, do as you please, I like to leave them with the seasoning I cooked them in, but, feel free to use a sauce if you like. Anything goes with wings. Thank you for reading and enjoy your air fryer chicken drumettes