Air Fryer Spatchcock Chicken | Crispy Chicken

The Spatchcock chicken recipe is perfect for a lazy Sunday. The spatchcock chicken in the air fryer comes out crispy and full of flavor. It is so easy you will love it. Making chicken doesn’t have to be complicated. A great chicken in an air fryer should be crispy but also flavorful on the inside. This spatchcock chicken recipe is so easy you’re going to wonder why you hadn’t thought of it yourself.

It does require an air fryer but you’ll love it. The vast majority of the work happens at the beginning when you’re spatchcocking the chicken. A lot of people are unaware of how to spatchcock a chicken and I have a nice quick video below. The key to spatchcocking a chicken is to use kitchen shears. Do NOT use regular scissors. I also like to use kitchen gloves but that can be for personal preference.

The guide for the chicken back is along the sides of the neck and “butt” of the chicken. You are cutting the actual backbones of the chicken out. It may seem wasteful but you can always save the back and place it in the freezer and use it for bone broth or soup in another recipe.

Once you have gotten the back out, you can then season the chicken. This recipe is a two-for-one because I did include my custom rub recipe. This custom rub is sweet and savory and I use it for most grilling and smoking I do. You can of course use your own recipe for seasoning but make sure you add paprika. It can give your chicken that color you need to make a ‘pretty dish.’

If you love to get the quick rotisserie chicken in the deli at the grocery store (but don’t want to spend the money for one) this is the recipe for you. I love cutting up the chicken and using it for a chicken salad but you can also slice up the chicken and eat the pieces for dinner.

The time for this spatchcock chicken is about an hour in total. The goal is to reach the internal temperature for the breast of 180 degrees Farenheight.

When you’re purchasing your chicken I would suggest getting a smaller chicken (5lbs) as opposed to a larger one. Whichever chicken you choose make sure it’s the variety that can fit into your air fryer basket.

Let me know in the comments below what your favorite barbecue sauce is!

2 from 1 vote

Spatchcock Air Fryer Whole Chicken

Print Recipe

An easy air fryer recipe for a whole chicken

Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:1 hour hr 13 minutes mins

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Kitchen Shears

Ingredients

• 1 Whole Chicken
• 1 cup Custom Rub sprinkle liberally
• 2 tbsp olive oil Can use oil spray

Instructions

Prep Work

• First clean thoroughly the whole chicken. I like to use gloves.
• Place the whole chicken on a cutting board breast side down
• Using the kitchen shears cut out the back bone of the chicken. You can know exactly where to cut because this is guided exactly by the back bones of the chick from the neck to the tail. If you want- keep the baone and place in the freezer to use later for broth.
• Spray the chicken heavily with olive oil spray on both sides.
• Using the custom rub recipe (please see the link) or your desired seasoning, liberally season the whole chicken.
• Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least 30 min (or overnight).

Air Fryer Recipe

• Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil.
• Take the whole chicken out of the ziplock bag. Place in the air fryer basket breast side down.
• Place the air fryer on 375 and place the timer on 45 min.
• At 20 min mark, flip the chicken breast side up. Air fry for additional 25-30 min. You are going for an internal temperature of 175-180 degrees farenheight.
• Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10-15 min before cutting.

  Then slice/cut the pieces starting with the legs/thigh; wings and slice the breast.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: air fryer recipes

Servings: 6