Air Fryer Chicken Legs
The air fryer is my new favorite appliance. No joke, it is amazing. Especially for cooking meat. I will be the first to say that I am not expert at cooking meat. Being a vegetarian for so long, I have not had a tremendous amount of experience doing it. When I first started, I wasn’t sure of timing, spices, or the right cuts. It was all so confusing. After reading and practicing, and using a thermometer, I became more confident.
Enter the air fryer. It is pretty fail proof in my opinion. Set the temperature, the time and let it do it’s thing. Of course you should marinate and spice the meat. You might need to flip it half way through, but that is it. No worries about how hot your grill or stove is, if the meat will be tender or dry. Seriously, I could sing praises all day long. Little did I know how a small, counter-top convection oven would change my life.
Don’t have an air fryer yet? I highly encourage you to get one. They are so easy to use and the food tastes good! There are lots to choose from. I like this one on Amazon. This one is good too. Be sure to pick the right size. I like a 6 quart basket because I have 6 people to feed. If you are just cooking for two, you might want a smaller one like this.
Marinating the chicken for a couple hours before cooking adds flavor so I recommend it. I used a lemon pepper marinade here but you can use whatever flavors and spices you’d like. You will set the temperature of the air fryer to 400°F and cook on one side for 10 minutes, flip them over and cook for 10 more minutes. Perfect! Tender, juicy chicken legs that your family will love.
Air Fryer Chicken Legs
Tender, juicy chicken legs cooked to perfection in the air fryer
Ingredients
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 12-13* chicken legs See note
Instructions
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Mix together the ingredients for the marinade – lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the chicken legs in a gallon size plastic bag. Pour in the marinade and move around until the chicken is coated. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
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Set the temperature of the air fryer to 400°F. Set the time for 10 minutes. Place the chicken legs in the basket of the fryer. When the 10 minutes is up, turn each chicken leg over. Cook for 10 more minutes at 400°F. Check the temperature to make sure it is 165°F. Remove from the basket and serve.
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*Note – I usually do two batches in the air fryer. I just do one layer in the basket. You could probably fit all of them in by layering them but I have never tried it that way. If you do, let me know!
