Can You Roast An Entire Chicken In An Air Fryer?

Air fryer aficionados are everywhere and they love to preach the gospel of air-fried anything. Reddit is full of these acolytes making fun of themselves with mocking memes. They have a point. Air fryers have moved well past being a fad. Over twenty-five million units have been sold in the past two years alone and those sales are still increasing, per NPD. Alongside the millions of air fryer sales is an unlimited supply of clever air fryer recipes for dishes like chicken parm, chicken wings, sweet potato fries, meatballs, and even steak. While it seems the air fryer can do it all, can it handle something more sizeable like an entire chicken?

Roast chicken is a classic, versatile dish. You can choose to make it with fresh thyme, onions, fennel, and carrots as seen in Ina Garten's recipe (via Food Network). You can also keep it simple as Bon Appétit does by adding just lemon and garlic to your bird. Both of these recipes use an oven for roasting, but can an air fryer achieve the same result?

Ovens are the typical tool to use for roasting. Roasting is ideal for achieving a crisp, deeply colored exterior covering a tender and juicy interior because the heat is hitting every side of the food as it cooks. If you can get that air moving, it's even better. As described by Michigan State University, in convection ovens, the hot air is moved around the food by fans. That movement helps to transfer the heat quickly and more effectively than still air. The results are fast cooking times, great browning, and crispness that you might not otherwise get with a standard oven.

According to Better Homes & Gardens, an air fryer is basically a small convection oven. That small size isn't necessarily a disadvantage, however, because it means the fans are closer to the heat and on top of the food, as opposed to the side in a typical full-size convection oven. That configuration focuses that intense heat for even better browning at faster speeds. The small size also means that you don't need to preheat for very long. This saves you time and is energy efficient.

An air fryer and roast chicken are a match made in culinary heaven. But, it's not as easy as just tossing a chicken into your air fryer. There are many mistakes to avoid when air frying that will get in the way of ideal results. Take care of those and roast chicken is within your grasp.

For an air-fried roast chicken, America's Test Kitchen identifies some tips and techniques to ensure success. Air fryers can be a tight fit for huge birds so it's recommended that you consider the size of your air fryer when buying your chicken. While trussing, or tying up the wings and legs of the bird, is common when roasting a chicken in the oven, this tends to add too much height and can inhibit air circulation if you're using an air fryer. Instead, it's recommended that you press the bird down as a splayed-out chicken better allows for an even roast. Flipping the bird halfway through ensures even cooking as well. Finally, seasoning on the surface tends to burn or blow off. So, apply those under the skin, and only use salt and pepper on the surface.