Thrice cooked chicken (really)

Now that I have an air fryer function on my toaster oven, I have been experimenting. This one turned out great.

I accidentally discovered that rice flour is better than wheat flour if you want crispy fried chicken.

Then I discovered that, although it isn't a great idea to try to cook "breaded" items from scratch in the air fryer, it makes breaded things really crispy.

And I have always known that undercooked chicken is inedible, but overcooked chicken is nasty, too. Dry and stringy.

And I have also learned over the years that marinating chicken for an hour or two before cooking it really does help keep it moist and juicy.

Then a friend reminded me of an old trick for breading the chicken, which is to put the flour in a paper bag, with seasonings of your choice, and shake it. It's much less messy than using the tray system. And if you have marinated the chicken, it is already moist on the outside, so no egg wash is needed to get the flour to stick.

So I combined all of these things.

This was about 1.7 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about two cups of rice flour, and assorted condiments.

1. In a container that has a lid and is big enough to hold the chicken and about an equal amount of liquid, put water, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, a couple of teaspoons of sugar and maybe a little salt, some freshly ground pepper and whatever else floats your boat. Put the lid on and shake it up. Add the chicken and refrigerate for an hour or two.(I eyeballed this. You could put the chicken in first, mix condiments in a separate container, then add them and enough water to just cover the chicken. )

2. Put about two cups of rice flour in a brown paper bag, add salt, pepper and whatever else you like. I like ancho chili powder. Shake it up.

3. Put about two inches of canola oil in a cast iron chicken fryer or Dutch oven and heat it up. Again, I just guess at this, but if you sprinkle a few drops of water, carefully, and it spits, it's hot enough. Be careful. 

4. While the oil is heating, put the chicken into the bag, one or two or three pieces at a time, depending on the size of the bag, and shake 'em up. If any part isn't coated, stick your hand in and roll the chicken pieces around. 

5. Turn on the oven to 350.

6. Fry the chicken in the oil, in batches so they aren't touching. I could get three thighs in at the same time, so two batches. Be sure to put the chicken in from front to back, so that if any oil splashes, it splashes away from you, not onto you!

7. After a few minutes, turn the pieces over. They will be a light golden brown.

8. After a few minutes on the other side, transfer to an ungreased ovenproof pan. I have a cast iron one that is a griddle/Dutch oven lid. Put in oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until interior temp is 150-160 on an instant-read thermometer.

9. Transfer to air fryer basket and "fry" at 450 for 8-10 minutes. 

These came out crispy on the outside and fully cooked but succulent on the inside. I will make them this way again.

When I am more experienced using the air-fryer function, I can probably skip the oven step and put the partly-fried chicken into the air fryer, probably at 350 first and then 450 to crisp it up.