CRISPY AIR FRIED LEMON CHICKEN BITES

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CRISPY AIR FRIED LEMON CHICKEN BITES Marinated chicken thighs are air-fried to a golden crispy finish in these Air Fryer Lemon Chicken Bites! Completely lemony wonderful with no starch or breading!

You won’t be able to stop eating these Air Fryer Lemon Chicken Bites! The lemon juice marinade the chicken thighs until they are absolutely soft, and then they are air-fried till golden crispy! Nothing starchy or bready, just deliciously lemony! These chicken nibbles are the ideal pre-meal, mid-afternoon, or even midnight snack when cooked in an air fryer!

Recipe By: Chihyu!

 

Ingredients:

  1. Two pounds of skin-on chicken thighs
  2. 1.5 tsp coarse sea salt
  3. ½ tsp garlic powder

For the air fryer basket:

  1. ½ tsp onion powder
  2. ¼ tsp white pepper
  3. ¼ cup lemon juice, roughly 1 to 1 ½ full lemons
  4. 2 tbsp olive oil
  5. 2–3 sprays avocado oil

Serving suggestions:

  1. Sprinkle Furikake on top, if desired
  2. Add extra lemon wedges on the side,
  3. around a quarter to half of a whole lemon

 

Directions:

  1. After deboning, chop the chicken thighs into pieces just bigger than bite-sized pieces. If you are unsure of how to debone chicken thighs, please refer to the blog post featuring photographs for instructions. Or read this story on the web. Move them to a container that has just enough room to accommodate all of the parts.
  2. Mix the olive oil with the salt seasoning. Make sure all the pieces are in contact with the lemon juice as you gently mix them. Marinate for up to 24 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

To air fry:

  1. Lightly mist avocado oil within the air fryer basket. Put the chicken in, skin side up. Try not to let the pieces touch each other too much (a little snuggle is fine just don’t overlap them) so each piece gets crisp up.
  2. Cook on the air for 18 to 20 minutes at 380F/193C. The chicken should be cooked through without being overdone, and the skin should be golden and crispy. If you want to be exact, the internal temperature should reach 165F (74C) on a digital meat thermometer.
  3. Move the chicken bits onto a medium-sized platter for serving. Serve with lemon wedges on the side and garnish with furikake and chives, if using. Serve hot and right away.

 

Notes:

  • Can I use chicken thighs without skin or bones? Sure, but the quality will suffer! Who doesn’t enjoy crispy chicken skin? Therefore, I believe that taking a little time to remove the bones is totally worthwhile. Skin-on chicken will have a more delicate flavour.
  • Can I use peppercorns? Sure, however adding white pepper will give this meal a more Asian flavour. I suggest using white pepper for this recipe, which was inspired by my Taiwanese chicken nuggets and Japanese lemon chicken.
  • To ensure that the chicken has maximum flavour, marinate it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours or overnight before airfrying. Make-ahead perfection, this!
  • Preheat the oven to 425F (218C) if you plan to use one.
  • Put parchment paper into a sheet pan. Apply a light coat of oil. After placing the chicken skin side up, bake it for 15 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the skin has turned golden brown. To achieve a lovely golden colour, turn the oven to high broil and broil for three minutes. A digital meat thermometer should read 165F, or 74C, inside the meat.

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