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Sinking your tooth right into a crispy fried hen cutlet is an unparalleled pleasure. In truth, it’s so great that reaching for every subsequent cutlet is less complicated and simpler—at the very least it’s for me. It’s a merciless joke that I can’t eat fried meals as a lot as I wish to. An excessive amount of oily meals can result in a slightly unlucky GI upset for me. (TMI? We’re all household right here, proper?) Whereas this doesn’t put oil off the menu for me utterly, I do need to get inventive with utilizing much less oil. That’s the place the air fryer has helped me win. I can nonetheless make crispy, crunchy hen cutlets with out the puddle of oil.
I exploit a basket air fryer to make these hen cutlets—particularly, the Immediate Vortex, which is one in every of my prime air fryer picks for 2025. It is easy to make use of and heats meals rapidly and evenly; you possibly can learn extra particulars in regards to the Immediate Vortex right here in my evaluation. Right here’s how I make air fryer hen cutlets with much less oil than pan frying.
How one can make air fryer hen cutlets
No matter should you’re shallow frying or air-frying, the preparation methodology is similar. You wish to construct a coating that sticks first.
1. Dredge the hen cutlets
In case you purchased thinly sliced cutlets, you’re able to dredge. In case you purchased entire breasts, then you definitely’ll wish to slice them in half or in thirds equatorially to get broad flat cutlets.
Arrange your dredging station with a bowl of 1 or two scrambled up uncooked eggs, a bowl of seasoned flour (I simply salt and pepper the flour more often than not), and a plate of bread crumbs. I used seasoned panko breadcrumbs right this moment. Have a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet close by. Knocking off the surplus every time, cowl every cutlet in flour first, then dip them in egg, then press the hen into the panko breading. Lay the coated hen flat on the wire rack and repeat with the remainder of the cutlets. Enable the hen to dry for about quarter-hour. This drying time helps the breading to remain put.
2. Pre-heat the air fryer
In contrast to a pool of oil in a frying pan, air fryers usually take fewer than three minutes to preheat. So that you don’t actually have to do that a lot prematurely, simply snap it on while you’re able to cook dinner. I used my Immediate Vortex air fryer right this moment and set it for 400°F. For the reason that cutlets are skinny, my precedence is to brown and crisp the breading as a result of I do know the upper temperature will cook dinner the hen rapidly.
3. Coat the hen with oil
Air frying isn’t oil-free. A minimum of, I don’t advocate skipping it. The thought is to get comparable outcomes to shallow frying in a pan, however with out submerging it in oil. With none oil in any respect, you’ll find yourself with dry hen and the breading received’t brown or develop a lot taste. Nonetheless, only a skinny coating of oil will change every little thing, resulting in extra even browning and crisping.
I exploit a non-aerosol oil sprayer and spritz in a zig-zag to cowl most areas on one aspect of every cutlet. I’ll place the hen oil-side down within the air fryer after which spritz the highest aspect with oil. In case you don’t have an oil sprayer, you should use a pastry brush and simply daub some oil over the hen. It’s okay should you miss some areas—the oil will work its method round a bit when it heats up.
4. Air fry the cutlets
I air fry the hen for a complete of 10 to 12 minutes at 400°F relying on the thickness of the hen. Take into account that air fryers solely warmth from the fan-side down, so that you’ll most likely need to flip the hen midway by means of the cooking time to brown the opposite aspect.
5. Cool
Cooling is essential for many meats, however particularly crispy meals. The very last thing you wish to do is depart the air-fried cutlets within the machine when the fan turns off. The fan throws scorching air round however it additionally ejects the moisture from the cooking container. As soon as the engine turns off, all the humidity will construct up within the basket or oven and soften the crispy breading.
What do you suppose to date?
Take the hen out instantly as soon as it’s completed and let it cool on a wire cooling rack for at the very least 5 minutes. It will assist the cutlets keep crispy on the skin.
Air frying actually can scale back oil
Credit score: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Once you’re coating the cutlets with a spritz of oil you may need a second the place you suppose, Isn’t this the identical as pan frying? It’s not. I ready hen cutlets utilizing the air fryer methodology above, and the pan frying methodology utilizing a half-inch of cooking oil so I might see and style the outcomes aspect by aspect. I used over a cup of cooking oil within the pan, and about half of it was absorbed by the hen breading by the tip. My air-fried cutlets used about two tablespoons of oil and I discovered a few of it on the backside of the air fryer basket on the finish.
Take into account that simply since you put one thing within the air fryer would not mechanically make it “more healthy.” Wholesome seems to be totally different from individual to individual, but when your intention is to cut back oil use and nonetheless have a tasty, crispy cutlet, that is one technique to do it for certain.
The downsides to air-fried hen cutlets
Left: Shallow-fried hen cutlet. Proper: Air-fried hen cutlet.
Credit score: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Had been each outcomes the identical in style and presentation? No. Shallow fried hen cutlets are undoubtedly the superior deal with. They’re juicier, extra flavorful, and the colour is extra even.
Nonetheless, air-fried hen cutlets are equally as crispy—particularly should you hearken to my cooling directions. For a greater air-fried hen cutlet expertise, think about using hen thighs. I do know the purpose of a cutlet is that it’s skinny and flat, however the threat of drying out is greater in an air fryer due to these convection winds. Beginning with a juicier piece of hen will aid you obtain juicier outcomes and also you’ll nonetheless be avoiding extra oil.
