So, you want to cook chicken in the air fryer, and now you are wondering if you can wrap the chicken in foil and continue cooking in the air fryer.
Wrapping foil around the chicken helps cook it evenly and locks in the marinade’s juices, helping you achieve a tender, juicy, and flavourful chicken.
But can you do the same in an air fryer?
Air fryers come with their own set of rules, and there are a few things about the air fryer that you should know before you start cooking with them.
I’m sure you can wrap that chicken in aluminum foil without problems. No one can stop you from making a juicy chicken inside the air fryer.
I do not want to be dramatic.
I’m trying to say that it is safe to wrap your chicken in aluminum foil and cook it in the air fryer.
However, some air fryer manuals suggest not using aluminum foil, so go through your manufacturer’s manual and make a sound decision.
I own a Philips air fryer, and I have used foil in my air fryer many times without any issues. So, if you are wondering about the compatibility of your air fryer and aluminum foil, do not miss the next section.
Can you use aluminum foil in the air fryer?
There is a lot of talk on this, but I think you can use aluminum foil in the air fryer. I have used it in mine, but a few air fryer companies say otherwise.
If you are unsure whether to use aluminum foil in your air fryer, read this post on how to use aluminum foil in the air fryer and if you can use aluminum pans inside an air fryer.
An air fryer is like a convection oven with rapid hot hair circulation, allowing the food to cook inside the air fryer basket.
Since you can use aluminum foil inside the convection oven, using it inside a microwave is safe.
Both these posts detail how you can use aluminum foil and when it is unsafe to use them.
Just make sure never to use citric ingredients while wrapping chicken with foil.
Leave space around the air fryer food holder; do not cover the entire food holder surface with foil. This helps the air to circulate, and you are good.
As long you follow these rules, you can safely use aluminum foil.
Note- If your manufacturer has warned you not to use aluminum foil, you should consider that. Most air fryer manufacturers recommend using them, but if your air fryer is in the NO FOIL category, you should make a sound decision that suits you best.
Why wrap the chicken in Aluminum foil for cooking?
The Aluminum foil is used to wrap chicken so that all the flavors and juices stay intact in the chicken and the skin doesn’t burn off if cooked for a long time.
At the end of the cooking, it is usually customary to take the foil off and cook the chicken for a few minutes without the foil to crisp up the outsides while the insides are tender, juicy, and well cooked.
This method gives you some delicious chicken you and your family will enjoy over the weekend.
I have cooked using the foil multiple times, and you should try it too. It speeds up the cooking time while helping cook the chicken to perfection without burning it.
Can you wrap the chicken in foil in the air fryer?
If your air fryer is good with using aluminum foil and your recipe doesn’t include anything citric like lemons, tomatoes, vinegar, or even chilies, then you can wrap the chicken in a foil and cook it in the air fryer.
But, you now realize we had to cross some initial barriers of information to get to this point.
Once you determine that your air fryer is good to use aluminum foil and have read the posts recommended above on how to use aluminum foil correctly, cooking with it gets easy.
Different ways to wrap the chicken in foil in the air fryer
You can wrap the chicken in aluminum foil in different ways, and in this section, I would try to cover them all.
Of course, the way you wrap the chicken will depend on the recipe, but I wanted to go through all the different ways so you can get a clear picture of how to do it.
So, I’ve got your back!
After you go through this, you might even be able to do origami with aluminum foil.
Well, it was a joke, and I’m not good with origami, but you will learn how wrapping the chicken differently can give you different cooking results.
1. lining the air fryer with foil
You can use aluminum foil to avoid the grease being collected on the bottom of the air fryer basket. This technique of lining air fryer basket with aluminum foil is the best.
The cleanup gets so much easier because the fat from chicken wings can be a problematic grease to clean. It will take an overnight soak in dish soap; even then, some light scrubbing might be involved.
I recommend using aluminum foil lining here. Just make sure not to cover the entire air fryer basket surface and leave some space around the corners for the air to circulate in the air fryer basket.
This will help with even cooking the chicken wings.
2. Wrapping the chicken with a small opening
Completely wrap the chicken pieces in the foil and have a small opening for the heat to circulate. This is another excellent way to cook chicken.
This might take some time to practice and get the cooking times right, but cooking chicken this way will keep the flavors in the chicken, and you end up with a juicy and tender chicken.
The texture here would be more like steamed chicken. Since the chicken is not in direct contact with the hot air, you do not end up with dry chicken.
This method is a great way to get flavourful chicken, but at the same time, it cooks faster and can get some crispy bits because of the small opening.
You can even poke holes in aluminum foil instead of having a small opening. Both do the same thing; they help with heat circulation inside the aluminum packet containing chicken so it can cook properly.
3. Completely wrap chicken pieces in the foil
If you completely wrap the chicken pieces in the foil, they will be juicy and soak up all the marinade flavors.
This might take some time to cook, but the result will be excellent, and the chicken will not get dry because it is not in direct contact with the hot air from the air fryer.
Again, this method takes its own sweet time to cook, which is the only downside since I get impatient.
But, if your recipe needs the chicken to be juicy and tender without getting a crispy exterior, then cooking it this way would be great.
You can also cook it this way and then cook it for another few minutes with a foil open to get the crispy exterior. It is up to you!
4. Wrapping an Entire chicken in foil
I mostly talked about chicken pieces in the last two methods, but this section is about wrapping the entire chicken in foil.
If you want to cook an entire chicken, make sure there is some space between the chicken and the heating element.
If the chicken touches the heating element, not only do you get a burnt chicken portion, but it can permanently damage the air fryer.
So make sure you get a small chicken that fits in perfectly and leaves some space around for the hot air to circulate so the chicken can cook properly.
Now you can wrap your entire chicken, including marinade and everything, and cook it. Make sure you consider these points, as cooking an entire chicken can be a little tricky.
Final Thoughts
If you want to cook an entire chicken, then make sure that you wrap it correctly; there are three different ways to wrap a chicken and cook it in the air fryer.
Lining with aluminum foil or making a small aluminum basket to hold the chicken wings is probably the most used technique when I cook food inside the air fryer.
Cooking food in the air fryer is easy if you follow some basic techniques!
Are you new to air frying?
If yes, then I can understand it can get a little overwhelming with all the confusing and conflicting opinions on the internet.
Here are some essential resources that can help you navigate your air fryer journey without problems.
Some of my favorites and absolute shockers are if you can use aluminum foil or if you can use oil in an air fryer.
I never use Pam in the air fryer and prefer to line my basket with silicone liners. These few tips will help you to get off the right foot.
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