Air-Fryer BBQ Chicken Drumsticks with Crispy Potatoes
Drumsticks air-fried until the skin crisps and the meat stays juicy, brushed with bbq sauce, with potato wedges roasted golden in the same basket. A warm, not spicy, high-protein dinner with a bbq dipping sauce on the side.
- Total
- 55 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 35 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Roasting · Resting meat
- Savory
- Air fryer
Instructions
-
Pat the 4 chicken drumsticks dry with paper towel. Rub them with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper until evenly coated.
~5 min
Drying the skin removes surface moisture so it can crisp and brown instead of steaming in the air fryer.
-
Cut the 500 g potatoes into 2 cm wedges. Toss them in the mixing bowl with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.
~6 min
Even 2 cm wedges cook at the same rate, so none turn to mush or stay raw.
Cut the potato wedges to an even 2 cm so they finish at the same time as the drumsticks' second basket run.
-
Arrange the drumsticks in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Air-fry at 190°C for 20 minutes, turning them once halfway, until the skin is browned and the thickest part of the meat reaches 74°C/165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
~20 min
Turning once exposes all sides to hot circulating air, and 74°C/165°F ensures the meat is safely cooked.
Roasting Arrange food in a single layer with space between pieces so hot air reaches every surface; crowding steams instead of browning.
-
While the drumsticks cook, leave the seasoned potato wedges ready in the bowl. When the drumsticks are done, lift them onto a plate and air-fry the potatoes in the basket at 200°C for 15 minutes, shaking the basket halfway, until the wedges are golden and tender when pierced with a knife.
~15 min
Cooking potatoes separately at a higher temperature lets them brown and crisp without steaming under the chicken.
Roasting Arrange food in a single layer with space between pieces so hot air reaches every surface; crowding steams instead of browning.
-
Return the drumsticks to the basket, brush them all over with 4 tbsp bbq sauce and air-fry at 190°C for 4 minutes, until the glaze is sticky and bubbling.
~4 min
Brushing sauce on at the end and briefly air-frying lets sugars caramelize into a sticky glaze without burning.
-
Move the drumsticks and potatoes to plates and rest for 5 minutes. Stir the remaining 2 tbsp bbq sauce with 1 tbsp water in the small bowl and serve it as a dipping sauce.
~5 min
Resting 5 minutes lets juices redistribute so they stay in the meat instead of running out when cut.
Resting meat Let cooked meat sit 5 minutes before cutting so juices redistribute; cutting immediately lets them run out and dry the meat.