How to cook Chicken Drumsticks in air fryer
Chicken drumsticks are easy to do in an air fryer with little risk in the short time it takes to air fry to a juicy tender centre and a crispy skin.
Its possible to air fry Chicken Drumsticks weighing between 80-110g for just 20 minutes or less, at a temperature of 390°F/200°C. Do flip over drummies at least once while prioritising skin-side facing up to produce crispy skin. Cut a drummie open to check for doneness before serving.
CONTENTS:
How you would go about air frying any chicken drumsticks regardless of size or weight, is to follow the oven temperature on the packaging exactly.
You will then reduce the oven cooking time by up to 10-15 minutes, with a food prone helping you to reach a safe internal temperate of 165°F/73.9°C.
If you don't have an internal prone handy, then break open the thickest part on the drumstick, to check and see if there's no red raw meat.
The temperature of 390°F/200°C with a cooking time of 20 minutes I used on this session, rendered an internal temperature of 93°C, so I could've air fried these drum-sticks for less, perhaps 5-7 minutes less time.
Chicken drumsticks are essentially bone anyway, and just like air frying chicken wings, there's plenty of room for trial and error.
On this occasion, I air fried BBQ chicken drumsticks, with the sauce not effecting this cooking time or temp. When air frying drumsticks with any sauce or marinade, do be sure to line the basket in parchment paper to catch spilled sauce.
And I do mean parchment paper exclusively, as foil paper has a tendency of sticking to the skin of chicken portions, including drumsticks and wings.
To counter potential sticking, rotate the chicken wings just the once while prioritising producing crispy skin; so make sure the skin faces upwards for the most part of air frying.
Following how to was achieved with 6 Tesco Fire Pit Oaky Smoky BBQ Chicken Drumsticks, each weighing about 81g. Instructions apply to defrosted chicken drumsticks only - with frozen drumsticks absolutely needing additional cooking time.
Prepare 4-6 Chicken Drumsticks
Be it plain roasted chicken drumsticks or marinated varieties, its vitally important to line your air fryer with parchment paper to prevent sticking of the chicken skin.
- STEP 1: Preheat air fryer for 5 minutes - Get the air fryer nice and hot as we have less than 20 minutes to get the skin nice and crispy
- STEP 2: Add cut-to-size parchment paper in basket - Ensure its a custom fit because you don't want access parchment paper flipping up and coming into contact with the heating element, which can cause a fire if you aren't careful
- STEP 3: Position Chicken Drumsticks bony-side facing upwards - Boney-side up because the second half of air frying you can try and get the skin-side crispy
- STEP 4: Close air fryer to begin - Now let's begin air frying your chicken drumsticks to a tender and juicy centre
NOTE: Homemade marinated chicken drumsticks would need to be prepared an hour prior to air frying, with the same time and temperature applying to all drumsticks.
How to air fry Drumsticks directions
Air fry your chicken drumsticks with the intention of turning them over at least once for even cooking, but will need to be attended to in regular intervals if you don't utilize none-stick lining, like parchment paper.
- STEP 1: Set temp: 390°F / 200°C; time to 20 minutes - I found this temp and time will work for drumsticks each weighing between 80 to 110 grams
- STEP 2: Cook for 10 minutes; turn Drumsticks meaty side up - Halfway through air frying you will need to flip all drummies over with silicone tipped tongs
- STEP 3: Continue to air fry until end of time - With the drumsticks flipped over and the meatiest, skin-side facing up, allow to air fry for the final 10 minutes
- STEP 4: Pull each Drumstick out with tongs - Decanter your chicken drumsticks with your tongs, with a plate hovering near by to catch dripping juices
NOTE: Marinated chicken drumsticks will change colour drastically over the course air frying, and so will roast chicken drumsticks, which will need a deep golden colour on the skin to achieve crispy skin.
How long to cook Chicken Drumsticks in air fryer
The key question to how long to air fry chicken wings isn't all that different regardless of what chicken drumsticks you are working with.
In fact, I have found my chosen temperature of 390°F/200°C with a time of no longer than 20 minutes - to be enough to air fry drumsticks to a tender finish.
Here are a few air fried Chicken Drumsticks cooked to different times and temperature, all rendering perfectly cooked drummies:
| Type: | Qt: | Storage: | Weigh: | Temp: | Time: | Flip: | Result: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ Marinated | 5 | Fresh | 81g each | 180°C | 25 Min. | 1 | Juicy |
| BBQ Marinated | 6 | Fresh | 81g each | 200°C | 20 Min. | 1 | Juicy |
| Southern Fried | 3 | Frozen | 133g each | 160°C | 35 Min. | 4 | Juicy |
Some chicken drumsticks can be very bony indeed, while others can be really big and fat, which can effect the cooking time a little... and I really do mean a little.
If you are air frying small to medium size chicken drumsticks, then 20 minutes will be just fine. I would go as far to say, 17-19 minutes would be all you need for this size chicken drumsticks, and not a minute more.
Larger, fatter drumsticks I guess could do with a couple of more minutes to be sure.
Chicken drumsticks are on the bone - unlike air frying chicken breasts which does have various cooking times - drumsticks will cook fast for this reason only.
In addition, you can air fry drumsticks with chips, while bearing in mind an overstuffed air fryer basket will require additional cooking time.
Summarise
With chicken drumsticks being all sizes and weights, of course I can't narrow down the exact time and temperature for them all, but I believe it doesn't matter anyway.
I believe air frying chicken drumsticks at 390°F/200°C for 20 minutes - and flipping all drummies over at least once - is the temp and time needed to air fry any drumstick.
Small to medium varieties these instructions apply to, yet I believe fatter, weightier drumsticks would need only an extra minute or two. I would still air fry bigger, fatty drumsticks within 20 minutes, with no sign of undercooked chicken.
Don't worry about plain roasted verses marinated chicken drumsticks, these air frying cooking instructions apply to all types.
In the short time it takes to air fry drumsticks, use this time productively by making sure you try to crisp up the skin if that matters to you. It doesn't so much to me, but air frying with the meatiest side facing up could help to also crispy skin within the second half.
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