This Air Fryer rotisserie chicken recipe is easy to make. With this method, the chicken skin will cook to crispy perfection while the meat underneath remains amazingly moist and flavourful!
You can cook the whole chicken in the air fryer and saves time. It’s very convenient to have especially while you are baking and roasting more food in the oven.
Here are what you’ll need to make an air fryer rotisserie chicken.
Equipment:
Air Fryer– any air fryer works just fine. However, I highly recommend this air fryer with a spit rod and bigger capacity, because you have plenty of room to cook. This air fryer has more tools like the spit rod lifter I didn’t use because I might drop the chicken on the chicken drippings lol. But seriously, you will love this air fryer that has a spit. It’s pretty cool to watch the rotating chicken while it cooks and you might end up salivating and drooling while watching it lol.
Cooking twine or Butcher’s twine– make sure to use unbleached cotton twine and not made of polyester.
Aluminum foil– for easy clean-up to catch the chicken drippings. You may use the dripping tray of the air fryer if the chicken is not too big and can rotate properly for even cooking (with the rotisserie air fryer).
Food Thermometer– to check the cooked safe internal temperature of the whole chicken. Use a digital food thermometer for more accurate readings.
Ingredients:
Whole Chicken- whole chicken weighs between 2.5 lbs to 3.5 lbs, it depends on the size of your air fryer.
Olive oil– helps the whole chicken skin to crisp up and the seasoning to adhere.
Seasoning Salt– you can use store-bought or better to make your own seasoning and adjust the ingredients to your liking. You can add onion powder, dried herbs or cayenne pepper for a spicy version.
How to Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken1. Prepare the chicken and trim the fat. Trim the fat or skin that is close to the cavity hanging in between the chicken legs. Sometimes, there is too much fat and you don’t want that in the drippings that you will add to the gravy later.
2. Pat dry the chicken for crisp results. Use a paper towel to pat dry the chicken. Drizzle the olive oil and rub it on the chicken, then the seasoning salt. Make sure to season the inside of the chicken as well.
3. How to truss a chicken step by step?
Step 1. Position the chicken breast side-up with the legs facing you.
Step 2. Place the middle of the twine under the chicken ankles, then up criss-cross on top of the ankles.
Step 3. Rotate the chicken, the neck facing you. Bring the string up to the side of the legs by pulling towards the chicken wings and tuck those in, then tie it up on top of the chicken neck.
Step 4. Make sure the string is tight, then tie it twice to secure the chicken.
Why you should truss a chicken?
Trussing a chicken helps to ensure the chicken is evenly and properly cooked. Especially when the chicken is on a rotisserie rod. You need those chicken wings tucked in and legs not hanging and flapping while the chicken is rotating. The chicken wings easily burn and the chicken breast cook faster and easily dries out compare to the chicken legs and thighs.
For juicy white meat and properly cooked thighs and legs, truss the chicken before air frying a whole chicken for even cooking.
4. How to attach the chicken to the spit rod of the air fryer?
How to attach the chicken to the spit rod of the air fryer.
Step 1-Unscrew and remove one meat fork from the spit rod. Insert the rod from the cavity up to the neck of the chicken.
Make sure the chicken is in the middle of the spit rod. Unscrew to loosen and adjust the meat fork.
Step 2-By squeezing the chicken legs, attach the first meat fork, pressing firmly in the chicken thighs.
Step 3-Attach the second meat fork in between the neck of the chicken or shoulders. Press it firmly and make sure it’s tight enough and will not loosen when the chicken rotates. Otherwise, reinserted the meat fork or secure it with cooking twine.
Step 4-Place the spit rod with chicken in the air fryer and make sure to place a drip tray. If the chicken is too big and it will not rotate with the drip tray, use aluminum foil and fold the 4 sides to replace the drip tray.
5. Air fry the rotisserie chicken. Cook the whole chicken weighing 3 to 3.5 lbs at 400°F for one hour or to your liking. Remove the chicken from the air fryer and let it stand for 10 minutes.
Please note the cooking time and temperature may vary slightly on the brand of your air fryer. Try at 360°F to 375°F the first half of cooking time then increase your temperature for darker crispy skin or until the internal safe temperature of the whole chicken reaches 180°F. This air fryer Rotisserie chicken weighs 1.5 kilograms and is perfectly cooked at 400°F for an hour.
6. Rest the chicken before carving. While the chicken is resting make the gravy. You can use your favourite store-bought gravy mix or make your homemade gravy mix (1/4 cup flour, 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder, add herbs like dried parsley, oregano and thyme if desired). Then add water and the chicken drippings. Slice the chicken and serve with the gravy.
What to serve with Air fryer Rotisserie Chicken? Vegetables or salads, french fries, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, or serve with steamed rice or fried rice. Try my mushroom fried rice, vegetable fried rice, and bay scallop fried rice.
More Air Fryer Recipes to try
Air Fryer Whole Chicken Barbecue
Air fryer Brussels Sprouts and Carrots
Air Fryer Chicken Shawarma
Air Fryer Meatloaf
Air Fryer Crispy Tofu
Air Fryer Broccoli and Cauliflower
Air Fryer Sizzling Mushrooms
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Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken
Very juicy Air fryer rotisserie chicken recipe with a tasty crisp skin. With this method, the chicken skin will cook to crispy perfection while the meat underneath remains incredibly moist.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin RateCourse: Main
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Keyword: air fryer rotisserie chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 280kcal
Author: Maricel
Equipment
air fryer
2.5 ft unbleached cotton cooking twine
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg whole chicken
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Seasoning salt
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
US Customary - metric
Instructions
How to Air Fryer rotisserie chicken
Trimming the chicken fat. Trim the excess chicken fat or skin that is close to the cavity hanging in between the chicken legs. Most of the whole chicken has excess fat and you don’t want too much oil fat in the drippings that will be added to the gravy later.
Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel for crisp skin results. Drizzle the olive oil and rub it on the chicken, then the seasoning salt. Make sure to season the inside of the chicken as well.
How to truss a chicken
Position the chicken breast side-up with the legs facing you.
Place the middle of the twine under the chicken ankles, then up criss-cross on top of the ankles.
Rotate the chicken with the neck facing you. Bring the string up to the side of the legs by pulling towards the chicken wings and tuck those in, then tie it up on top of the chicken neck. Make sure it is tight, then tie twice to secure the cooking twine.
How to attach the chicken to the spit rod of the air fryer.
Unscrew and remove one meat fork on the spit rod. Insert the rod from the cavity up to the neck of the chicken.
Make sure the chicken is on the middle of the spit rod. Unscrew to loosen and adjust the meat fork.
By squeezing the chicken legs, attach the first meat fork, pressing firmly in the chicken thighs.
Attach the second meat fork in between the neck of the chicken or shoulders. Press it firmly and make sure it's tight enough and will not loosen when the chicken rotate. Otherwise, reinserted the meat fork or secure with cooking twine.
Place the spit rod with chicken in the air fryer and make sure to place a drip tray. If the chicken is too big and it will not rotate with the drip tray, use aluminum foil and fold the 4 sides to replace the drip tray.
Air fry the rotisserie chicken.
Cook the chicken weighing 3 to 3.5 lbs at 400°F for one hour or until the whole chicken's safe internal temperature reaches 180°F.
Remove the chicken from the air fryer and let it stand for 10 minutes.
While the chicken is resting make the gravy and add the chicken drippings.
Slice the chicken and serve with the gravy.
Nutrition Facts
Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 280 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 9g
Cholesterol 90mg30%
Sodium 472mg21%
Potassium 236mg7%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 22g44%
Vitamin A 251IU5%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 15mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Video
Notes
I am using a Frigidaire 25L (21QT) Digital air fryer oven with Rotisserie. You can cook this 3.5 lbs whole chicken in the air fryer size from 5 Qt (without rotisserie) or larger capacity with or without a rotisserie. You may use the drip tray if the chicken can rotate properly and is not too big, or use the air fryer basket then lined with aluminum foil to catch the drippings.The time and temperature of cooking may vary slightly, depending on the size and power of your air fryer. The smaller capacity means the shorter the cooking time because the heat and air blasted quickly, compared to a larger capacity that has plenty of space for the air to circulate means more time to lose heat.According to Health Canada, the safe internal cooking temperature of a whole chicken is 180°F or 82°F and (165°F if cooking pieces of chicken).To check the safe internal temperature of the whole chicken, insert the food thermometer through the thickest part of the chicken, all the way to the middle of the (thighs and breast), not touching the bone.