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Can I Wrap Chicken In Foil In Air Fryer? Pros And Cons

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Ah, chicken. I wrote so many articles about chicken that I can not remember all of them. But, that is really not a surprise because chicken is so popular nowadays and people tend to ask so many questions about this delicious meat.

Whether it is chicken wings, chicken breasts, chicken tenderloins, or any other part of the chicken, people like to consume it in various ways. There are many easy recipes for chicken and it is quite affordable, so people tend to make chicken by themselves.

But from there, many questions about the process of making chicken arise. Alongside the question “Can you freeze cooked chicken?”, one of the most frequently asked questions tends to be “Can I wrap chicken in foil in an air fryer?”

And the short answer is “Yes, you definitely can!”.

But, as is the case with everything when it comes to cooking, there is much more to be said. So, if you want to know all about cooking foil-wrapped chicken in an air fryer, I would suggest you continue reading.

Can I Wrap Chicken In Foil In Air Fryer?

big Chicken In Foil

My answer to you is “Yes, you definitely can!”. Generally speaking, you will use foil for cooking when you want to avoid your meat becoming dry and losing moisture, as well as prevent the cooking surface from becoming messy.

For years, chefs and home cooks have been using foil and foil packs on their grills and in conventional ovens, so it is also possible to use them when cooking in an air fryer.

But there is always that “but”. Before you decide to use foil for air frying your chicken wings, you need to know how that influences the meat, what the pros and cons are, as well as how to go through the process properly.

It’s all very well explained in this article, so you won’t regret it if you decide to read it to the end.

Is It Safe To Use Aluminum Foil In An Air Fryer?

wrapped up dish in foil

If you know how to do that properly, then “yes, it is perfectly safe”. First, you have to know that, alongside tin foil, aluminum foil is most popular when it comes to wrapping chicken and almost any other type of meat before cooking it, in this particular case, in an air fryer.

Although you can use tin foil as well, in this article I am going to focus on aluminum foil because it’s just as effective and cheaper, as well as more affordable than tin foil.

So, when it comes to using aluminum foil in an air fryer safely, you first have to check the manual of your specific air fryer to see if it is safe to use it because some air fryers are not suitable for that.

The second thing that you have to be careful about is preventing your aluminum foil from touching the heating element of your air fryer because that can be a fire hazard.

Also, you have to pay attention to the hot air flow in an air fryer, so you must ensure that the foil you’re using doesn’t block the airflow in the air fryer pan or the air fryer basket.

In order to prevent the foil from touching the heating element and to ensure the airflow in an air fryer, you have to use the smallest piece of foil first.

Second, you must avoid preheating the air fryer while the foil is in it and you must avoid lining the bottom of the basket of the air fryer with the foil.

And, finally, do not overcrowd the basket or the pan with food because that will prevent hot air from circulating as well.

What Are The Benefits Of Wrapping Chicken In Aluminum Foil?

spicy Chicken In Foil

So, there certainly are some benefits that aluminum foil can provide to your air-fried chicken. Here, I will mention a few interesting benefits and I will briefly explain them to you.

• Keeping The Cooking Surface Clean: When you cook food in any type of cooker including an air fryer, the cooking surface will be messy after the process. But, if you use aluminum foil, it will catch the grease that will be easier to remove after the cooking process.

• Food Doesn’t Stick To The Basket: Since the food is placed in an aluminum foil packet, it won’t stick to the surface of the basket. This will certainly save you the time needed to remove stuck food particles from the surface.

• Preventing Food From Falling Through The Basket: Since you will most probably cook your chicken with some other food, i.e. smaller pieces of food that can easily fall through the basket, wrapping it in aluminum foil will definitely prevent this from happening.

• Keeping Juices In: And, finally, the most important benefit that foil can provide when cooking your meat in an air fryer is keeping it moist. The cooking process in an air fryer will make your meat crispy since it will let the fat drain out of it. The problem is that it will make it dry at the same time.

Because of that, you will wrap the meat in aluminum foil and then your air-fried chicken wings will be both crispy and juicy. I use aluminum foil when both baking chicken breast or air frying them.

What Are Some Disadvantages Of Using Foil In An Air Fryer?

Although it has a few major advantages, it is sometimes important to ask yourself the question of can you put aluminum foil in your air fryer? In most situations, it is a great thing to do, but in a few situations it is not.

• Some air fryers are not quite suitable for using foil while cooking, so it is important to avoid using it if it is stated on the label of your air fryer.

If you have a large amount of food for air-frying, it is not such a good idea to wrap it in foil because the foil will cover a large part of the cooking surface and it will block the flow of hot air, making your meat cook unevenly.

And finally, if you have some acidic food alongside chicken including acidic marinade, citrus, or tomatoes, it is not recommended to wrap it in the foil because that acid can absorb metal and make food potentially unsafe.

Wrapping Chicken In Foil In An Air Fryer: Here Is Your Guideline

Wrapping Chicken In Foil In An Air Fryer Here Is Your Guideline

I will present you with one of my favorite chicken recipes in which I use an air fryer for the cooking process. It is an air fryer foil pack Italian chicken that I often cook on a weeknight for my family alongside an air fryer ranch chicken foil pack.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

About 1 pound (16 ounces) of cubed chicken breast

2-2.5 tablespoons of Italian seasoning

1 cup of frozen veggies

A bit of cooking spray

About 2 teaspoons of salt

STEP-BY-STEP:

STEP 1: You first have to preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees F (182.2 °C).

STEP 2: Then, you have to cut a large piece of cooking foil and spray it with cooking spray.

STEP 3: Cut that large piece of cooking foil in half.

STEP 4: First, place half of the veggies on one-half of the cooking foil.

STEP 5: After you have placed the veggies, add half of the cubed chicken as well.

STEP 6: Add half of the Italian seasoning and half of the salt to the veggies and chicken.

STEP 7: Wrap the mix of chicken, veggies, and seasoning tightly in the foil and place it in the air fryer pan.

STEP 8: Let it cook in the air fryer for about 15 minutes. After those 15 minutes, you can use a food thermometer to check if the meat has reached the internal temperature of 165 degrees F because that is a sign of doneness.

STEP 9: Repeat the same cooking process with the other half.

STEP 10: Use one half as one serving and enjoy the delicious and easy meal.

What Are Some Alternatives To Aluminum Foil?

big chicken on table

Although chicken cooks perfectly when it is wrapped in aluminum foil, there are some alternatives that you can use instead.

Tin Foil: Some people even think that aluminum foil and tin foil are the same. Although they are quite similar, they are not the same. Tin foil is made with thin-leaf tin, while aluminum foil’s main material is an alloy that is between 92 and 99 percent.

Tin foil is a little more effective than aluminum foil when it comes to cooking, but it is also quite expensive. And that’s why people prefer to choose aluminum foil instead.

Parchment Paper: You can also use parchment paper if you want to wrap your chicken in the air fryer, but you must use the special purpose-made parchment paper that has holes in it. Those holes allow the air to flow more freely.

Air Fryer Liners: These special liners are great if you want to prevent those drips from the food to escape in an air fryer and if you want to prevent the mess from cooking food in general.

If you want to achieve similar results without using any of these, you can do these two things. First, you can use a small baking pan and prevent juices from food from being lost in the air fryer.

And you can also use some type of oil to spray the air fryer basket with before cooking to prevent the food from sticking to the cooking surface.

These are absolutely the best alternatives to aluminum foil when it comes to wrapping your chicken in the air fryer.

FAQs

Chicken In Foil

Here are some frequently asked questions whose answers I want you to know.

What Is The Recommended Cooking Time For Foil Wrapped Chicken In An Air Fryer?

It usually takes about 15-20 minutes to cook foil-wrapped chicken in the air fryer if you cook it at 360 degrees F.

However, if you are not sure whether your chicken is done, you can always use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat. The USDA suggests cooking all poultry to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

What Can I Wrap Chicken In When I Cook In The Air Fryer?

When you cook that meat in the air fryer, it is best to wrap it in tin foil before you start with the cooking process. However, people tend to use aluminum foil nowadays because it has similar efficiency and it is cheaper than tin foil.

Alongside foil, you can also use specially designed air fryer liners made from parchment paper or baking paper which have holes to let hot air through.

To Sum It Up

close shot of Chicken In Foil

Alongside instant pot and slow cookers, an air fryer is one of the most popular cooking appliances that you can use to make some delicious, juicy, and crispy chicken. When you add foil to that, you get even more delicious, almost perfect chicken meat.

From this, you can conclude that the answer to your question “Can I wrap chicken in foil in an air fryer?” is definitely “yes”. However, there are always pros and cons when it comes to the cooking processes.

So, in this article, I explained what those pros and cons are, what kind of foil you can use for your meat, as well as one simple recipe for chicken wrapped in foil in an air fryer.

Can I Wrap Chicken In Foil In Air Fryer Pros And Cons