If you have a whole chicken and don’t know what to do with the chicken gizzards, here’s a recipe where you can use it. Don’t throw the gizzards out just yet and use it to make air-fried chicken gizzards that are marinated, cooked in the air fryer, and coated with barbecue seasoning for extra smokiness and spiciness. It is a 30-minute recipe done in 5 easy steps, the perfect dish for the adventurous foodie.
What Are Air Fryer Chicken Gizzards?
Chicken gizzard is a part of the stomach or the digestive tract of a chicken. It is a small meaty part of the organ with a deep and rich taste. Gizzards are tough because of their hardworking muscles but become edible and tender when cooked correctly.
This is usually the cheapest part of the chicken that is surprisingly delicious when you give it a chance. To give it a flavor boost, I marinated the chicken gizzards with chopped green onions, slices of ginger, cooking wine, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Then, I cooked it in the air fryer for 20 minutes and sprinkled barbecue seasoning for a sweet and spicy coating.
The recipe is incredibly easy to make in only 5 simple steps. With the help of an air fryer, you lessen the cooking time and skip the traditional tedious deep-frying method. In this recipe, I share several tips on how to properly cook chicken gizzards and why having an air fryer is a great investment.
So, make sure to read on! Are you an adventurous foodie? Here are some not-your-usual recipes worth exploring:
- How To Make Chicken Feet Soup
- Chinese-Style Pickled Chicken Feet
- The Best Red Braised Pig Trotter (Pigs Feet) Recipe
- Black Chicken Soup Recipe (Chinese Silkie Chicken)
- Spicy Chinese Pig Ears Salad
Why You Should Invest In An Air Fryer
Ever since I got an air fryer, I have not stopped using it. It just makes everything easier and more convenient for an on-the-go person like me. Simply prepare the meat or vegetable, pop it in the air fryer, and wait!
Yes, it is that easy! There are several reasons to love having an air fryer. Here’s a detailed explanation of why an air fryer is now my staple kitchen appliance:
- Minimal to no cleanup after cooking: After cooking in the pan, you have to wash it up and clean the stove and surrounding areas since spilling from the pan is common. But with an air fryer, you don’t have to do these tedious cleanup steps anymore. An air fryer requires little to no cleanup! As you know, you can place parchment paper or an air fryer-safe container in the air fryer basket before placing the food for cooking. After cooking, take out the food and throw the parchment paper. In this way, you have a clean air fryer basket.
- No tedious manual cooking, only flipping: Unlike cooking in the pan where you have to always keep watch on the food for burning, the air fryer does not need that. You only have to set the time and temperature and you are good to go. The only step you have to do in between is flipping the food to evenly cook the other side. For the rest of the time, you just simply wait for the timer to set off. Thus, more time to rest and enjoy other activities while waiting.
- Faster cooking time: Sometimes, an air fryer cooks faster than traditional frying. With the air fryer’s convection heating method, it fries the food faster. Thus, reducing the cooking time and giving you more rest.
- Goodbye, oil!: An air fryer can give you fried foods without oil. It gives you a crispy but juicy dish. For dry recipes that need a little help with moisture, it is common to spray oil on top before cooking in the air fryer. Basically, you can cook food in the air fryer with little to no oil. Despite spraying oil, it is still far better than deep-frying with so much oil.
- Great for various recipes:You might be thinking that an air fryer is only good for a few recipes, but it is actually not. An air fryer is so versatile that it can cook diverse recipes, from stir-fried to deep-fried and boiled dishes. It is surely a worthy investment for your kitchen. Here are examples of recipes where I use an air fryer:
How To Prepare Chicken Gizzards
In this recipe, I marinated the chicken gizzards for 10 minutes before cooking in the air fryer for 20 minutes. However, cooking in the air fryer can be lessened if the gizzards are pre-cooked.
Keep in mind that gizzards are dense and chewy. So, you will need to make sure that these are cooked well to tenderize the muscles. If you want to ensure the gizzards are tender and chewy, follow these additional optional steps:
- Coat the gizzards with salt.
- Soak the salted gizzards in water for about 2 hours. This helps break down the muscles to make it softer.
- Rinse and drain the water.
- Bring water to a boil and simmer the gizzards for 30 minutes. You can also boil it with an electric pressure cooker at high pressure for about 15 minutes.
- Drain the water and prepare the gizzards for this recipe by marinating and air frying.
- You may need to adjust the air fryer time to 5 to 8 minutes since the gizzards are boiled already. If you choose not to pre-soak or boil the gizzards, then you need to follow the recipe as it is and air fry for 20 minutes.
How To Customize The Recipe
The ingredients are pantry-friendly, so it is easy to find them in the store or you may have them already. If you want to change the ingredients up a bit, I listed below a few ways how to customize the recipe. Aside from the barbecue seasoning coating, I also share other coating flavors for more variety.
- Chicken gizzards: Chop the chicken gizzards in half or into bite-sized pieces to make them easier to eat and faster to cook in the air fryer. You can typically buy cleaned gizzards in butcher shops or in the meat section of grocery stores. These are available either fresh or frozen.
- Green onion: Add chopped green onions or spring onions to the marinade to impart a slight sweetness and mild onion taste. Alternatively, you can replace it with chives, shallots, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Ginger: Marinate the gizzards with chopped ginger for a peppery, lemony-citrus, and warm kick. You can swap fresh ginger with ground ginger using 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground ginger for every 1 tbsp of fresh ginger.
- Cooking wine: Chinese cooking wine imparts a slightly sweet and briny taste to the gizzards. If you don’t have cooking wine or Shaoxing rice wine, swap it with dry sherry, meat or vegetable broth, red wine vinegar, or alcohol-free wine.
- Light soy sauce: Make the gizzards salty and umami with light soy sauce. It has a complex mellow sweet and bitter taste. You can substitute light soy sauce with dark soy sauce, tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: Add a rich umami taste to the marinade with oyster sauce. It is sweet, salty, and briny thanks to the oysters. This does not have any fishy taste at all. It is similar to soy sauce and barbecue sauce. Some excellent alternatives to oyster sauce are hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce as a last resort.
- Oil for spraying: I like to spray a bit of oil on the exterior for a more crisp texture. However, you can cook it without spraying oil and still get a crisp and tender gizzard. You can use any type of cooking oil spray. If you don’t have an oil spray, you can drizzle the oil on top. Alternatively, you can make your own oil spray by mixing 1/4 cup of oil with 1 cup of distilled water. You can use olive, avocado, sesame, or safflower oil for a healthier option. If you want a neutral taste, go for peanut, soybean, or vegetable oil.
- Coating: After cooking in the air fryer, I coated the gizzards with a generous amount of barbecue seasoning. This seasoning is available in grocery stores or on online markets like Amazon. You can make your own barbecue seasoning by mixing salt, pepper, smoked paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper (optional for a spicy version).
- Optional coating: If you want an extra layer of crispy texture, you can coat the gizzards in a wet and dry batter before cooking in the air fryer.
- Coat the marinated gizzards in a dry batter (all-purpose flour, salt, black pepper powder, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper (optional for spice). Then, dip it in beaten eggs for the wet batter and coat it again with the dry batter. Place it in the air fryer and spray oil for cooking.
- Another way to coat the marinated gizzards is by dipping them in the egg batter first. Then, coat it with breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and barbecue seasoning. Place it in the air fryer and spray oil for cooking.
How To Enjoy Chicken Gizzards
Chicken gizzards are best enjoyed while hot and fresh from the air fryer. You can have it as an appetizer or snack. Serve it on its own or pair it with a delicious dipping sauce!
The best dipping sauce for chicken gizzards:
- Ketchup
- BBQ sauce
- Hot sauce
- Buffalo sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Garlic sauce
- Spicy garlic sauce with chili oil
- Tomato salsa
What Kitchen Tools And Ingredients To Prepare
All you need is a mixing bowl for the marinade and parchment paper for the air fryer basket. If you plan to serve this for a potluck or a backyard BBQ party, prepare bamboo skewers to pierce the chicken gizzards for serving. Here are the ingredients you need and adjust to taste:
- 200g of chicken gizzards (halved)
- 5g of chopped green onions
- 5g of thinly sliced ginger
- 2 tbsp of cooking wine
- 2 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- Oil for spraying
- Barbecue seasoning powder (adjust the amount accordingly)
5 Steps To Make Air Fryer Chicken Gizzards
The recipe steps are quick and easy since they mostly require waiting. You will only need to wait for 10 minutes for the marinating step, and another 20 minutes for the cooking step. Learn more about the steps by watching my 18-second tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok.
Did you like this chicken gizzard recipe? How did you customize it? Share your thoughts and recommendations by leaving a comment!
- Prepare the gizzards by cleaning and chopping them into half. If you decide to boil it first before air frying, soak it in salt water for 2 hours and boil for 30 minutes.
- Make the marinade by mixing chopped green onions, ginger, cooking wine, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Massage the marinade onto the chicken gizzards and marinate for 10 minutes or more.
- Place the marinated chicken gizzards in the air fryer lined with parchment paper and spray oil on top.
- Set the air fryer to 365°F and cook for 20 minutes or until the gizzards are tender. Flip the gizzards halfway through the cooking time to cook the other side evenly. If the chicken gizzards are pre-boiled, you will need to lessen the cooking time in half and cook until you get the desired texture.
- Lastly, sprinkle with barbecue seasoning or your choice of powder seasoning. Serve it with your favorite dipping sauce!
Store the air-fried chicken gizzards in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the gizzards in the air fryer for 5 minutes or more to ensure a crisp texture.
5-Step Air Fryer Chicken Gizzards Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g of chicken gizzards halved
- 5 g of chopped green onions
- 5 g of thinly sliced ginger
- 2 tbsp of cooking wine
- 2 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- Oil for spraying
- Barbecue seasoning powder adjust the amount accordingly
Instructions
- Prepare the gizzards by cleaning and chopping them into half. If you decide to boil it first before air frying, soak it in salt water for 2 hours and boil for 30 minutes.
- Make the marinade by mixing chopped green onions, ginger, cooking wine, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Massage the marinade onto the chicken gizzards and marinate for 10 minutes or more.
- Place the marinated chicken gizzards in the air fryer lined with parchment paper and spray oil on top.
- Set the air fryer to 365°F and cook for 20 minutes or until the gizzards are tender. Flip the gizzards halfway through the cooking time to cook the other side evenly. If the chicken gizzards are pre-boiled, you will need to lessen the cooking time in half and cook until you get the desired texture.
- Lastly, sprinkle with barbecue seasoning or your choice of powder seasoning. Serve it with your favorite dipping sauce!
