By Week two of lockdown and I have found my rhythm, which is more than I expected. The rhythm is: wake up, Patty calls at 7:15, try to connect with my students via phone and video, cook something, write about it, sleep. Ryan is working his shifts. I am home. We have redefined what normal means approximately seventeen times in fourteen days and we are still standing, so I am counting that as a win.
The teaching has been brutal in specific ways. One of my families does not have reliable internet — their daughter is trying to do Zoom on a phone with a cracked screen in a house with four other kids. Another student with sensory processing disorder is completely destabilized by the change in routine and his parents are calling me daily not because I have solutions but because they need someone to talk to who understands what is happening. I do not always have solutions. I am very clear about that. But I have time to listen and I know their kids.
Easter is in two weeks and it is obviously not happening the way Patty planned it, which is a small tragedy. She has been managing other tragedies — I know she is — so I am not going to say that. She called Tuesday and said we would figure out a smaller version. I said I would make a ham. She said she would make a ham. We compromised: she makes the ham and I make the sides and we do separate dinners on the phone together, which is absurd and also kind of perfect.
This week I made chicken and rice — the simplest, most comforting version I know. Bone-in chicken pieces roasted on top of rice in a covered pot with broth and garlic. The rice absorbs everything. It is the kind of food that asks nothing of you and gives a lot back. I wrote it up for the blog as Quarantine Arroz con Pollo, which is not accurate but captures the spirit. Reader emails are running thirty to one encouraging over anxious. I am going to remember that.
Bone-in chicken is what I kept coming back to that week — there’s something about it that feels more like actual cooking, more grounding, than a boneless breast you could have sliced off a cafeteria line. I didn’t want complicated. I wanted the kind of dinner that fills the kitchen with a smell that says someone is home and things are okay, even when okay is a moving target. These air-fryer chicken legs are exactly that: a little seasoning, a hot oven-in-a-box, and twenty-five minutes of the rhythm holding.
Air-Fryer Chicken Legs
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 chicken legs (drumsticks), bone-in, skin-on
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat your air fryer to 400°F for 3–5 minutes while you prep the chicken.
- Dry the chicken. Pat the chicken legs thoroughly dry with paper towels. This step is the key to crispy skin — don’t skip it.
- Season. In a large bowl, toss the chicken legs with olive oil until coated. Mix together the garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, and thyme, then sprinkle the seasoning blend over the chicken and toss to coat evenly on all sides.
- Air fry. Arrange the chicken legs in a single layer in the air fryer basket, making sure they are not touching. Air fry at 400°F for 12 minutes, then flip each leg and cook for another 12–13 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and crispy and an instant-read thermometer inserted at the thickest part reads 165°F.
- Rest and serve. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 3–5 minutes before serving. The juices will redistribute and the skin will stay crisp.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 275 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 1g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 360mg