Shoutout to the $22 rotisserie chicken from Costco that made me put my air fryer basket away
I picked up one of those $4.99 rotisserie chickens on a Tuesday run, pulled all the meat off, and threw the carcass in a pot for stock. The next night I tried reheating some of the leftover breast in my air fryer at 350 for 8 minutes and it came out dry and rubbery compared to just eating it cold. I got curious and did a side by side with a raw thigh I cooked fresh at 400 for 18 minutes, and the fresh one won by a mile. Now I only use the fryer for thighs and wings, never for reheating cooked bird. Does anyone have a temp and time that actually keeps leftover chicken moist, or am I wasting my energy trying?
Pressure cooking or steaming is really the only thing that keeps leftover chicken from drying out, heat guns and air fryers just blast the moisture right out of it. If you must use the air fryer, try wrapping it in foil with a splash of broth and going low at like 300, but even then it's kinda mid. Cold chicken thigh straight from the fridge honestly hits different anyway.