Chicken Thighs & Drumsticks
In an air fryer, chicken thighs & drumsticks cooks at about ~356 °F for 25 min per ~600 g. 19 models from 10 brands publish their own figure for it below, and whichever you follow, the food is only safe at 165 °F internal (USDA).
Generic reference
~356 °F·180 °C · 25 min
For ~600 g. Not specific to any appliance — see the table below for a real measurement.
Safety (USDA)
165 °F internal minimumTreated as distinct from chicken wings — the two have different cooking profiles despite being frequently conflated in the wild (research/findings.md §8.1).
Prep
- Bone-in, skin-on or skinless depending on the recipe
- Place the drumsticks or thighs in a single layer in the basket.
- Cook at the temperature and time given, turning halfway through.
- Confirm doneness with a probe thermometer — 74°C (165°F) at the thickest point, near the bone.
- Time varies a lot with piece size — check a few minutes before the low end of the range.
Done when: 165°F / 74°C at the center, near the bone (probe thermometer)
By appliance
| Appliance | Weight | Temperature | Time | Provenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosch Series 6 Air Fryer | 625–625 g | ~392 °F·200 °C | 25 min | Manufacturer data |
| Chefman TurboFry 3.6 Qt Air Fryer | 709–709 g | 400 °F·204 °C | 16–18 min | Manufacturer data |
| Cosori Dual Blaze 6.8-Quart Smart Air Fryer | — | 390 °F·200 °C | 18 min | Manufacturer data |
| Gourmia 4-Qt Digital Air Fryer | 680–680 g | 375 °F·191 °C | 25–35 min | Manufacturer data |
| Gourmia 8-Qt Digital Air Fryer | 680–680 g | 400 °F·204 °C | 25–35 min | Manufacturer data |
| Midea 11 qt. 10-in-1 Dual-Zone Air Fryer Oven | 1089–1089 g | 360 °F·182 °C | 19–23 min | Manufacturer data |
| Ninja Air Fryer PRO 4.7L | 1000–1000 g | ~392 °F·200 °C | 22–28 min | Manufacturer data |
| Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer | 750–900 g | ~392 °F·200 °C | 19–22 min | Manufacturer data |
| Philips Essential Airfryer XL | — | ~356 °F·180 °C | 17–27 min | Manufacturer data |
| Russell Hobbs Satisfry Small Air Fryer 1.8L | — | ~356 °F·180 °C | 25–30 min | Manufacturer data |
| Russell Hobbs Satisfry Large Air Fryer 5L | — | ~356 °F·180 °C | 25–30 min | Manufacturer data |
| Russell Hobbs Satisfry Medium Air Fryer 4L | — | ~356 °F·180 °C | 25–30 min | Manufacturer data |
| Russell Hobbs Satisfry Snappi Dual Basket Air Fryer 8.5L | — | ~356 °F·180 °C | 25–30 min | Manufacturer data |
| Russell Hobbs Satisfry Dual Basket Air Fryer 9L | — | ~356 °F·180 °C | 25–30 min | Manufacturer data |
| Tefal Easy Fry Mega — Extra-Large Capacity, 8 Preset Programs | 500–1500 g | ~392 °F·200 °C | 40 min | Manufacturer data |
| Tefal Easy Fry Multifunction Oven — 15L Family Size, 9-in-1 Air Fryer Oven | — | ~392 °F·200 °C | 20 min | Manufacturer data |
| Tower Vortx 4 Litres Manual Air Fryer | 100–600 g | ~356 °F·180 °C | 25–30 min | Manufacturer data |
| Tower Vortx Compact 2 Litre Manual Air Fryer | 100–600 g | ~356 °F·180 °C | 25–30 min | Manufacturer data |
| Tower Vortx 9L Dual Basket Air Fryer with Smart Finish | — | ~356 °F·180 °C | 18–22 min | Manufacturer data |
19 of the 38 air fryers on file publish nothing for chicken thighs & drumsticks
If yours isn't in the table above, the honest answer is that we have no figure for it — the generic reference at the top of this page is the best we can do, and it's a reference, not a measurement. Your own timing, on your own model, is what closes that row.
Takes about a minute — this food arrives already selected, and only the temperature and the time are required. Nothing publishes straight away: every submission is moderated first.
What the 19 charts disagree about
The spread, stated plainly. The 19 charts above come from 10 brands. Between them they span 16 to 40 minutes, and ~356 °F to 400 °F on the dial. Ranked by the middle of each published range, the shortest chart is Chefman Small-3.6Qt at 16–18 min and 400 °F; the longest is Tefal EY855D40 at 40 min and ~392 °F — 2.4× as long. Both are quoted from the manufacturer's own chart. Neither is corrected here, and no average of the two is published: a mean of those numbers would be wrong for every machine in the table at once.
Same dial, different clock. Setting two machines to the same temperature does not make their charts agree. At these settings more than one brand publishes a figure for chicken thighs & drumsticks, and the times still spread out:
- ~392 °F — 18–40 min across 6 charts from 4 brands.
- ~399 °F — 16–35 min across 2 charts from 2 brands.
- ~356 °F — 17–30 min across 9 charts from 3 brands.
What separates them is not on any spec sheet, and no manual explains it. The register of disagreements keeps the full list across every food rather than smoothing it away.
The variable most charts leave out. 10 of the 19 charts state a portion weight, covering 100 g to 1500 g; the other 9 state none at all. The 24-minute gap between the shortest and the longest chart above means much less than it looks when part of the table does not say what portion it was written for. Where a manual gives no weight, the column above is empty — nothing is filled in.
By appliance format. Split by basket layout, the same charts read: single basket 16–40 min over 13 charts, dual basket 18–30 min over 5 charts, and oven-style 20 min over 1 chart. Whether that difference is the format or the manufacturer's chart-writing habits is exactly what the format pages take apart, brand by brand, instead of asserting.
Where this page's own reference sits. The ~356 °F / 25 min at the top is a generic starting point, not a measurement — it sits inside the ~356 °F–400 °Fthe manuals publish, and inside their 16–40 min. Use it when your model isn't in the table. When it is, the manufacturer's own row is the better number, and the cook time calculator gives it to you directly. None of this touches the safety line: 165 °F internal comes from the USDA, not from any manual above, and it is the one figure on this page a manufacturer's chart cannot override.
Guides covering chicken thighs & drumsticks
Sources
- Tower Vortx 4 Litres Manual Air Fryer (T17061BLK) — official product page, manual p.8 — retrieved August 23, 2026