Chicken · Air fryer adaptation

James Martin's Classic Chicken Kiev (Air Fryer Method)

Chicken Kiev is a dish with proper history, born in Russia, made famous by a French celebrity chef who cooked for Napoleon, but James Martin reckons there's a modern twist worth considering. His version starts with a silky garlic butter (roasted, not raw, to spare you the breath) tucked inside a chicken breast, and he's not afraid to bend the rules a little along the way.

R By Richard · Adapted from This Morning · Published 10 June 2026
👁 401.6k source views ❤️ 2.8k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🌡Temp 180°C
⏲Air fry 18 min
🍽Serves 2
James Martin's Classic Chicken Kiev | This Morning

Source video by This Morning on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

James Martin demonstrates a classic chicken Kiev on This Morning, using roasted garlic mashed into softened butter for a mellow, sweet garlic flavour without the raw bite. The butter is chilled into pellets, tucked into a pocket cut into each chicken breast, then sealed with the small chicken fillet. The breasts are double-dipped in flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs. James chips his in the studio, but suggests a deep fryer at 160°C or starting hot and finishing in the oven. We have adapted the cook to an air fryer.

Air fryer notes: Source method was deep-fry at 160°C for around 10 minutes, or a hot fry coloured then finished in the oven for about 15 minutes. Adapted for air fryer: 180°C for 16 to 18 minutes with a light oil spray to help the panko colour, turning once. Lower temperature than a sear-and-finish protects the crumb from burning before the chicken cooks through, which was James's main warning.

Ingredients

Garlic butter
  • 1 bulbgarlic bulb, roasted whole, wrapped in foil and roasted at 180°C for 30 minutes, then squeezed from skins
  • 100 gunsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tbspflat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Kievs
  • 2skinless chicken breasts with mini fillets attached, mini fillet removed and reserved
Coating
  • 50 gplain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 2eggs, beaten
  • 100 gpanko breadcrumbs
  • vegetable oil, for spraying
To serve
  • 0.5lemon, for squeezing (add late)
Creamed leeks (optional side)
  • 2leeks, trimmed and sliced, including the dark green tops
  • 1 tbspgarlic butter (from above)
  • 100 mldouble cream
  • salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Make the garlic butter. Squeeze the soft roasted garlic from its skins into the softened butter, add the chopped parsley and a pinch of salt, and mash together until smooth.

    ~3 min

  2. Spoon the garlic butter onto a sheet of cling film or baking paper, roll into a log or shape into two flat pellets the size of the chicken pockets, and chill in the fridge until firm, or freeze for 15 minutes.

    ~15 min

  3. Remove the mini fillet from each chicken breast and set aside. Using a small sharp knife, cut a deep pocket into the side of each breast, taking care not to pierce through the other side.

    ~4 min

  4. Push a pellet of chilled garlic butter deep into each pocket, then press the reserved mini fillet over the opening to seal it in like a plug.

    ~2 min

  5. Set up three bowls: seasoned flour, beaten egg, and panko. Dip each Kiev in flour, then egg, then back into the flour, then egg again, and finally press firmly into the panko to coat all over. This double dip creates a sealed glue that stops the butter leaking out.

    ~5 min

  6. Chill the breaded Kievs in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to firm up the coating. Preheat the air fryer to 180°C.

    ~15 min

  7. Spray or brush the Kievs lightly with oil on all sides. Place seam-side down in the air fryer basket with space between them. Cook at 180°C for 16 to 18 minutes, turning carefully at the halfway point, until deep golden and the chicken reaches 75°C in the thickest part.

    ~18 min

  8. While the Kievs cook, make the creamed leeks if serving. Melt a tablespoon of the garlic butter in a pan, add the sliced leeks and cook over a medium heat for about 2 minutes until just softened. Pour in the double cream, season with salt and pepper, and bubble briefly until coating the leeks.

    ~4 min

  9. Rest the Kievs for 2 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice generously over the top and serve immediately with the creamed leeks, cutting in to release the garlic butter.

    ~2 min

Frequently asked

Why double-dip the chicken in flour and egg?
James explains it creates a glue between the layers that seals the breadcrumb coating around the butter. Without it, the molten garlic butter tends to burst out during cooking.
Do I need to preheat the air fryer?
Yes. Preheating to 180°C for 2 to 3 minutes helps the panko start crisping straight away, which keeps the coating intact and stops the butter leaking out before the crumb sets.
Can I make the garlic butter ahead?
Yes, and James recommends it. Roll the butter into a log or pellets, then refrigerate or freeze. Frozen pellets are easier to stuff into the chicken and stay intact longer in the heat.
Why use roasted garlic instead of raw?
James says roasted garlic gives a sweeter, mellower flavour without the harsh bite or the lingering 'garlic breath' that comes from the green core inside raw cloves.
Can I cook these from frozen?
Yes. Add 6 to 8 minutes to the cook time and start at 170°C, then raise to 180°C for the last few minutes. Always check the chicken reaches 75°C in the centre.
Extraction notes (transparency): Transcript demonstrates technique but gives no precise quantities for butter, garlic, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, leeks or cream. All ingredient quantities below are reasonable estimates for 2 Kievs and must be verified before publishing. Air fryer temperature and time are an adaptation, not stated in the source. Side dish (creamed leeks) included as it forms part of the demonstrated plate. | Second-pass critique flagged 8 fabricated and 13 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.