Air fryers are one of the hottest new kitchen appliances,
but you can't just turn it on and throw your food in. Otherwise, you might end up with a
broken machine or a burnt dinner. Here are the mistakes everyone makes with air fryers.
While you don't have to build up a whole new recipe repertoire,
assuming you can use your air fryer for old recipes while keeping things like temperature
and cooking time the same is a pretty big mistake — one that can ruin dinner for sure.
There are countless recipes that can be adapted to an air fryer, with just a few tweaks.
For starters, Taste of Home says that a good rule of thumb is to remember to lower the
cooking temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, check out the recommended cooking time.
You're going to want to take somewhere around 20 percent off that, and there's a bit of a catch.
When you're thinking of the time it takes to cook something in an air fryer,
it's not always as clear-cut as you might be used to if you're cooking something on a stovetop.
Different air fryers are going to have different cooking times, so depending on your model,
your cooking time might be a little more or less. Taste of Home says that French fries, for example,
can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. When you're getting used to a new air fryer or trying
a new recipe, think of a cooking time as more of a guideline than something that's set in
stone — and know that it's not going to take the same amount of time as other cooking methods.
It's normal to assume that the temperature settings on our kitchen appliances are correct,
but that's not always the case. According to Taste of Home, the actual temperature
that an air fryer runs at might not be near what you think you're setting it at.
They found that different models ran either hotter or cooler,
and that can mean the difference between crispy, delicious fries, and fries that are not-so-great.
Fortunately, double-checking the temp of your air fryer is pretty easy to do, and just requires the
use of an oven thermometer. And don't worry, this isn't just a one-time purchase that's
going to get thrown in a drawer! Over time, the dials on your appliances can loosen and
become much less precise. We found that it's best to check the temperature of your oven at
least once every six months or so, in order to make sure you're actually cooking things
at the temperature you think you are. Once you know, you can make any adjustments necessary.
No one wants a side of food poisoning along with their meal. So here's the thing:
even though air fryers seem like a pretty foolproof way to cook, you should definitely
be double-checking to make sure everything's reached the proper temperature before serving.
Brains Report tested a variety of air fryers, and found that they had one thing in common:
they all took longer to get food properly cooked than most guidelines suggested. They
recommended toasting a slice of bread as a test. Some air fryers could toast it in about 3 minutes,
while others took up to 10. That's not a huge deal when you're talking about bread,
but when you're talking about cooking chicken, it could mean the difference between enjoying
a delicious meal, and getting up close and personal with salmonella.
So, when it comes to meats, you're going to want to not just eyeball it, but use a good,
instant-read thermometer to make sure your meal is cooked all the way through.
Take poultry, for instance. According to the USDA, all poultry needs to be cooked
to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. That's when it's safe,
and when it comes to food safety, it's better to be 100 percent sure you're on
temperature — especially when you're using a cooking method that varies so widely.
It turns out it's sort of a misnomer to call an air fryer by its name, because you do in fact
need to use oil when you cook with it. In the air fryer you really only need about 1-2 teaspoons
for most items, or up to 1-2 tablespoons for breaded items that you want to get really crispy.
"Basically, it takes less than a spoon of oil for this thing really to make it work."
That's because, while the hot air racing through your machine will cook things,
without oil they can come out dry, burned, and leathery. Using just a touch of oil will help
your food crisp up. This is especially true with fried and breaded items that
you're heating up or cooking in your fryer. The oil on the outside of the food will get
heated by the air, helping to cook the breaded items to a crispy golden brown.
If you're trying to avoid added fats in your diet, you can use a non-stick cooking spray or oil from
a spray bottle to make sure you use just enough to coat your food. Just be sure to spritz your
ingredients before you put them in your air fryer basket, which will help keep your machine clean.
Now that you know you still need oil in your air fryer, it can be easy to go too far in the other
direction. For a lot of us, the impulse is to keep using the same amounts of oil as we do in
traditional cooking methods, so that we can ensure everything comes out of the air fryer crispy and
delicious. But unlike with traditional frying, where you want your food to be submerged at least
partially in oil, in the air fryer you really only need a little bit of oil, like 1-2 teaspoons
for most foods. Using any more oil can lead to soggy, burned food, and is also a fire hazard.
There are some things that just have a permanent place in kitchens across the country,
and PAM is one of those things.
"America's favorite no-stick spray."
This non-stick cooking spray can be a lifesaver,
and it's easy to see how you might be tempted to pull out that aerosol can
and see if it'll make cleaning up your air fryer a little easier. But don't do that.
Air Cookers notes that most air fryers already have nonstick coatings, and these coatings can
actually be damaged by the additives in some aerosol sprays. Some propellants currently in
use will cause nonstick coatings to flake, and if you've noticed this happening with your pans,
it's entirely possible your PAM habit is to blame. Fortunately, there's a quick fix:
pick up a non-aerosol pump sprayer or mister bottle, and use it to add a mist
of your favorite oil to not just your air fryer basket, but countless other cooking projects.
It's tempting to just use your air fryer time and time again without cleaning it in
between cooking sessions, especially since, unlike traditional frying,
you're not left with a sloppy pan of oil to clean up. But that would be a mistake.
A number of problems can arise if you don't clean your air fryer often enough.
Crumbs and food particles left behind in the basket can burn the next time you use your fryer.
Additionally, leftover oil residue in the drawer can smoke, imparting your food with off flavors
and posing a fire hazard. The air fryer can also start to stink, making your kitchen smell foul.
Instead of putting it off until next time, you should hand wash the air fryer basket,
bottom tray, and drawer with warm water and dish soap after every session.
All of the pieces should remove easily from your machine. Your machine will
stay running smoothly, so you can keep cooking your favorite foods.
There's no such thing as a miracle product, so there are some things you need to do to
make sure your air fryer works like a charm. You can't just throw your food in and then
set the temperature. As with most other cooking methods, you need to preheat the
air fryer before you use it. If you put a potato wedge in a cold pan of oil, it'll be a greasy,
beige mess when it's cooked through. The same is true of food made in the air fryer.
You should preheat your air fryer for ten minutes before you start cooking. Use that time to chop
veggies and bread meats, or to catch a few more minutes of your favorite Netflix show. Preheating
the air fryer will ensure that the ingredients in your basket start cooking immediately,
crisping up on the outside instead of slowly steaming into a soggy mess. By the time your food
is properly crisped outside, it will be steamy and tender inside, thanks to that quick preheat.
Fried foods are nothing without seasoning, so you'll likely want to add a hefty pinch
or sprinkle of your favorite spices to anything you make in the air fryer.
However, you need to be careful. The air fryer works through convection,
aggressively pushing hot air around your food to cook it.
"I simply let the hot air do the work for me."
This means any seasoning that isn't fully adhered to your ingredients can end up getting caught
up by the rush of air, leaving you with unseasoned food and a filthy air fryer.
"It's a whirlwind of superheated air."
The same goes for crispy coatings and other light ingredients. To ensure that you don't
wind up with a flying salt and pepper disaster, be mindful about when you season. For instance,
spray veggies with oil before adding seasoning, so it has something to stick to,
or season the flour, beaten egg, and crispy coating directly when making chicken tenders
and the like, instead of sprinkling them with seasoning after breading.
Maybe your favorite churro recipe uses a batter, or you're used to dunking hot dogs into a thick
cornmeal sludge before making your famous corn dogs. Well, if you want to keep using
loose batters to bread your foods, you'll need to stick to traditional pan- and
deep-frying. If you try to put ingredients covered in a wet batter in your air fryer,
the batter will sink through the basket and wind up burning in the drawer below.
Instead, make crispy fried foods by using dry breadings or doughs. Many swear that a classic
three-part breading process works best in the air fryer. First, coat your ingredient in seasoned
flour, then dip it in beaten egg, and finally, coat it in breadcrumbs. Spritz each piece lightly
with oil, and cook in your air fryer until done. Your result? Golden-brown, crispy air fried foods
that have less fat than their traditionally made counterparts, but just as much flavor.
If you got your air fryer because you're trying to eat healthier foods,
like unprocessed, fresh veggies, you might be surprised to hear this
next fact. You're better off using frozen vegetables in your air fryer, not fresh.
Unfortunately, raw veggies tend to scorch in the air fryer before the insides can be cooked all
the way through. Frozen vegetables, on the other hand, have more moisture. This allows them to cook
fully before starting to brown, so you don't wind up with a charred exterior and frozen interior.
Luckily, most frozen veggies are frozen at the peak of freshness, so you still get the same
robust flavor you'd expect when cooking a raw vegetable — sometimes even better.
How many times have you microwaved or baked your leftover pizza, orange chicken, or french fries,
only to be greeted with a plate of food that's soggy when it should be crispy,
burnt and hard when it should be soft, and leathery and tough when it should be tender?
All of those leftovers end up going to waste. The air fryer is a champ when it comes to reheating
your favorite leftovers. Pizza stays crispy on the bottom while melting the cheese on top,
tater tots and fries are re-crisped to perfection — pretty much any solid
food is better reheated in the air fryer than anywhere else.
With a name like air fryer, it's understandable that some people
think you can only make fried foods in one of these devices. Luckily for
the more adventurous foodies among us, this isn't the case.
While frozen and leftover fried foods both taste delicious when you make them
in your air fryer, it's even better for making crispy breaded foods from scratch.
You'll be able to customize the recipe to your liking, meaning you can skip the additives,
preservatives, and high sodium found in most frozen foods,
so that you wind up with much crispier food than if you baked in the oven. Better yet,
your foods will still be lower in fat than if you fried them in the traditional manner. Try breading
chicken or pork chops, or making a fresh batch of chicken Parmesan in your air fryer to save time.
One of the reasons why air fryers are such a great tool in the kitchen is that they're
versatile. It turns out you can even make your favorite baked goods in one. Why make
baked goods in the air fryer? It doesn't use up as much energy as heating up your entire oven,
and in the warmer months, it's one way to make sure that you aren't turning your
house into an oven just because you were craving chocolate cake.
The other reason? It's easy to convert conventional oven recipes into air fryer
recipes when it comes to baked goods. Set your air fryer to the same temperature as
the original recipe calls for, and cook your items for the same amount of time.
The one thing you will need to be conscious of is the size of your air fryer. Some have
round baskets, others have square baskets, so you need to be mindful of which inserts you can use
inside your fryer. Remember too that ramekins and silicone molds can also be used in your
air fryer to make individual-sized desserts that will cook up quickly. And on that note,
you do always need to use some sort of pan or insert when baking in the air fryer. If not,
batter and dough will seep through the holes at the bottom of your air fryer basket,
burning and creating a potential fire hazard.
Most air fryers come with a basic basket, and that's all you'll need to make classic
favorites like french fries, frozen fried foods, and many reheated leftovers. But if you really
want to get your money's worth out of the air fryer, investing in some accessories will help.
As we've already noted, your air fryer should always be set on a heat-proof surface.
If your countertop isn't made to withstand high temperatures,
you'd be wise to invest in a silicone mat to set your air fryer on before you start cooking.
One of those is a lot more affordable than replacing your entire countertop.
There are accessories that go inside the air fryer that can make it more useful too.
Look for cake pans, silicone molds, ramekins, racks, and other cooking
devices that can fit inside your air fryer basket. These will help you make a much
wider variety of foods in your air fryer without having to worry about spillage,
overflow, or burning, so you can get as much use out of your new device as possible.
Also be on the lookout for things that make cleaning up your air fryer easier.
This includes oil sprayers, which will help prevent stuck-on food,
and parchment paper lines, which keep the bottom of your fryer clean.
The easier it is to take care of, the more inclined you'll be to use it.
It doesn't matter how much you like to cook, there's one universal truth that goes along with
that: no one likes to be the one to clean up. And sure, air fryers might be convenient, but
they can be a hassle to clean. As easy as it might be to take a shortcut at the end, you shouldn't.
Getting the basket and drawer of an air fryer clean is a pain, and getting them dry is even
more of a pain — if, that is, you're using a towel. There's no need! In order to get your
air fryer completely dry — and avoid that almost inevitable, slightly funky smell you'll notice
if you leave something that's sealed sitting on your countertop for a bit, Blue Jean Chef says
there's an easy fix. After giving it a thorough scrub, replace both the basket and the dryer,
and turn your air fryer on for just a few minutes. All that extra moisture? Gone!
If you've tried every trick in the book, taken every bit of advice you've been given,
and are still having trouble getting your air fryer meals to come out as good as everyone
else swears theirs do, here's some good news: it might not be anything you're doing at all.
Which is a consumer watchdog and advocate group in the UK, and they looked at air fryers to see how
price impacted quality. They found that in many cases, price did make a difference. While there
were some cheap air fryers out there that got the job done when it came to something like a single
serving of fries, spending a little more money made a huge difference when it came to things like
capacity, the versatility of being able to cook more than one thing at a time, and smart controls.
If you buy a cheap air fryer, you might find yourself dealing with a model that doesn't
even have a power cord long enough to safely position it in your kitchen. BBC Good Food
found similar things. When they tested a series of air fryers, they found one decent budget model,
while all their other recommendations were between $207 and $345. The bottom line seems
to be that if you went on the cheap side for your air fryer, there's a good chance it might
not put out a satisfactory meal even if you do everything right. An upgrade might be in order!
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