- [Narrator] Air fryers have become super popular
the last few years.
They're great because they're energy efficient,
they cook foods fast, and they're really easy to use.
I mean, you can cook just about anything in them,
from beautifully browned vegetables
to crispy skin chicken wings, even light and airy cakes.
It only takes a small amount of oil to cook delicious food.
Today, we're gonna be focusing
on air frying savory foods.
Tasty 101, Air Fryers.
So what is an air fryer?
First of all, they're ovens, not fryers.
They're basically these mini powerful convection ovens.
Their key element is having fans that blow hot air
in circulation so the temperature is equalized
throughout the oven.
This hot air circulation surrounds the food,
cooking it evenly and quickly.
Because of this, air fryers require
little to no oil compared to deep frying.
While there are many air fryers on the market,
they generally fall into two categories,
basket air fryers and convection oven air fryers.
The basket air fryers are the most popular,
with a basket similar to a deep fryer to hold the food.
Both will achieve similar results.
Before we get started,
here are some basic tips to keep in mind
no matter what you're cooking.
It's important that you give your machine enough space
on all sides to account for proper air flow.
A good rule of thumb is to allow five inches of clearance
on all sides and make sure your surfaces are heat proof.
You don't want to cook with an air fryer
that's pushed against a wall.
Always have the grate in the basket.
This allows hot air to circulate around the food
and also keeps the food from sitting in excess oil.
If you have a wire rack for your fryer, use it.
It helps the food stay crispy on the bottom.
It really takes things to the next level.
Just trust us.
It's always good to preheat the air fryer
for about two to three minutes, and then you're good to go.
It's also helpful to use a non-aerosol oil spray
to help prevent sticking
and to keep your foods nice and crispy.
Now, we're gonna go over four popular foods
you'll cook in an air fryer,
foods with a dry batter, foods with a wet batter,
batterless foods, and frozen foods.
Our first recipe is going to be a dry batter
with coconut shrimp.
We have a little secret to the perfect shrimp.
That secret is buttermilk.
We're going to marinate the shrimp
in buttermilk for 30 minutes.
This helps to tenderize the shrimp
so they don't over cook in the air fryer.
This technique also works great for chicken, pork,
or even steaks.
But first we need to season the shrimp.
In a small bowl, we're gonna stir together
the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
We're gonna place the shrimp
on a cutting board and pat dry with paper towels.
Then we'll season the shrimp
on both sides with our spice mixture.
We're using jumbo shrimp
that's been peeled and de-veined.
The bigger the shrimp,
the better to prevent overcooking.
We'll add our seasoned shrimp
to a bowl with the buttermilk and lime zest.
Then we're gonna let it marinate for about 30 minutes.
We're using lime zest
to go with the Caribbean coconut theme,
but feel free to omit if you don't have them.
Now, we're going to preheat the air fryer
to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.
We have our flour, eggs, and panko in three separate bowls.
Now we're gonna add the coconut flakes to the breadcrumbs,
and we'll stir it to combine.
You also substitute panko with breadcrumbs,
chips, pretzels, or crackers.
Now we're gonna remove the shrimp from the marinade
and we'll gently shake it to get off any excess buttermilk.
We're simply coating the shrimp
in a thin layer of flour and shaking off any of the excess.
Next we'll dip the floured shrimp
into the beaten egg wash.
Make sure the eggs are really well beaten
so it evenly coats the shrimp.
This helps the main coating stick to the food
for our final step, breading.
Now we'll dredge it once again into the panko mixture.
We're gonna add half the shrimp to the air fryer
so it's not overcrowded.
We'll spray it with the non-aerosol oil spray
and cook for about three minutes.
Then we're gonna flip, spray the tops,
and cook for another one to two minutes,
or until they're nice and crispy.
If the shrimp's tail is pink,
that's a good sign it's cooked.
Now let's remove them from the basket
and repeat with our remaining shrimp.
It's important not to overcrowd your air fryer.
You don't want the shrimp to steam,
you want it to get real crispy.
Now, serve it with your favorite dipping sauce
and some lime wedges.
This dredge method works for onion rings,
mozzarella sticks, chicken nuggets, chicken tenders,
avocado fries, zucchini fries,
let your creativity take over and dredge away.
For our wet batter recipe,
we're gonna air fry buffalo cauliflower wings.
First we'll preheat the air fryer
to 430 degrees Fahrenheit for about five minutes.
Now, we noticed that our different air fryers
go up to different temperatures,
so you might just have to keep an eye on it
and maybe your food needs to cook for a little bit longer.
Now we're gonna mix together our cake flour, corn starch,
baking powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder,
and a half teaspoon of salt.
We're using cake flour because it has
a lower protein content, which prevents a bready crust.
You might also notice we're not using eggs
in this wet batter.
That's because when we tested it,
it resulted in a cakey batter,
and to be honest, it wasn't that great.
Now, slowly stir in the sparkling water.
When sparkling water is added to a batter,
its bubbles create pockets of air
that give the final product a beautiful light texture.
Once again, the most important part of this
is in the mixing.
When combining the ingredients, do not overmix the batter.
It is also vital to prepare the batter right before cooking.
This gives the flour as little time as possible
to soak up water, giving you maximum crispiness.
Now we're gonna toss the cauliflower florets
with the remaining corn starch and salt.
Cauliflower releases water when it's cooked,
and that can lead to a soggy crust.
The cornstarch catches that water
and prevents it from ruining the batter.
This will help you get that beautiful golden color
and classic crunchiness.
Make sure to shake off any excess corn starch,
then dip into the wet batter
and let any excess drip off.
Place the cauliflower in a single layer and cook
for about five minutes,
or until nice and golden brown.
Work in batches, and remember, never overcrowd the air fryer
with too much food.
Once nice and golden brown,
remove the cauliflower from the air fryer
and repeat with the remaining florets.
While your cauliflower's cooking, let's make the sauce.
We're gonna mix together some hot sauce,
butter, and honey, and we're gonna cook it,
stirring it occasionally until it's just heated through,
the butter's melted, and it's evenly combined.
Now, let's toss the cauliflower wings with the buffalo sauce
and enjoy immediately.
No really, it's actually the best eaten right away,
or it can get too soggy.
This method works with any kind of vegetable or protein,
sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans.
No batter? No problem.
Balsamic chicken thighs to the rescue.
Start by generously seasoning the chicken thighs with salt
on both sides, and make sure to go under the skin.
There's nothing worse than underseasoned food.
Seriously, don't be alarmed
by the amount of salt we're about to use.
Then whisk together the Dijon, balsamic, olive oil,
garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.
We're gonna add the seasoned chicken thighs
to the marinade and toss to coat them completely.
Then we'll cover and refrigerate
for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.
Let the chicken come to room temperature
before you start cooking.
Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees Fahrenheit
for about three minutes.
Now, we'll remove the chicken from our marinade
and we'll pat 'em dry with paper towels.
This will help get the chicken super crispy.
Adding a spritz of non-aerosol cooking spray
or a drizzle of olive oil to your food before air frying
will give you nice browning and crispness.
Add as many chicken thighs as will fit, skin side down,
and cook for five to seven minutes.
We're cooking the chicken thighs skin side down
so the skin can start to render the fat
without browning the skin too much.
Flip the chicken so the skin side is up
and cook for an additional five to seven minutes,
until the internal temperature reaches
165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Repeat with any remaining chicken thighs if you need to.
This method can also be done with Buffalo chicken wings,
meatballs, salmon, whole roasted chicken, or steak.
There may be no batter in this method, but it is a home run.
Now, here are some quick tips for air frying frozen foods.
Because of the popularity of the air fryer,
some frozen foods now conveniently have instructions
for using the appliance right on the package.
But if they don't, the rule of thumb
is to use the same temperature as you would in an oven,
but cut the cooking time in half.
So if the instructions on the package recommend 20 minutes
at 400 degrees, you should only cook it
for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees in an air fryer.
Give the basket nice shimmy
and shake halfway through the cooking
to redistribute the food
and give it a chance to brown and crisp up evenly.
In general, we found that foods fried in the air fryer
are significantly better when eaten while hot.
They tend to harden up a bit as they cool,
up much like foods cooked in more traditional ways,
but in a more pronounced way.
Now, here are some quick reminders and cleaning tips.
Remember that with air fryers, food cooks way faster
than you're used to.
It's one of its best attributes.
You can reference your fryer's manual, but in general,
the less food in the basket,
the shorter the cook time will be.
The more food, the longer it will be.
It's pretty straightforward.
By the way, if you're trying to figure out sizing,
here's a quick cheat sheet.
In general, if you're cooking for more people,
you should invest in a bigger frying basket.
But if you're cooking solo, just invest in something small.
If you're cooking greasy food in your air fryer,
don't be surprised if you see some smoke.
Don't stress it.
Just place a slice of bread in the bottom of the unit
to soak up any excess grease.
Clean the basket after every use,
just with some soap and water and a gentle sponge.
It's a non-stick cooking surface,
so you don't want to use a scratchy sponge.
If you have any hard to clean stuck on messes,
just sprinkle with baking soda and let it sit
for like five minutes.
Then use a sponge to wipe it clean.
So next time you're thinking of reheating food
in the microwave,
how about using the air fryer
for crispy and tasty leftovers?
There you have it.
Air fryers are pretty versatile and easy to use.
I hope that this has been helpful to you,
and maybe give one of these recipes a fry!
(lively music)