Air fryers have become wildly popular due to the convenience and ease of making a range of
quick meals. Cooking experts recommend using an air fryer to prepare frozen food, bake cookies,
and even "fry" bacon. But there are some foods you just shouldn't be cooking in an air fryer.
If you're wondering if air fryers are just a gimmick, rest assured,
this kitchen tool cooks much more than french fries and finger foods. For most air fryers,
though, their abilities are limited when it comes to full roasts and entire chickens.
The basket or cooking racks, depending on the model, are smaller in their capacity than an
oven — so a roast might not fit. If the side of the roast is too close to the heat source,
it will dry out or burn well before the other side cooks thoroughly. Chicken will end up dried
out with a rock-solid exterior in an air fryer, so you're better off sticking with the oven.
The issue is you're likely overcrowding the air fryer basket if you add an entire chicken
or roast. Hot air needs to circulate in order for an air fryer to work,
so in order to cook chicken in an air fryer, you'll need to cook a few pieces at a time
instead of placing the entire bird inside at once.
You'll want to keep the breasts facing down, then end with the skin facing up since air
fryers heat from above. This trick will help make sure your skin is crisp and the meat stays juicy,
and you can also poke holes in the thighs and drumsticks to help the fat to render.
Air fryers are designed to dry cook food by easily circulating hot air in the chamber.
Similar to a convection oven, food is then evenly cooked at a high heat.
Rice and other grains that need to be submerged in boiling water can't be cooked inside an air
fryer. You might ask, why can't you cook grains in an air fryer pan insert instead?
It's because the heating coil and fan will never get the temperature inside the machine
hot enough to boil the water, and tepid water won't allow the grains to cook properly.
If rice is a staple menu item, opt for a rice cooker instead. It's another time-saving device
that takes the guesswork out of a dinner-table prep, and it offers the same benefits of being
able to set and forget. The duo method could be a time saver if you're looking for a simple
meal without having to stand vigilant over the stove: Cook your protein in your air fryer,
your rice in your rice cooker, and you'll have a delicious meal in no time.
Despite the wide variety of different designs, all air fryers operate by circulating hot air.
A fan moves heat into the chamber so rapidly it's like a little wind tunnel.
That's why dry rubs using fine spices such as pepper,
salt, and ingredients that are leafy or light need to be used sparingly.
Loose seasoning will whip around the container instead of sticking to and flavoring the food,
and continued over-seasoning might even clog the machine. Plus, it's a waste of your spices.
The solution to dry-spiced foods in an air fryer? Seasoned food should be coated in a bit of oil
or mustard to help spices stick. Even veggies with a dry surface need to be moistened before
seasoning to keep dried spices from flying off or falling through the basket. Plus,
a bit of oil helps vegetables get a sear, and spices contribute a satisfying flavor.
Even salt and pepper can go a long way for deeper flavor when you're eating healthy.
Beer batter on fried fish, corn dogs, and coated wings will crisp
into a delicious shell when you fry in oil, but there's a major catch.
"We all love fried foods. But yuck! That means scoops of grease,
blobs of butter, or gallons of oil just to fry!"
The hot oil bath in a deep fryer sets the wet outer layer by rapidly drying
the batter into the signature crispy coating.
Air fryers are different, though, and they aren't meant to handle wet batter or coating regardless
of what the name might suggest. Inside a dry air fryer, there isn't anything to set the wet batter.
Instead, traditional batter will just drip off while the food cooks. You think you're
prepping tasty fried chicken for the family, but you'll actually just end up with a mess.
Still craving the crunch with the air fryer? Cooks need to get creative with an air fryer
while making fried chicken, fish sticks, or corn dogs, by adapting to the strengths of the machine.
Simply dry coat by dredging your food in cornmeal or breadcrumbs as an alternative to a typical wet
mixture. Then, add the spices and herbs before tossing in the air fryer basket.
Air fryers are full of contradictions, but they can provide a simple and fun
way to cook a meal. While an air fryer isn't a "fryer" in the traditional sense,
it's not required that you forgo oil altogether.
However, when it comes to choosing an oil, you'll need to pick an alternative to olive oil.
Why? Because olive oil has a low smoke point, and that can lead to your food developing a
weird aftertaste. There is also concern that smoking oil could lead to health problems:
The jury is still out on that, but it's food for thought.
When frying, vegetable oil, canola oil, and peanut oil are all high smoke point oils,
which helps avoid this issue.
It's also worth keeping in mind that skipping olive oil altogether has its own downside.
Healthy oils are a necessary food staple, and missing out on healthy
fats in olive oil can actually mean you're missing out on health benefits.
While a low-fat and air-fried diet can sound rather enticing, you don't want
to miss out on the benefits of the good fats that come from a variety of plant-based oils.
It's easy to forget that in moderate quantities, high-quality fat is a requirement for brain
and hormone health. So, don't be afraid to add some oil to your meals, menu, and diet.
Greens in an air fryer need to be selected carefully, with an eye toward avoiding delicate,
leafy greens or any foods without some weight to them. Because the forced heat from the air
fryer pushes air around rapidly, any food that might get picked up by that air could hit the
heating element. Thanks to air fryers cooking your food at high temperatures, it's extremely
easy to burn food that doesn't cook evenly or stay put. And that could lead to disaster.
"Little problem in the kitchen. Nothing. Trivial."
Add in the fact that it's incredibly tricky to cook delicate greens without turning them into a
mushy mess, and this is one more food that you're better off taking a more hands-on approach to.
The National Cancer Institute reports that there's another danger here:
Burning and charring food or smoking oil could release carcinogenic compounds.
Though air frying may be convenient, you likely don't want to dig into greens that
not only taste bad but might also yield serious consequences for your health.
Certain veggies are real winners with an air fryer, but others can come out so bad
that even the biggest veggie-lover will have a hard time eating them.
Why? Simply put, an air fryer doesn't have much crisping superpower over raw produce.
That means the results tend to be soggy and unappetizing regardless of the temperature.
Frozen vegetables are a better option for an air fryer,
as they retain more moisture from the ice and they have an advantage,
considering the air fryer tends to over-dehydrate foods with a low oil or moisture content.
Worrying about using frozen vegetables? Don't!
"I've always thought, 'Fresh is best. If you want all the nutrients, go fresh."
"It's not that simple."
Frozen veggies are also often iced soon after being harvested and usually picked at peak
ripeness, which means frozen veggies can be a lot fresher than raw produce in the grocery aisle.
You also don't have to worry about the nutritional value, because The Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics reports frozen foods retain their vitamins and minerals in some cases better
than fresh foods. Now, you can add frozen foods as one more healthy time-saver in your toolbox.
Theoretically, a thin, fatty meat like bacon would be ideal for the convection-style
cooking of an air fryer. Hot air heats the grease enough to cook the meat to the same
glorious crispiness you'd get on a griddle, and while the finished product might come out well,
what it leaves inside the air fryer can diminish the entire experience.
The time you're saving by cooking bacon in an air fryer could be completely wasted when it comes
time to clean everything up. While all that hot, blowing air might make for perfectly crispy bacon,
it also makes for a perfect mess inside the air fryer. Because the air moves around at
such high speeds, it also blows the bacon fat all over the inside of the fryer,
leaving a nasty scene on the sides of the chamber.
If you have your heart set on this, using turkey bacon or a plant-based bacon will
drastically cut down on the mess, and can help reduce your post-meal clean-up time. After all,
what's the point of a short-cut if it just ends up taking more time?
Though they may look vaguely similar, do not confuse your air fryer with
the food dehydrator you were so close to buying on late night TV.
"I've decided to drop the price. The new price is so ridiculously low, you have to watch."
While they both use air and electricity to cook, air fryers circulate air at far
higher speeds than a food dehydrator, and the typically small pieces of beef, fruit,
or whatever you're trying to dehydrate won't do nearly as well in an air fryer.
David Jarvis, Executive Chef for air fryer maker NuWave, explains:
"Air fryers will do it, but a lot of what you dehydrate are small pieces,
and unless you have a way to hold them down, they'll blow the product around."
Imagine a tornado that picked up an entire truckload of plantain chips,
and you're getting the idea of what the inside of your air fryer will look
like if you try dehydrating food. It's just not going to work great,
and it's definitely one of those cases where it's a bigger hassle than it's worth.
Perhaps you recall a memory from childhood where your mom put oil and popcorn kernels
in a pot you typically used for spaghetti, and a few minutes of shuffling later, she created a big,
greasy bowl of popcorn. Because, yes, in the days before microwave popcorn and Jiffy Pop, popcorn
was traditionally made in a small chamber with added heat. Which sounds a lot like an air fryer.
However, an air fryer isn't the same as that old tried-and-true method of
making the family's favorite post-dinner snack. NuWave's David Jarvis explains:
"You have to get up to 400 degrees for popcorn to pop,
and most air fryers don't get that high of heat. That's one we're just not able to do."
That all said, if you've got a microwave,
making popcorn there should be an easier route. Or just go back to the stove.
The size of the air fryer presents certain limitations.
Extra-large air fryers clock in at 16 quarts, but the average is just two to
three quarts — and that means a standard air fryer just won't cut it for a family-sized meal.
"Will four bags be enough?"
"More than enough!"
"I say we need five to be safe, do you think, Dad?"
"Put down five."
"FIVE bags of chips, then!"
Consider this: A 2.75-quart air fryer holds a half-pound of shrimp in the bottom of the
fryer's basket, including room for the necessary flow of air to circulate and brown the food.
That's the amount of shrimp you'd cook if you were making a light lunch for
two people. Feeding a family would mean cooking a second batch and more wait time,
and in some cases, this additional cooking time defeats the purpose.
And this just might be a dealbreaker for you. In the end, conventional air fryers might be better
suited for couples, as well as for snacks, sides, and of course, homemade dessert.
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