Looking for the best air fryer tips? Whether you are just getting started on your air fryer journey or whether you are a seasoned pro, these air fryer tips and tricks assure that you will end up with the best air fryer meals for you and your family!
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How long do you normally cook in an air fryer? Do you need to clean it? What can you cook with an air fryer? These are some questions new air fryer owners often ask. Be sure to check out Best Oil for Air Fryer to set the foundation. Reheat Food in Air Fryer is also a great resource.
Yes, getting a brand new air fryer can be pretty overwhelming at first, but with these few tips and tricks, you can make frying food easier and more efficient while making the most out of your air fryer.
Don’t forget to preheat your air fryer
An air fryer works just like a conventional oven. It circulates hot air inside making your food crispy and crunchy.
Depending on the recipe, it often benefits with the few minutes of preheating. Taking time to preheat your air fryer not only saves you more time but also ensures optimal cooking.
Simply set the level to the temperature you need to cook your food and run it for about 5 minutes before cooking.
This is also a great way to reheat food in your air fryer. Once your air fryer is preheated, reheating ribs in air fryer is a breeze! You will also love these Air Fryer Salmon Bites and Air Fryer Shake and Bake Pork Chops.
Using the correct air fryer safe cooking spray
Greasing the air fryer basket helps to avoid sticking when cooking food. While not always required, it makes air frying food and cleaning afterward a lot easier.
Make sure you don’t use cooking sprays that contain silicone or lecithin as these have been known to damage the non-stick coating of your air fryer.
As an alternative, you can just simply fill a spray bottle or mister pump with some cooking oil at home.
Flip your air fryer food
Turning your food with tongs or shaking the fryer basket halfway through will even out the cooking and provide crispier results.
These Frozen Chicken Patties in Air Fryer and Frozen Bacon in Air Fryer require a little flip mid-way, but it is well worth it for the crunch on both sides!
Again, this is not required but you may do this about 2 to 3 times while cooking to keep your food crisp and consistent.
Add water to the air fryer drawer to prevent smoking
When cooking fatty foods such as bacon, burgers and chicken thighs, adding water to the air fryer drawer underneath the basket will prevent the grease from getting too hot and help prevent smoking.
Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket
Cooking a large batch of air fryer food can mean overcrowding. If you add too many food items at once, some portions of your food might not cook through. For example, frozen curly fries in air fryer turn out delicious and crispy when you don’t crowd them!
If you air fryer basket looks crowded, it is best to portion into smaller batches so the air can circulate properly inside the air fryer and cook the food evenly. It make take more time but it is worth it!
Clean your air fryer after every use
Although this sounds exhausting, cleaning your air fryer right after using it will make your life a lot easier. It makes for faster clean-up and the next time you are ready to use your air fryer, you are ready to go immediately!
Don’t place objects on or around your air fryer
Since the air fryer uses hot air to cook food, giving it some space will help provide the appliance with adequate airflow inside. It can operate more efficiently and also prevent overheating.
Don’t place objects on top of the air fryer and give it at least 5 inches of space around each side.
Don’t use the microwave. Use your air fryer instead!
Not only is cooking in an air fryer healthy, but it also makes frying a whole lot easier. Instead of reheating food in your microwave, why not just use your air fryer? Learn How to Reheat Wings in Air Fryer!
No offense, microwave. You make food hot and soggy. Mr. Air Fryer, you make it hot and crispy again. Crispy makes me happy. You can also use the air fryer to reheat your food. Crispy reheated dino nuggets air fryer style is the way to go!
Line your air fryer with aluminum foil or parchment paper for sticky or greasy food items
When cooking messy food items such as buffalo wings that are coated in sticky sauce or air fryer frozen pizza rolls (with oozy cheese), you can place parchment paper or foil on top of the fryer basket before putting in the food item to avoid a sticky mess when cleaning up. It will also make cooking easier for you.
Try baking in your air fryer
If you think that that your air fryer is only limited to “frying” then you are mistaken! You can also bake in your air fryer. Be sure to check out these Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls, perfectly baked in the air fryer.
Because the air fryer it works similarly to a conventional oven, treat baking in an air fryer as how you would in an oven. Just like an oven only faster and smaller.
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