Tips for Using Air Fryer
#1. PREHEAT YOUR AIR FRYER… for a proper, it a normal practice that any cooking item should be preheated. Most air fryers recommend that the air fryer should be preheated to ensure even cooking. Often I do it, sometimes I don’t do it, and my meal is still good. And in case your air fryer is without preheat feature, simply turn it to the desired temperature and allow it to run for about 3 minutes before bringing adding the food.
#2. USE OIL FOR FOODS COOKED IN THE AIR FRYER… I like using oils for certain foods to make them crisp, but some foods don’t always need it. If your diet has some fat on it (dark meat chicken, ground beef, fatty cuts of meat, etc.) so you really don’t need oil. I use vegetable oil (like my Breakfast Air Fried Potatoes) and any dried seafood, Like the Crispy Air Fryer Fish).
#3. GREASE YOUR AIR FRYER: Container Even if your food does not need oil, do take a moment to at least grease your air fryer container. I grease mine by rubbing or brushing a little bit of oil on the bottom of the grates. This will make sure the diet isn’t going to stay on it.
#4. NEVER USE AEROSOL SPRAY CANS IN THE AIR FRYER: The Aerosol spray cans (such as Pam and related brands) are known to cause chipping in many Air Fryer containers. The aerosol cans contain toxic chemicals that don’t match with the covering on most of the containers.
#5. DON’T OVERLOAD THE BASKET: If you want your fried food to turn out to be fresh, you’ll want to make sure you don’t congest the refrigerator. Placing too much food in the bowl will keep the food from stretching and browning. Cook your food in containers or invest in a larger air fryer to make sure this doesn’t happen.
#6. SHAKE THE BASKET DURING FRYING, WINGS AND OTHER COOKING. When frying small items such as chicken wings and French fries, shake the basket every few minutes to ensure uniform cooking, sometimes, instead of throwing, use a pair of silicone kitchen pins to flip over larger items
When you open the basket to shake, the air fryer will stop for a while, but it will continue frying the food at the same temperature when you return to the container.
#7. SPRAY HALFWAY THROUGH COOKING: I find that spraying oil halfway through cooking is best done on most foods. I tend to wait to spray halfway through cooking unless it’s an element that doesn’t need to be sprayed like fatty meats. Coated food items are to be sprayed. Additionally, spray some dried flour spots that still surface halfway through the rain.
#8. WATER / BREAD IN THE BASE STOPS WHITE SMOKE: If it is time to fry a greasy food in your air fryer, don’t be shocked to see some white smoke pouring out of the machine. To solve the problem, just dump a little (about 2Tbsp) of water in the bottom of the container, The smoke stops and the food continues to cook.
Some people place a slice of bread at the bottom of the unit to blot the grease when preparing items that can spread large amounts of grease, such as bacon.
#9. LOOKOUT FOR THE SMALL LIGHT ITEMS IN THE AIR FRYER: most of the Air Fryer unit have a powerful fan at the top of the unit. This causes some lighter weighted items to get swept up in the fan, which could be dangerous. I tried to make fried egg roll wrappers once, and it was almost a tragedy. I’m hoping to try it again once I figured out how to stop flying around.
#10 ADJUST THE TEMPERATURE: Most times you want to turn the heat of the Air Fryer to the highest temperature to encourage it to work, but be careful as some foods will dry out easily. A proper way is to adjust the temperature and time from how long you would usually do it in the oven. I like to go down 30 degrees and cut the time by about 20 percent. For starters, if you baked brownies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven for 20 minutes, cut the Air Fryer to 320 degrees and cook for about 16 minutes. AT times, you’re better off with an air fryer combo
#11 INVEST IN THE Best Fast READ THERMOMETER: Having a good quality quick read thermometer is of the utmost importance when it comes to cooking those meats in your Air Fryer, such as fish, chicken and pork.
