Air fryer tips! These tips and tricks can optimize your air frying experience so that everything comes out crispy and delicious!
Air fryers, when it comes right down to it, are like mini convection ovens that sit on your countertop and cook really fast. They are super convenient and allow us to make things crispy without adding a ton of fat, or making a huge amount of mess. In warmer weather months, using an air fryer instead of the oven keeps your kitchen a little bit cooler, which is also a bonus.
These five air fryer tips will help your air frying process go as smoothly and successfully as possible.
Make Everything as Dry as Possible
This is especially important with veggies! After you wash your veggies, pat them as dry as possible. If you're air frying tofu, pat that dry, too. Otherwise, your veggies might steam instead of air fry once the air fryer's heat hits the food, and then you'll wonder why you bothered! This is probably one of the most important air fryer tips because it's so easily and often overlooked.
Season Your Food
Ok, so this isn't really an air fryer tip per se, but it's more about food prep in general. Air frying is great and makes food crispy and helps them cook faster, but make sure things are seasoned properly. If a recipe calls for tossing food in a little oil, don't skip that step. It will help the food crisp up and nicely brown. And fat carries flavor, which is another reason to toss in oil and season well!
Don't Overcrowd the Basket
Just like you wouldn't overcrowd the pan while cooking, you don't want to overcrowd the basket. It will make everything take longer to cook and what's in there won't cook as evenly. If needed, air fry in batches. Or, if you're a super enthusiast of air frying, grab a second air fryer. You might not turn your oven on again, for a while!
Flip the Food Halfway Through
Much as you would with roasting food in the oven, tossing the food halfway through the air frying process ensures that everything gets evenly cooked, and evenly golden brown and delicious (as Alton Brown would say). This air fryer tip only takes a minute to implement.
Keep it Clean
This is kind of obvious, but it bears repeating. Keep your air fryer basket clean. Once it's cooled off sufficiently, scrub that air fryer basket in soap and warm water. And clean out the bottom of the air fryer, too, as best as possible; all kinds of food bits can fall through the cracks.
