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So you’re thinking about jumping on the Air-Frying bandwagon…. Here’s everything you need to know, plus a few fool-proof recipes to set you off on the path towards snacking success. Let’s start by understanding how these machines actually work. Rapidly circulating hot air dries and crisps while cooking your food. Name aside, there is no actual frying going on here.
The key to success is in managing your expectations and realizing that an Air-Fryer is basically a small, but high-performing convection oven. Unlike a deep-fryer, an Air-Fryer goes beyond French fries and wings, and can be used to bake things like brownies (see easiest ever 3-ingredient recipe below). But before we all get carried away, let’s be clear on what it canNOT handle.
You’ll need to give your food a bit of breathing room to properly air-fry. If pieces are touching, you’ll get uneven browning and less crisping. This means you can only make small batches and sometimes just single servings. Perhaps this is a benefit if you’re into portion control, but that’s never really been my jam.
Things can go horribly wrong when it comes to battered food (think beer-battered onion rings, tempura shrimp, etc). Wet batters are off limits because the food will stick to, or even drip through, the basket. Instead, I recommend sticking with a dryer dredged coating (think Panko-crusted cutlets, coconut-crusted shrimp, or even chicken-fried pickles – recipe below).
To optimize the performance of your Air-Fryer, you’re going to need to invest in a high smoke point and neutral flavored vegetable oil spray. My favorite is either safflower or grape-seed oil, but canola will do. You’ll need to spray the basket to prevent sticking and spray the surface of your food to ensure proper golden crisping.
The benefits of using an Air-Fryer go beyond the obvious calorie slashing. Deep-frying is messy and comes with some serious safety precautions. Air-Frying, on the other hand, leaves you very little clean up and no risk of third degree burns, bringing homemade French fries into the the realm of accessibility for after school snacks or 4am munchie binges. Hip-Hip-Hurray for the child in all of us!
A finally benefit for all the impatient cooks out there is the speed. Whether you’re baking or deep-frying, you’re looking at substantial pre-heating time. My dinosaur of a home oven clocks in at a tortoise speed of 25 minutes for initial preheating. Skipping the preheat, means that I can sink my teeth into my air-fried brownie before yours would have even begun baking. #winning
