Air Fryer – Do’s and Don’ts

You can quickly cook multiple dishes at once, and also cut back on fatty oils that can mess up someone’s diet plan.

If you are thinking of buying an air fryer, or you already have one, we have compiled some air fryer tips and tricks that can help you become a master chef in your kitchen.

Air Fryer Do’s

There are a lot of tips you can do to make your meals crispier and more delicious when you’re using your air fryer.

Here are the most helpful air fryer tips and tricks that can improve your cooking.

✅ 1. Preheat the Air Fryer

Like all other methods of cooking, preheating your air fryer will not only help you cook your food evenly but will also ensure that you prepare your food faster.

Preheating at least 3 minutes before you put in your food is the recommended time.

✅ 2. Clean in Between Cooking

One of the most basic do’s of an air fryer is to clean it right after cooking.

Aside from keeping your air fryer free from germs and bacteria, cleaning it often will also ensure that no grease sticks and ruin the quality of your food cooked in it.

✅ 3. Grease Air Fryer Basket

Greasing the basket will make sure that your food will not stick to it.

Because most of the air fryers already have a nonstick coating, this air fryer tip is just a bonus.

✅ 4. Utilize the Drippings

The fatty oil that is collected in the drawer can be used to make gravies, pan sauce, and other recipes that require fatty oils.

This is a great thing to do especially

✅ 5. Shake the Basket While Cooking

To ensure that your food cooks evenly, you can shake the basket a few times while you are preparing your food.

This will make sure that your food browns evenly and nothing will be overcooked or undercooked.

✅ 6. Adding Water When Cooking Fatty Foods

You may notice white smoke when you are cooking food that is greasy such as bacon.

Don’t panic as this happens most of the time, and it’s fairly easy to solve.

Simply add around two tablespoons of water in the basket when you cook greasy foods.

✅ 7. Buy a Quick-Read Thermometer

If you are one of the people who want to follow cooking recipes to the dot, it is best to invest in a thermometer that can quickly get a reading.

This is essential for cooking food such as steak, chicken, add pork, to make sure that you are not overcooking or undercooking the meat.

Air Fryer Don’ts

Just as there are tips to follow, there are also air fryer tips to avoid.

To ensure the best quality of your meals, you have to try and stop doing the following things.

❌ 1. Don’t Buy Cheap Low-Quality Air Fryer

This is a no-brainer. Buying a low-quality fryer is not good in the long term as you will find yourself buying more often since it easily breaks.

Investing in a high-quality air fryer will be easier on your budget in the long run.

❌2. Never Overcrowd The Basket

Adding too many foods to your basket will prohibit the air from circulating properly, and you will not get the quality you want.

Try to cook your food in a few batches instead of overcrowding your basket so that the food comes out crispy and delicious.

❌3. Don’t Use Aerosol Cooking Spray

Certain additives in an aerosol cooking spray can damage the nonstick coating of some air fryer baskets, so it is better to avoid them.

Go for a good quality oil instead, and put them in a bottle spray as an alternative to oil aerosol spray cans.

❌4. Avoid Cooking Loose Batters

Not only will you get food that has a loose coating, but you will also have a hard time cleaning your air fryer.

Try to avoid this when cooking meals such as chicken wings or other food with batters.

❌5. Avoid Cooking Small Light Items

Since air fryers rely on air circulation to cook your meals, having small light items can be swept up by the fan.

This can ruin the quality of your meal, not to mention a little dangerous when cooking.

Make sure that the food you will put will not fly around inside once you start cooking. 

Final Thoughts

An air fryer is fairly easy to use. With these air fryer tips, you can ensure that you will be able to prepare flavorful food in no time.