I have recommended air fryers to many friends who have kids in college dorms or who live in cramped quarters, and of course reheating is an important issue. An air fryer could be the perfect multi-purpose tool for one of those notorious 200 square foot Manhattan apartments. Air frying is very popular in the UK, as well.
If you have leftover Chinese take out you should use a little air fryer common sense and add a touch of oil, and stir at least once while reheating. For leftover steak, potatoes, and veggies, put the potato in first, steak second, and veggies last, the latter with a spray of oil.
Reheating Will Work Well For:
Anything crispy (wings, pizza, fried chicken, pastries)
Air fryers are not good for reheating soups, stews, gravies, etc.
Turn the temperature down. If you cooked the product at 400 degrees, reheat at 250.
Thaw frozen leftovers before reheating.
Once again, do not mistake an air fryer for a Microwave!
Common Cooking Questions:
Everyone knows that cooking requires some common sense, so let’s take a deeper look at how your new appliance works.
We know that air fryers work using the Maillard Effect, but what does this mean, exactly? (see Wikipedia’s article (Maillard Reaction). The Maillard effect is the browning of amino acids, while caramelization is the browning of sugars, but even professional Chefs use the terms interchangeably because most foods contain both proteins and sugars, and air fryers brown both ways.
Also, air fryers also work like a convection oven. So the air frying process isn’t such a mystery, after all.
An air fryer immerses fried food in hot air, instead of hot oil. Convection ovens immerse foods in hot air, too. People that use convection ovens for the first time notice that they cook food differently than conventional ovens do, faster and more evenly. (Yes, technically you could deep fry in an oven, but you never should put a pan of oil in any type of oven, including an air fryer, as it might ignite or explode!)
Why did my air fried wings come out soggy? Spray the wings with a little oil for crispiness, and check that you are using the correct temperature and timing.
Why do some of my recipes taste even better air fried? This is because of the even, circulating heat, and because no regular oven or microwave can imitate deep frying like an air fryer does. Also, deep fat frying is tricky at home and frequently leads to oil-soaked results.
Why can’t I cook a bacon and egg breakfast in an air fryer? Not all cooking responds well to even heat, and eggs are a great example of this. Add to this that there is some debate about bacon. It appears on the cooking charts, but it is also said that air fryer simply doesn’t have the ventilation to handle the smoke created by the drippings. Specially processed bacon (precooked, or turkey) should air fry just fine.
Here is a group of four very basic air fryer recipes, turkey and mushroom patties, meatloaf slices, roasted potatoes, and a veggie curry, all with instructions, to give you a feel for your machine. link here
Some Additional Tips for Air Fryer Cooking:
- Cooking times will differ in an air fryer, and not always in ways you would expect Here again is the handy cooking chart.
- If you are preparing your own fried foods, don’t use a wet batter, like beer batter or tempura. Https://tasteofhome.com/recipes/ has a neat British recipe that converts the beer batter into a crumb crust.
- Even heat is not appropriate for every dish. Sunny side up eggs is a good example.
- Very wet food or oily foods are not appropriate for an air fryer.
- Air fryers do not work like pressure cookers. They do not cook with steam.
- You shouldn’t ever use a lid with an air fryer. Recipes that require a lid won’t work well and may explode.
- You must turn, shake, or stir many air fried foods because if you do not, the air will be blocked from heating them evenly. This does not apply to baked goods.
- Air fryers always must be preheated. The rule of thumb is simple; always preheat, even for dishes that would not normally require it. (example recipe)
- Adding oil: you have probably noted by now that air fried does not mean fat-free. Here is an example of a tasty recipe that uses a little oil. Delicious and she leads in with a nice little blog on air-frying.