Air Fryer 101
Air fryers are all the rage, and for good reason. They promise to make “fried” food with very little oil. While the lure of eating “healthier” french fries or making fried chicken without heating a pot of oil is enticing, we know from extensive testing that air-fried foods more often taste oven-fried than deep-fried. That said, we still really like air fryers: They cook food more quickly than an oven does, they don’t need to be preheated, they won’t heat up your kitchen on a hot day, and they produce good food. The best models cook food quickly and efficiently, and because they're essentially countertop convection ovens, they can be used in place of a toaster oven or wall oven. Read on for our key takeaways and tips.
Taking an Air Fryer’s Temperature
With air fryers, we found that making food according to manufacturers' recommendations mostly resulted in undercooked food such as soggy French fries. But adapted versions of our own oven recipes often came out over-cooked and dry. For many dishes, the optimal cooking times and temperatures fell somewhere between those of our oven recipes and manufacturers' instructions. As we honed in on these, we started turning out crispy fries, juicy chicken parts, and tender cutlets. Ultimately, the food held its own against oven-fried versions—and was often better as well as more convenient to prepare.
The Takeaway
Because settings vary slightly among air fryers, we tested our recipes in multiple models and asked our readers to test recipes too. Here are some guidelines to follow.
1. Temperature
Different air fryers use different temperature increments, increasing by 10, 25, or even 30 degrees. If your air fryer cannot be set to the specified temperature, select the closest available temperature setting.
2. Time
Always check food for doneness at the low end of the time range and add time as necessary. The cook time range given in a recipe takes into account the slight differences between models.
What to Look for
While most air fryers can cook food well, usability is a different story. And although air fryers are constantly circulating air, the cooking isn't completely hands-off; you still need to turn or toss food during cooking to promote even browning. Still, some air fryers require more attention than others. Here are some things to know when using your air fryer or choosing one for your kitchen.
1. Watch your Dial
We prefer digital dials on our air fryer, but if you have a machine with an analog dial, it will do the job. Just position your air fryer so that the dial is not easily bumped or moved, which could alter the heat setting
2. Simpler is Better
Some air fryer models include “innovations” from presets to attachments to machine-specific heat levels. We think it’s best to stick with the simpler models.
3. Non-Stick Basket is Best
Inserts that are hard to clean were a no-go for us. We prefer sturdy nonstick surfaces that clean up effortlessly. If your machine has a mesh-like basket, we recommend you use air-fryer basket liners to keep clean-up to a minimum.
