The Downsides Of Cooking Bacon In An Air Fryer

Can you cook bacon in an air fryer? Sure, if you really want to. It is entirely possible to cook bacon in your air fryer and save yourself a lot of time compared to microwaving or frying it. But just because you can doesn't mean this method doesn't have a few drawbacks of which you should be aware.

The first is that it can get messy. As anyone who has cooked it before can attest, bacon produces a lot of excess grease and leaves a mess of tiny burnt bits and crumbs. While this may not be a problem in other cooking methods — you can easily drain and save or dispose of the grease if you're frying — the fact that the bacon is inside a small, enclosed space without proper drainage means the grease will begin to build up. The constant movement of hot air will smear the built-up grease and fat all over the basket, resulting in the bacon being drenched in excess oil.

And although scrubbing cooked-on bacon grease and burnt ends out of your air fryer basket is a pain, it isn't the only downside to this method; you're also setting yourself up for a potential fire hazard.

The most apparent reason you should wash your air fryer basket out every so often is that it cleans out all of the waste inside. Think of leftover crumbs, burnt-on cheese, and in this case, excessive amounts of grease. As bacon naturally produces large amounts of fat and grease as it cooks, it's imperative that the fryer basket be cleaned out as soon as the bacon is finished cooking to prevent build-up.

But what happens when all that grease, oil, and fat collects inside the basket? The fat cooks in the intense heat and solidifies, which means it will begin sticking to the sides, bottom, and even the top of the basket. Suppose the grease drips down through the perforated bottom of the basket or collects at the top of the air fryer. In that case, this means it's in incredibly close contact with the heating element, the fan, and other critical electronic parts. Over time, these solid clumps of grease will begin to burn and produce smoke, damaging vital parts of the air fryer as it burns. 

If you do cook bacon in your air fryer and notice an unpleasant odor or smoke coming out from the front or back of the machine, immediately turn it off and unplug it. Carefully remove the basket from the air fryer, dispose of the burnt grease or bacon, and clean it thoroughly once the machine is cooled.

Now that you understand the downsides of it, we can talk about how you can safely cook bacon in your air fryer and avoid any unfortunate outcomes.

The trick to cooking bacon in your air fryer relies on the correct temperature. The smoke point of bacon is around 400 degrees, so cooking at a lower temperature — anywhere below 400 degrees — will help to lessen the chances of getting smoke. A good starting point to cook your bacon is 350 degrees, but you're free to increase or decrease the temperature as you see fit — just so long as the temperature doesn't exceed the smoke point.  

Another thing to remember is how you lay the bacon for cooking. Don't try to cram an entire package of bacon inside the basket at once, as this will lead to uneven cooking and excessive grease. It's best to cook it in batches, using only enough to form a single layer. Once the bacon is done, clean the basket out as thoroughly as possible. This may take a bit longer than cooking everything all at once, but you'll find it's a safer and equally delicious method of making bacon with your air fryer.