The Rookie Air Fryer Cooking Mistake That's Easy To Make

The first few times you cook with an air fryer can be exciting, but also fraught with potential disaster. This unique appliance, which has boomed in recent years, uses hot air circulated at high speeds to quickly evaporate water from the surface of food, mimicking a deep fryer. However, due to the varying strengths of appliances, a recipe or product's suggested cooking time can be wrong by several minutes. If you have a more powerful air fryer you could end up with dry or even burnt food quicker than you think. Air fryers can be so powerful that an extra minute could mean the difference between golden brown and delicious and trash. The solution to this is knowing how your specific air fryer works and checking food for doneness frequently.

While there isn't any way to 100% prevent overcooking, reading the manual for your machine's specific make and model is one way to be prepared. Understanding your air fryer's features, using the correct mode, and knowing how to carefully check your food for doneness can help.

Once you have read your manual and know how to work your particular air fryer, there are some universal ways to prevent overcooking. The most obvious is lowering the temperature. When you convert a recipe from oven to air fryer, you will have to lower the temperature and cooking time. Air fryers are much more efficient than ovens, meaning less heat is lost to the surrounding air and directed toward your food. Some manuals offer recommendations but most cooks suggest starting with a 25-degree Fahrenheit reduction in temperature and a 20% time reduction. But again, this is just a starting point, the best way to avoid overcooking food is to check it often and when you do, use a thermometer to gauge the internal temperature. Keep in mind too, that how filled the air fryer is will change how quickly the food cooks. Four large pieces of chicken will cook slower than just one.

When your food is done cooking or you've reached the desired internal temperature, check your owner's manual to see if you should remove the food from the air fryer basket or use a warming function. If your model isn't designed to hold cooked food, the temperature of the food could increase, pushing it past done.

Overcooking is the biggest rookie mistake but undercooking and uneven cooking are just as likely. Undercooking can be especially dangerous for foods that need to be cooked to a specific temperature to kill any potential bacteria, like meat and poultry. Cooking frozen chicken can increase the risk of salmonella poisoning if it isn't done correctly. Because an air fryer cooks from the outside in, food can look done on the outside but be undercooked on the inside. Only a meat thermometer can tell you if the internal temperature is safe.

Uneven cooking is also a common air fryer issue. Preheating the air fryer for as long as the manufacturer recommends is one way to help food cook evenly. You can also ensure even cooking by never overcrowding the basket of an air fryer. If the air cannot circulate around the food, you could end up with some areas that are overcooked and others that are undercooked. Cut foods in even sizes as well to be sure that they cook at the same rate. Flipping food or shaking the basket as your manual recommends can redistribute heat to ensure that all sides get a chance to cook and crisp up. Also, clean your air fryer between uses, or you could end up with poorly cooked food, excessive smoke, or even a fire.