Air fryers have gained quite a lot of popularity recently and a lot of people are taking an interest in this kitchen product. If you have not used an air fryer before, they can come off as a bit intimidating. How long will it take you to cook things in an air fryer? Does it have to be cleaned? How will you use it? These are only some of the questions you will have and this can be quite overwhelming. Therefore, Ido Fishman has revealed some air fryer tricks that can help everyone. You can check them out below:
- Preheat the air fryer before adding food
Similar to an oven, Ido Fishman says that an air fryer can benefit if you preheat it for a couple of minutes. You can do this by turning it on before adding food to the basket. This is a simple step that a lot of people can overlook, but can help cut down a couple of minutes of your cooking time.
- Grease the air fryer basket with some oil
Even though a lot of air fryer baskets come with nonstick coatings, you should still grease the basket in order to ensure nothing will stick. The best oils that you should use in an air fryer are those that have high smoking points, such as soybean oil and safflower. According to Ido Fishman Chef, these are best because the temperature within these machines can get quite hot.
- Don’t use nonstick aerosol cooking sprays
There are a number of nonstick cooking spreads that comprise of additives and these can end up damaging the nonstick coatings that can be found on some air fryer baskets. Therefore, Ido Fishman suggests that you don’t use these sprays and it is better to buy a bottle and just fill it up with your own oil.
- Use an air fryer for reheating food
The microwave is your go-to option when you have to reheat any food, but rather than using it, experts like Ido Fishman suggest that you go with an air fryer for tastier and crispier leftovers. It is possible to reheat anything, from leftover pizza and veggies to salmon and roast chicken in the air fryer. You just need to set them at a lower-than-usual temperature and the fryer will be able to heat the food without cooking it. It will only take a minute and your leftovers will be crispy and hot, rather than bland and soggy.
- Add water when you are cooking fatty foods
If you will be cooking bacon, chicken thighs or any other kind of fatty food, Ido Fishman suggests that you add water to your air fryer drawer because this can help prevent smoking. The air fryer might start smoking because the fat collects in the pan and heats up. You can simply turn off the machine if this starts happening and drain the fat before you start cooking. If you don’t want to deal with such a situation, it is best to add water to the tray before you start cooking. The water comes in handy by preventing the grease from getting too hot, so there is no smoking.
- Use the drippings in the drawer to make gravies and pan sauce
The fat that’s left in the pan, even if it does have some water in it, can be used easily and it is actually filled with flavor. According to Ido Fishman, you can simply stash this in a Tupperware or keep it in a jar for later use. It can be quite useful when you have to make pan sauces, gravies and other recipes with it.
- Shake the basket a couple of times
During cooking, you should shake the air fryer basket a couple of times to make sure all items are cooking evenly. Keep the air fryer running and remove the basket to shake it without any problems.