Use your air fryer long enough and you'll start to feel like there's nothing in it that can't be cooked. best air fryers will allow you to fry fried chicken and salmon fillet much faster than in a large oven. However, some foods don't hold up as well under the unrelenting, whirling heat of an air fryer and are better prepared using an alternative method.
I've been experimenting with air fryer cooking for the past five years. Among many hits several big misses. The air fryer, while versatile, can dry out food quickly, so lean, boneless chicken breasts and pork chops are best cooked in the air fryer. cast iron frying pan on grill or using sous vide cooker.
Higher fat foods, such as chicken wings and thighs, bacon or fatty salmon and tuna are great in the air fryer. Foods without bones or fat that can dry out. May be cooked in a deep fryer at a lower temperature or protected with a breading or deep marinade.
Below you will find 10 delicate foods that the deep fryer can destroy.
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1. Boneless pork chops
Boneless pork chops can be dried in the air fryer.
A perfectly cooked pork chop is a beauty, but leaner cuts of other white meats can dry out quickly. Bacon, bone-in pork chops and fattier cuts of pig can be used in the air fryer, but lean, boneless pork chops and tenderloins tend to dry out when exposed to high heat. If you cook pork chops in the air fryer, do it at a lower temperature and use a little fat to keep them from drying out.
2. Spinach and leafy greens
Crispy spinach and kale won't come out in the air fryer.
Leafy greens are a strict no-no when cooking in the air fryer. Hot convection air will crisp up most leafy greens like spinach, kale and chard, much more than you'll want to eat. Firm vegetables, including Brussels sprouts, zucchini, and zucchini, work well in the air fryer, but leafy greens are best roasted, sautéed, or steamed.
3. Steak and most cuts of beef.
Steak cooked in the air fryer may be tough and rubbery.
Steak Reheats well in the air fryer, but it's not an ideal place to cook for the first time. The air fryer baskets get hot, but not hot enough to cook the outside of the steak. I've already tried cooking steaks in the deep fryer. Even fatty and tender steaks are not as tasty as when cooked on a hot plancha. cast iron frying pan or grill.
The exception to the beef rule is hamburgers. The ground beef won't become stringy, and the high heat in the deep fryer allows you to crisp it up without overcooking the middle. Here's how Make a bacon cheeseburger in the air fryer.
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4. Boneless chicken breasts
Chicken breasts without breading are not the best option.
Chicken wings, thighs, and any pieces with bones are ideal candidates for the air fryer. Boneless chicken breasts don't contain much fat and dry out easily. Protect them with a little egg wash and breadcrumbs and they'll be fine, but naked chicken breasts cooked in the air fryer often end up dry or rubbery.
5. Large pieces of any meat
Pot roasts usually require low and slow cooking.
Large cuts of beef, pork and lamb are generally best cooked using a low and slow method such as braising or smoking. When cooking large pieces of meat, avoid the hot convection air flow of the fryer and select the Dutch ovenmulticooker or pellet smoker.
6. Naked broccoli
The air fryer will fry the broccoli unless you cover it with foil.
If you wrap the broccoli in foil, you can fry it in the air fryer (quickly). If you leave it open and exposed to hot convection air, you'll end up with sizzling broccoli ends that aren't tasty at all.
7. Shellfish
It's best to cook clams and mussels in a saucepan rather than an air fryer.
Shellfish such as clams and mussels require liquid to cook without drying out. They're also easy to overcook, which can result in a chewy, rubbery piece that you don't want anywhere near your plate. Do not use an air fryer for most types of shellfish.
8. Most baked goods
Cake and cookie recipes typically don't transfer well from the oven to the air fryer.
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You can certainly bake in an air fryer, but be careful because the super convection heat of an air fryer behaves differently than the convection heat of a regular oven.
Baking a cake or batch of cookies in the air fryer at the time and temperature specified in the recipe often results in overcooking, dryness, or burning. When baking in the air fryer, use the following recipes: specifically intended for the air fryer, so don't assume the recipe will work in the oven.
9. Deep casseroles and puff pasta
Lasagnas and deep casseroles may not be heated through before the top begins to burn.
Because the air fryer cooks quickly and the heat comes from the top, deep-dish casseroles and layered lasagnas may not cook all the way through before they burn on top. If you plan to use an air fryer, set it to broil, or a lower temperature than you would normally use to cook chicken wings or hot dogs.
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10. Popcorn
Having crumbly popcorn in the air fryer is a recipe for disaster.
Popcorn seems like a good candidate for an air fryer substitute, but the quick results aren't worth the potential danger. When popcorn pops, it flies into the air and those kernels can hit the heating element of the air fryer, causing a fire at worst and burning the popcorn at best. If you're going to popcorn in the air fryer, you'll need a foil bag or other heat-resistant container.
