1. Preheat For Juicier Chicken
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A big plus point in the appeal of an air fryer is the fact that it can reduce cooking time in half for many foods. Whilst this is the case, it does help to preheat your air fryer similar to how you would do an oven. This hack will ensure that air fryer chicken is thoroughly and evenly cooked as well as being nice and juicy.
2. Use Your Air Fryer To Make Hard-Boiled Eggs
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You may be surprised to learn that you can make hard boiled eggs in the air fryer but it’s true! Just place half a dozen raw eggs, with their shells unbroken, in the basket, after preheating to 250 degrees. It takes around 15-16 minutes and the result is perfectly hard boiled eggs – and the shells are easy to remove!
3. Use Oil Sparingly
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Olive oil is an excellent ingredient that adds great health benefits to many dishes. With an air fryer, you only need a very small amount of oil, just a small coating and this will add a new dimension to the flavor without being overwhelming. This rule applies to French fries as well so they end up being quite good for you!
4. Thaw Your Vegetables First
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This is one of the most common sense hacks. Before attempting to air fry your frozen vegetables, it always helps to allow them to thaw out thoroughly. The excess ice around those veggies can hamper the air frying process and the final result will not be as desirable as you would expect.
5. Use the Air Fryer Instead of the Microwave
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Kids love mini pizzas as a quick meal and it’s so easy for busy grown-ups to do. Microwaving can sometimes create a mushy dish and using the oven can take a long time for those impatient and hungry children. You can air fry frozen pizzas in less than 20 minutes and the crust will come out really crisp!
6. Copy Your Favorite Fast Food Recipes
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If you and your family are craving McDonald’s fries or Wendy’s chicken nuggets, your air fryer can replicate those recipes in your kitchen.. Using the low setting, you can quickly heat homemade French fries and chicken nuggets or hamburgers. As well as tasting good, this will save you money.
7. Avoid Non Stick Aerosol Cooking Sprays
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It can seem like second nature to use non stick cooking spray in your air fryer but be aware that these sprays have additives which can cause damage to the unit. Instead, it is better to fill a spray bottle with normal olive oil and give the air fryer a light spray before each use.
8. Shake The Basket During Cooking
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The air fryer does not always cook food evenly. Most air fryer models can be quite finicky but there is a quick hack to fix this problem in seconds. Simply shake the basket once or twice during the cooking process and this will ensure that food is heated evenly as well as having an even color.
9. Don’t Stack Food
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Larger cuts of meat should be cooked individually or in sets of two. If you don’t abide by these cooking rules, the sides that are touching will end up being undercooked. You should always make sure that meat is cooked thoroughly to food safe temperatures. Use a food thermometer if in doubt.
10. Enjoy Juicy Corn On The Cob
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One of the best things about the summer is that you get to enjoy grilled corn on the cob. Well, don’t wait until the summer and use your air fryer instead. Crank it up to 400 degrees and coat the outside of the corn with cooking spray and seasoning. Cook for 10 minutes, flipping after 5 and you’ll have perfect corn on the cob.
11. Make Perfect Bacon
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The best way to get crispy bacon is in the air fryer. If you don’t believe us, you have to try it! Place a few slices of bacon on the air fryer rack and preheat to 375 degrees. Set the timer fort 2 to 3 minutes, flip the bacon over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. There you have it, beautiful and crispy!
12. From Cake To Churros
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Air fryers are capable of cooking up lots of stuff on the sweeter side. We’re talking all kinds of recipes, from donuts, cookies, fritters, pies and churros. Even baking a cake is possible if you are using a larger air fryer that can fit a baking tin inside. The smaller baskets can be used for making cookies.
13. Line Basket With Aluminium Foil
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If you find that using your air fryer can get a bit messy, then line your drip tray or your basket with aluminium foil which will help with keeping things tidy. Because the foil isn’t included with your device, it won’t always be recommended by the manufacturer but it works and is helpful if you use your air fryer regularly.
14. Avoid Overcooking Your French Fries
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French fries are probably the first thing that you’ll make with an air fryer. It is important to keep the temperature around 375 degrees or you will run the risk of burning them. As with our hack for frozen vegetables, it can be beneficial to let the frozen fries thaw for a few minutes first. .
15. Toast Nuts For A Healthy Snack
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You can use your air fryer to make a healthy snack with the minimum of effort. You can roast a selection of nuts, such as almonds, cashews and walnuts. When you hear the popping sound, that means they are ready. Don’t leave any longer than necessary as the taste will be spoiled.
16. Mix Seasonings Before Air Frying
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Remember that an air fryer uses air circulation to fry the food on the rack. As this is the case, you don’t want powdery seasonings blowing around inside the unit so take the opportunity to mix the seasonings with oil and create a wet rub. It will then work much better.
17. Skip The Dishwasher
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Although the dishwasher makes cleaning up so much easier, you should never put air fryer pieces in the dishwasher. Instead, use a wet rag on the rack and inside of the unit. Most air fryers will already have a non stick coating which makes cleaning a very easy task.
18. Cover Baked Goods For An Amazing Cake
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The air fryer can be used to make all kinds of sweets and confections although the high heat and the fast moving air circulation can quickly burn things such as cookies and brownies. Covering your baking dish completely with foil to ensure that you get warm and even cooking is the easy answer.
19. Don’t Forget To Preheat
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One of the most common mistakes that can negatively affect your air frying is if you fail to preheat. It only takes about 3 minutes and you’ll be glad that you did. The food will come out thoroughly cooked and you’ll notice that the set-up time is a lot less as well. This applies to everything you stick in there.
20. Swap Oven For Air Fryer For Frozen Pizza
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Americans spend more than $11 billion on pizza deliveries every year! If you love stuffed crust, breadsticks and other classics of the pizza world, save some cash and heat your own. Within 20 minutes, your frozen pizza will be fully cooked and so crispy that you will hardly be able to tell the difference between that and the delivery pizza.
21. Reheat Leftovers
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If you are hesitant about reheating leftovers in the microwave because they may come out all mushy, then use your air fryer instead. It can bring your original dish back to life, especially fried food! It works amazingly well with leftover fried chicken and French fries.
22. Use An Air Fryer To Dehydrate Foods
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Air fryers can be excellent to rehydrate foods. Their ability to circulate heated air can make them effective dehydrators for small to moderate amounts of vegetables, fruits and meats. Some models come with a built-in dehydration option but even if you don’t have one with that particular feature, it is still possible to achieve the same result.
23. Bake An Amazing Glazed Ham
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You can prepare your entire holiday feast in the air fryer – we knew that would make you sit up and take notice! You can air fry a whole glazed ham which should be cooked 10 minus for every pound t around 300 degrees. It will taste really good and you will see how succulent it turns out!
24. Go Easy On The Butter
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The air fryer will make incredible roasted vegetables and in a much healthier way than oven roasted, where lots of oil and/or butter are used. Staying light on the butter will make all the difference when it comes to roasting your vegetables. Remember that zucchini, in particular, will begin to brown faster with too much butter on it.
25. Use Mayo For Ooey Gooey Grilled Cheese
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Don’t make the mistake of using your air fryer just for chicken and French fries when there is so much more that you can do! Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees and spread mayonnaise across two slices of bread, placing the cheese in the middle. Set to air fry for 3 to 5 minutes and the result will be pure bliss!
26. Use Cornstarch to Batter Chicken
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Half of the fun of owning an air fryer is learning about all the wonderful recipes you can make. Slice boneless and skinless chicken breasts into two inch chunks chunks and preheat to 400 degrees. Coat the chicken in corn starch and cook for 7 to 9 minutes. For a finishing touch, simmer in your favorite sauce for 5 minutes.
27. Save the Juice for Homemade Gravy
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If you find yourself disregarding the juices that are left over in the air fryer basket, change the habit. These can be saved in your refrigerator and used to make the most delicious sauces and gravy. Whether it be chicken, pork or beef, all those juices contain excellent flavor.
28. Reduce Crumbs and Cooking Residue
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If there is one thing that many users dislike about air-frying, it’s the leftover mess. As with frying any food, there are always lots of spatters and crumbs in the cooking area. If you layer foil along the basket’s interior, this hack will give you a quick and easy clean-up.
29. Don’t Try to Cook Too Much
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You may be anxious to get your air fry meal cooked as quickly as possible, say if you are pushed for time, but don’t make the mistake of over-crowding and cram tons of stuff into the basket. Cook in batches and leave at least half an inch of space in between items such as air fryer corn dogs.
30. Keep The Counter Clear
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The rapid circulation of hot air that cooks your food in an air fryer is pulled into the unit with a vacuum. You will need at least 5 inches of clearance on all sides so move anything close by and replace when cooking is completed. Getting into the habit of this behavior will make it second nature when using your air fryer.
31. Keep Your Air Fryer As Clean As Possible
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This may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s important to clean out your air fryer after every single use so that it can work as best as it can the next time you use it! You want it to be as clean as possible, as well as making sure no leftover food is stuck in the bottom of it.
32. Make Sure There’s No Parchment Paper Inside If You’re Preheating
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You may have loaded your air fryer with parchment paper for the next thing you’re going to cook, then decided to preheat it. But you should never, ever preheat it with any parchment paper (or any other paper) inside, because it could burn, start smoking or catch completely on fire!
33. You Don’t Even Need To Use Parchment Paper At All
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To lessen the risk completely, you can get rid of parchment paper altogether! Although some things can be cooked more easily using it, you don’t always need it. Parchment paper can depend on what you’re making – if you’re cooking something melty or baking something gooey, it’s a good idea. Otherwise, you might not need it!
34. Line Your Basket With Kitchen Foil
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To help Future You out by making less of a mess to clean up in the first place, try using kitchen foil to line your fryer basket – specifically, underneath the basket. This way, all the extra bits that drip out, like oils, grease or anything melted, will collect right onto the foil itself.
35. Look For Recipe Inspiration Online To Get To Know Your Air Fryer!
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It can be overwhelming in regard to what to make the first time you’re stood in front of your air fryer – so the best way to start practicing and get to know what kind of recipes you can use it for is to look for lists, books or videos online that offer a range of recipes to show you everything your new fryer can do.
36. Parboiling Root Vegetables In The Microwave First
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In order to save time when you’re using your air fryer, you should try partially boiling any root vegetables in the microwave before using them in your air fryer! So if you’re making any recipes that uses vegetables like potatoes, it can help you to save around 15 minutes air fryer cooking time!
37. Don’t Be Scared To Be Creative!
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The great thing about having an air fryer is the freedom it gives you to create many different recipes, so don’t be intimidated about throwing different things in there. You can easily use marinades, seasoning and rubs on the items you’re putting in your air fryer!
38. Doing Things Wrong Is Actually The Best Way To Learn
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As we know with anything in life, the best way to learn from something is by making a mistake – then you know not to do it that way again. The same applies for an air fryer – so don’t be afraid of making a mistake. In regard to cooking times and how to use it, the best way to learn is by getting it wrong first!
39. Don’t Rush Into Overly Complicated Recipes
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It can be really exciting to unbox your new air fryer, and it’s no surprise you’ll want to try the latest and greatest recipes for a feast! But if this is your very first air fryer, it’s much better to start simple and work your way up so you can get to know the fryer and how to use it.
40. Be Aware Of The Different Models For Recipes
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There are many great recipes for air fryers, but in regard to the cooking times and instructions, it’s key to remember that there are so many different makes and models that yours might not be the same as the one the recipe author uses. So don’t take instructions as gospel, and get to know your own machine!
41. Time Your Food Less Than The Instructions Tell You To
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When you’re first getting used to your air fryer, it’s much better to cook for less than the recipe says and put it back in, than do what it says and risk getting it wrong and overcooking or burning it! Start off by doing about half of what the recipe is telling you so you can add more time gradually if needed.
42. Don’t Forget To Check On Your Food!
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When using an air fryer, it’s encouraged to constantly pull your food out and check on how it’s doing! Don’t put the food in and then just leave it for the full time the recipe tells you to. The air fryer is designed to have the basket easily popped open for this reason, so you can decide if your food needs a little longer.
43. Use A Meat Thermometer – It’ll Help!
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Another great tool to have in your kitchen – as well as the air fryer itself, of course – is a meat thermometer. Getting an instant read one means you cancel out the guessing game of whether your food is actually cooked or not. This means you can easily stick it in rather than getting food out of the fryer in order to cut into it and check.
44. Don’t Put Your Air Fryer On Your Stove Top
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It can seem like the perfect spot when you’re not using your stove, because it frees up all that worktop space, too! But this can be a risk, because if you accidentally put your stove top on, it’s going to burn your air fryer and potentially even damage the stove top itself!
45. You Can Use Bread To Stop Your Fryer From Smoking
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A lot of people can have issues with their air fryers smoking, and it’s never nice to have your kitchen filled up with it! A handy hack is to use bread to stop this from happening – simply put a slice underneath the basket so it absorbs all the grease and stops it from smelling or smoking.
46. Try The Wire Rack Accessory To Keep Food In Place
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You might find that certain food types you’re cooking in the fryer are flying about while you’re trying to make your next delicious recipe – but there are some air fryer accessories that can help with that! You can use a wire rack to put over the top to stop food from flying about.
47. Melt Your Cheese Right At The End
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This is a great hack if you don’t want to compromise on delicious melted cheese – because why would you? The air fryer can make it difficult to cook cheese if you put it on right at the beginning, so a good hack is to add it right at the end when the rest has cooked and just close the top – the air fryer will still be warm enough to melt it.
48. Make Your Own Aluminium Foil Sling!
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Why, you might ask. Well, this one is perfect for those foods that are really hard to pick up and get out of the fryer. With a foil sling, you’re suspending the food mid-fryer so that you can easily get it out – as long as you make sure there’s still enough air flow, it can work perfectly!
49. Reheating Meat Has Never Been Easier
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Reheating your leftover meat can sometimes feel a bit wrong or risky, even though you know it’s cooked – not to mention you feel like you’re compromising on flavor by blasting in the microwave. Reheating your meat in your air fryer is the best way (and easiest!).
50. Give The Heating Element A Quick Wipe After Every Use
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The heating element doesn’t seem like a key area to clean that often, and many people can see it as annual deep clean, but it’s really important to clean the heating element often. It’ll be much easier to do a quick wipe after every use, rather than letting it build up and be harder to clean!