Air fryers are one of the healthiest ways to cook fried foods. With the circulation of hot air, they make crispy items without the use of oil. So nowadays many people are using this kitchen appliance to satisfy their cravings without any health concerns. If you have recently added this kitchen appliance to your kitchen, congratulations on that.
Now you may wonder how is it different from a deep fryer? What can you do with air fryer? If these questions pop up in your mind, we are going to have a brief insight on air fryer recipes that you can make with an air fryer.
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What Can You Do With Air Fryer
Fried Chicken
Who doesn’t love fried chicken with crispy coating? We bet you do as well. Having fried chicken without oil is the main reason to put it in the first place on the list. The air fryer chicken is crispy, light, and much less oily than deep fried chicken.
Homemade Chips
On a hazy afternoon, everyone likes to taste sour and crispy homemade chips. With an air fryer, you can try them too. It doesn’t mean you can only make russet potatoes with the fryer. Instead, you can try other chips, for example: kale chips, sweet potato chips, beet chips.
French Fries
Are you fond of french fry? Then, an air fryer is the perfect kitchen tool for you. This is one of the common foods that everyone loves to eat. The traditional french fries contain a lot of oil. But with an air fryer, you can make crispy and crunchy french fries, that too with 75% less oil than a deep fryer.
Salmon Fillets
Fillets of Salmon fish are tasty to have in air fryers. Within minutes, you can have salmon fillets with crispy exterior and juicy inner parts.
Egg Rolls
Egg rolls are a perfect appetizer to serve as evening snacks. But sometimes it becomes challenging to make a perfect balance between well-cooked filling and the crispy outer shell. But what’s the hesitation when you have an air fryer at home? With your fryer, you can make firm and fried shells on the outside, without harming the soft interior of the egg rolls.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cookies are a great source of fun to taste. And, if they contain creamy chocolate layers inside, the delight is beyond description. To satisfy your hunger with chocolate chip cookies, your air fryer can be handy indeed. With the fryer, you will be able to make amazing cookies. And, you will get crispness outside and a gooey flavor inside of the cookies.
Mini Calzones
Mini calzones are hard to refuse that are made on air fryers. With the pepperoni pizza dough, these calzones have cheese and pepperoni fillers in them. Simply serve with a little bit of sauce, and you will get the real taste of mini calzones.
Beef Steak
A fancy meal like beef steak requires some special cooking skill to prepare it well. An air fryer does exactly that by bringing golden brown edges in the steak. On top of that, the hot circulating air of the fryer makes the steak outside perfectly brownish and savory that you can hardly deny to taste.
Brussels Sprouts
Unlike chicken and beef, veggies are a healthier alternative to taste in air fryers. Credit goes to the hot circulating air inside the fryer. That airflow makes the vegetables crunchy and flavorful at the same time. And so, you get sweet and spicy brussels sprouts.
Baked Potatoes
Baked potatoes are another healthy alternative to heavy snacks made from air fryers. Many like to have baked potatoes at the party. If you are one of them, enjoy the amazing bites of baked potatoes that are fluffy on the inside and come with a crispy layer on the outside.
Important Tips To Use An Air Fryer
If you are a newbie in air frying, don’t do anything without prior knowledge of air frying that might cost you. Here we are going to provide you some vital tips on how to use an air fryer:
Place On A Heat-Safe Surface
When the air fryer starts working, it gets really hot. So try to keep the tool on a heat-safe surface that can withstand the high temperature. Also, place it away from other kitchen tools. The reason is during the process, hot air comes out of the vent. And, that can harm the kitchen appliances, sitting close to it.
Preheat Before Cooking
Preheating is an essential task to perform before the main air frying process. Similar to an oven, you have to preheat your air fryer before cooking. However, the fryer will only take a few minutes for preheating, unlike the oven.
Use Lower Temperature
Air fryers mostly work at a low temperature. Also, the fryer recipes demand less temperature to perform, compared to deep fryers. And, they get warm pretty quickly. Remember that with the hot air circulation, a higher temperature isn’t necessary at all. So we suggest keeping a minimum temperature during the cooking process in your fryer.
Avoid Using Excessive Oil
Air fryers don’t really require dipping food in oil. So there is no valid reason to use excessive oil. Otherwise, the extra amount of oil might reach the drawer under the grate. In the case of frozen food, you don’t require oil in the food at all. However, to cook vegetables, you can benefit from oil coatings.
Use A Spray Bottle For Oiling
The use of oil in the bottom of the basket entirely depends on what you are cooking. If you fail to pour oil properly, that might end up reaching the drawer and cause smoking. Hence, we recommend using a spray bottle. Simply fill it with oil. Then, add it to the basket bottom as per the ideal amount.
Never Grease The Drawer With Cooking Spray
Greasing the drawer with a cooking spray is not a good idea at all. Since the baskets come with a nonstick coating, the spray can affect their finish. Instead, use an oil-saturated paper towel to rub the basket with ease.
Don’t Overcrowd The Basket
Everyone wants to have a hefty amount of meals in the basket. But adding a lot of food to the basket doesn’t bring anything good. Rather, you might end up making soggy fries or potato mash. So make sure to include only a single layer of items in the basket.
Shake The Basket During Cooking
When you opt to cook smaller items, shaking the entire basket is necessary. Because vegetables like broccoli or tots are difficult to turn individually. So that being the case, make sure to shake the basket properly during cooking.
Never Touch The Exterior
If you think only the interior of the air fryer gets hot, you are wrong. In fact, the exterior part is cool neither during the cooking process. Even though the outside of the fryer doesn’t get red-hot, still it is better to avoid touching that part.
Clean The Drawer And The Basket After Each Use
Every use of the air fryer makes it quite messy. Because after each use, grease and crumbs start to pile up. And, they certainly affect the food quality that you want to taste. So you just can’t ignore taking care of the drawer and the basket. For this reason, try to wash each of them separately with soap and water.
Final Words
Air fryers are the perfect companion in your daily life to satisfy your cravings. You don’t have to worry about any health issues since they are incredibly oil resistant and don’t involve deep frying.
Moreover, they are easy to use and you can cook a variety of meals. So now you know what can you do with air fryer, we suggest you give it a try.
If you are a big fan of crispy fried foods, an air fryer is well worth filling up your appetite in the best possible way. Good luck!