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The debate over preheating the air fryer caught me off guard last night
My neighbor Louise swore preheating makes everything crispier, but my brother insists it dries out the food and wastes electricity for most items. I tried wings both ways tonight and barely noticed a difference, so which side do you all land on for things like chicken and frozen fries?
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bell.felix3d ago
I preheat my air fryer for exactly 4 minutes at 400F before loading it with anything. For frozen fries I found that skipping the preheat makes them stick to the basket way more and they come out uneven. But with chicken wings I actually tried both ways last week and the preheated batch had a better crunch on the skin without being dry inside. Brian is right that frozen fries are already cooked so the preheat mainly helps with that first blast of hot air hitting them right away. I think the real key is flipping or shaking the basket halfway through no matter what you do. Preheating just gives you a head start on that golden color but it's not a dealbreaker either way.
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brian_smith617d ago
The 400F for 8 minutes preheat thing is actually mostly for stuff like steak or breaded items. For frozen fries, I mean, they're already fully cooked so preheating doesn't do much except maybe make the outside a tiny bit crispier faster.
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adamr1417d ago
Hold on, you're saying preheating doesn't do much for frozen fries? That's interesting because I always thought it made a big difference in how they come out. Like, if you just toss frozen fries into a cold oven they come out soggy and pale, right? But if you let the air fryer get to temp first, they get that golden brown color way more even in my experience. So you're saying that extra few minutes of preheating doesn't actually help with that crispiness or color on the outside?
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