Top 12 Air Fryer MISTAKES → How to Use an Air Fryer

You have an air

fryer

but are a little nervous about using it today I will show you the top 12

mistakes

people make when using an air

fryer

, knowing that these will prevent you from making

mistakes

so you can get the best results from your air fryer instead of learning from the hard way and if you are new here on my channel welcome my name is kathy from fabulouslyforgoal.com and I am sharing easy air fryer recipes and tips and tricks like this now don't worry. I made some of these mistakes myself, so my loss is your gain and if you're new to air frying, be sure to also check out my airfryer 101 video.

I'll link to that and many other recipes in the notes below, ready to learn . this air for your mistakes come on mistake number one not investing in a good air fryer it is tempting to buy a cheap air fryer to save a few extra dollars but in the long run it is a waste of money if you are not going to buy a good one you will not only get poor results with your food , a common complaint about cheap air fryers is that the nonstick coating starts to peel off within a few months and then you will have to replace it anyway.

If you haven't purchased your air fryer yet or if you haven't used it, consider returning it and investigate. a bit, be sure to take some time to read the reviews to ensure that you are purchasing an excellent quality air fryer. I recommend looking for products that have a few thousand reviews and an average star rating of four to four point five stars. I personally use the kasori fryer and the philips xxl airfryer in my kitchen and between the two I prefer the kasore, it is cheaper, weighs more and I feel that it cooks the food as good as the more expensive fillers.

Mistake number two: overcrowding the basket. One of the most important rules for air frying is not over the crop basket. You'll see in the marketing images that they have the baskets full of food and that's it. It's just not right, instead fill the basket no more than half, the only exception I found to this rule is frozen wings from the air fryer. I usually carry the basket because they shrink and lose a lot of water while cooking. A video below, I'll link to it and it will teach you more about that now. If you don't want to cook your food in batches to avoid overcrowding, consider purchasing a larger air fryer;

In fact, I advise you to buy a fryer that is a little larger. than you think you really need, I don't think you will regret that purchase and instead of looking at the size of the capacity, I recommend looking at the dimensions of the basket and, most importantly, pay attention to that horizontal space where you can place the food in a horizontal position. The kasori 5.8 basket is a 9x9 basket and is a great size for me and doesn't take up much counter space. Also keep in mind that when looking for a deep fryer, the square pan will be able to fit more inside. more than a circular panel, mistake number three, you're using oil wrong Even though a deep fryer is marketed as a healthier way to fry food, most foods you cook will need some oil if you're really looking for it. crispy finish I will help you know when you need oil, how much oil to use and what is the best type of oil to use.

Some people go crazy and use too much oil and others don't use enough or at all. Using any when it should actually be oil not only helps transfer heat, but will also help make the food crispier. As a general rule, you only need one or two teaspoons of oil for breaded foods like French fries, if you want a crispy finish. a light coating will do and you can always add more oil at the end of the cooking cycle if you want your food to be crispier. Oil also works great for foods like these roasted potatoes, and instead of a spray, you can simply stir the food. a mixture of oil and seasonings, which brings me to another reason you might want a little oil: It helps the spices and seasonings stick to the food, like in these air fryer chicken thighs or in this air fryer pork if your food is already greasy like bacon or burgers or chicken. wings you don't even need oil and of course if you are using your air fryer to bake cookies and these cakes you don't need oil at all, you should also make sure you use the right type of oil first of all, it's best to avoid pressurized and canned sprays , because they contain propellants and chemicals that have been shown to cause problems with the coating inside the fryer basket, plus, they are chemicals that you don't want in your food anyway, so buy a good oil sprayer and put it on your favorite oil.

I have a link for what I like to use in the notes below in the meantime, while you're waiting, just pour some oil on a paper towel and you can wipe it off. the inside of your basket to cook foods like chicken or donuts and things like that and the last note on oil you need to know about smoke points when you cook foods in your air fryer you will want to use an oil that has a higher smoke point I have more Details on that in the notes below I personally like to use avocado oil, it has a higher smoke point and is healthier than vegetable oil and canola oil mistake number four not rotating or shaking your food halfway through. air fryers are almost completely independent, but not 100% for a perfectly cooked meal, you'll want to take the time to flip or rotate the food or shake it when it's halfway through cooking some air fryers have a reminder for you others don't, so If you find you always forget to rotate the food, what I suggest is to simply set the timer for the first half, let it go off, rotate the food and then set the timer for the second half of the cooking time.

Mistake number five: not checking the temperature of the food if you want. To get the best results from the meat you cook in your air fryer, you'll want to invest in a small instant read digital meat thermometer, they're cheap for under $20 and very useful for making sure you're not overcooking or undercooking. your food, I go into more detail about this in my video, all about cooking chicken in the air fryer, so be sure to check out the notes below for that mistake number six of not giving air to your air fryer, what the hell am I talking about ? cooking air to make sure your fryer has enough circulation make sure you have at least five inches of space between your fryer and the wall which will allow you to have enough circulation and will also protect the walls you also want to make sure there is some space under your fryer, this will help with air circulation and will also protect your countertops when you have it on a wood cutting board or something else that is a heat resistant surface.

I have another cutting board that I use to I put the basket hot when I am taking it out and rearranging food or serving mistake number seven: cooking fatty foods incorrectly, as I mentioned before, you don't need oil for fatty foods as the fat will cook out of food. and when landing on the drip basket, you'll get better results if you put a little water in there that way, when that fatty oil lands in there, it will hit the water instead of the metal and avoid all the disgusting smoke that people sometimes experience. in your fryers, mistake number eight cooking in the fryer without cleaning at first thinking about cleaning the fryer between cooking sessions may sound like a headache, but it is actually very easy, the longer you leave the food in the fryer, The harder it will be to clean up the crumbs left in the basket, they will burn to a crisp the next time you use your air fryer and will be even harder to clean, plus it could and probably will change the taste of your food.

It creates a lot of smoke and strange smells, so take a few minutes, place it in the sink, fill it with some hot water and soap, and let it soak. It doesn't take long because most air fryers have that non-stick coating. Some air fryer baskets are dishwasher safe. It's safe, but it takes up a lot of space in the dishwasher and I want to be a little more careful with it to protect that layer, so washing it in the sink is so quick and easy that I let it air dry, so I always plan on cleaning the basket immediately after using it, if you have grease in the bottom of the basket you can pour it out immediately if you have a safe place to dispose of it or let it harden a little and I just like to use paper. towels to clean that, then I soak the pan in hot soapy water and occasionally you'll want to do a deeper cleaning on your fryer.

Watch that video soon and I'll put a link to that below in the notes for mistake number nine when cooking wet foods, first of all, you can't air fry foods that have a wet batter, but most importantly any food without Any bread you want crispy and golden brown should be patted dry first, so this applies to all your proteins. and your vegetables, it will give you a nice crispy finish without drying out the food or steaming it. Mistake number 10: not adapting the recipes. Air frying food is not a perfect conversion from baking instructions to air fryer instructions, since the air fryer is so compact, it cooks food faster, so you will need to adjust the time and temperature when cooking food, so a good rule of thumb is to decrease the temperature by 10 to 25 degrees and then start with half the cooking time and that's the beauty of an air fryer you can easily adapt and adjust any type of recipe mistake number 11 not using your air fryer to reheat leftovers, say goodbye to soggy leftovers, reheating leftovers in the air fryer is the best way to bring food back to life, yes, it takes a little longer than the microwave, but it's faster than reheating in the oven and it's worth it.

I love to reheat restaurant leftovers or French fries or leftover pizza, so I usually throw the leftovers in the air fryer at 350 for three to five minutes, sometimes that's perfect. other times I just add a couple more minutes, easy mistake number 12, not using useful tools now you don't need to go out and buy more accessories for your air fryer, you can do that if you want, but there are other things you can use, for example, me. I love using aluminum foil to make a foil sling which helps remove delicate meats and biscuits from the fryer or I buy parchment paper with holes in it, it's great for foods like chicken parmesan or coconut shrimp, they are a little more dirty in the air. air fryer Please note that you should never put wax paper or paper towels in your air fryer as they could melt or blow into the heating element and cause a fire so let's not do that if you are going to use aluminum foil make sure you don't do that .

Don't go all the way to the sides, you want to make sure you have room for air to circulate as that's how it cooks. You can make a few small slits in the soil to leave more room for air, but usually just the bottom rack of the air fryer basket works very well, you should get that pun and remember that if it's oven safe, it's safe use it in your fryer. I've used cupcake liners, silicone molds, oven-safe glass dishes, and even small cake pans in my air fryer. Would you like more? air fryer recipes and tips, be sure to subscribe here and let me know if you have any questions in the comments below or tell me what kind of video you would like me to make next.

I have more air fryer recipes for you right here, but I think you'll like this one too thanks for looking. See you in the next video.