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

got an air fryer but you're a little nervous to use it today i'm going to show you the top 12 mistakes people make when using an air fryer knowing these will prevent you from making mistakes so you can get the best results from your air fryer rather than learning the hard way and if you're new here to my channel welcome my name is kathy from fabulouslyforgoal.com and i'm sharing easy airfryer recipes and airfryer tips and tricks just like this one now don't worry i made some of these mistakes myself so my loss is your gain and if you're new to the air fryer be sure to also check out my airfryer 101 video i will link to that and many other recipes down in the notes below you ready to learn these air for your mistakes let's go mistake number one not investing in a good air fryer it's tempting to buy a cheap air fryer to save some extra dollars but in the long run it's a waste of money if you're not gonna buy a good one not only will you get subpar results from your food a common complaint from cheap air fryers is that the non-stick coating starts peeling off within a few months and then you're just gonna 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 doing some research be sure to take some time to read through the reviews and make sure you're buying an air fryer with excellent quality 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 air fryer and the philips xxl airfryer in my kitchen and between the two i actually prefer the kasore it's cheaper it's lighter weight and i feel like it cooks the food just as well as the more expensive fillers mistake number two overcrowding the basket one of the most important rules of air frying is not over crop basket you'll see in the marketing pictures that they've got the baskets overflowing with food and that's just not right instead fill your basket no more than halfway full the only exception that i found with this rule is frozen airfryer wings i generally do load up the basket because they shrink and lose a lot of water as they're cooking i've got a video down below i will link to that teaches you more about that now if you don't want to cook your food in batches to avoid overcrowding consider getting a larger airfryer in fact i advise that you get an air fryer that's a little bit larger than you think you actually need i don't think you'll regret that purchase and instead of looking at the capacity size i recommend looking at the dimensions of the basket and most importantly paying attention to that horizontal space where you can lay food flat my 5.8 kasori basket is a 9x9 basket and it's a great size for me and it doesn't take up a ton of counter space also keep in mind when you're looking for an air fryer the square pan is gonna be able to fit more inside of it than a circular panel mistake number three you're doing the oil all wrong even though an air fryer is marketed as a healthier way to fry foods most of the foods you cook will need a little oil if you're looking for that truly crispy finish i'm gonna help you know when you need oil how much oil to use and what the best type of oil to use is some people go crazy and use way too much oil and others aren't using enough or they're not using any at all when they really should be oil not only helps transfer the heat it's gonna help make the food crispier as a general rule of thumb you only need one to two teaspoons of oil for breaded foods like fries if you want a crispy finish just a light coating will do and you can always add more oil at the end of the cooking cycle if you want more crispiness on your food oil also works great for foods like these roasted potatoes and rather than a spray you can just stir the food up in a mixture of oil and seasonings which leads me to another reason you might want some oil it helps the spices and seasonings adhere to the food like in these airfryer chicken thighs or this airfryer pork if your food is already fatty like bacon or hamburger patties or chicken wings you don't even need oil and of course if you're using your airfryer for baking like cookies and these cakes you don't need any oil at all you also want to make sure you're using the right kind of oil first of all it's best to avoid pressurized and canned sprayers it's because they contain propellants and chemicals which have been shown to cause problems with the coating inside the air fryer basket plus they're chemicals that you don't want in your food anyway so instead purchase a good oil sprayer and put your favorite oil in it i have a link for what i like to use down in the notes below in the meantime while you're waiting for that just pour a little oil on a paper towel and you can wipe down the inside of your basket for cooking foods like chicken or donuts and things like that and last note about the oil you need to know about smoke points when you cook food in your air fryer you're going to want to use an oil that has a higher smoke point i have more details about that down in the notes below i personally like to use avocado oil it has a higher smoke point and it's healthier than vegetable oil and canola oil mistake number four not rotating or shaking your food halfway through cooking air fryers are almost completely hands off but not 100 for a perfectly cooked meal you're gonna want to take time to flip or rotate the food or shake it when it's halfway through cooking some airfryers have a reminder for you others don't so if you find yourself always forgetting to rotate the food what i suggest is just setting the timer for the first half letting that go off rotating the food and then setting the timer for the second half of the cooking time mistake number five not checking the food's temperature if you want to get the best results from the meat that you cook in your air fryer you're going to want to invest in a small instant read digital meat thermometer they're cheap under 20 and so helpful to make sure you don't undercook or overcook 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 the notes below for that one mistake number six not giving your air fryer air what the heck am i talking about air fryers need air to cook to make sure your air fryer is getting enough circulation ensure you've got at least five inches of space between your air fryer and the wall that's going to allow it to have enough circulation and also protect your walls you also want to make sure that there's some space underneath your air fryer this is going to help with the air circulation and also protect the counter tops when you have it on a wood cutting board or something else that's a heat resistant surface i have another cutting board that i use to set the hot basket on when i'm pulling it out and rearranging food or serving the food mistake number seven cooking fatty foods incorrectly like i mentioned earlier you don't need oil for fatty foods since the fat is going to be cooking off the food and landing in the drip basket you'll have better results if you put a little water down there that way when that fatty oil lands down there it's going to hit the water instead of metal and it's gonna prevent all the yucky smoking that sometimes people experience in their airfryers mistake number eight cooking in the airfryer without cleaning at first thinking about cleaning the airfryer in between cooking sessions can sound like a pain in the neck right but it's actually super easy the longer you leave your food in the air fryer the harder it's going to be to clean it off the crumbs that are left behind in the basket are going to burn to a crisp the next time you use your air fryer and be even harder to clean plus it could be changing the taste of your food and will likely lead to a lot of smoke and funky smells so just take a few minutes put it in your sink fill it up with some hot soapy water and let it soak it doesn't take long because most airfryers have that nonstick coating some airfryer baskets are dishwasher safe but they take so much room in the dishwasher and i want to be a little extra careful with it to protect that coating so just washing it off in the sink is so quick and easy then i set it out to air dry so just always plan on cleaning the basket right after you use it if you got 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 up a little bit and i just like to use paper towels to wipe that out then i soak the pan in the hot soapy water and occasionally you're going to want to do a deeper clean in your air fryer watch for that video coming soon and i'll put a link to that down below in the notes mistake number nine cooking wet food first of all you cannot air fry foods that have a wet batter but more importantly any unbreaded food that you want to get crispy and browned you need to pat it dry first so this applies to all of your proteins and your veggies it'll get you a nice crispy finish without drying out the food or steaming it mistake number 10 not adapting recipes air frying food is not a perfect one to one conversion from baking instructions to air fryer instructions since the air fryer is so compact it cooks foods faster so you will need to adjust the time and temperature when you cook foods so a good rule of thumb is to decrease the temperature by 10 to 25 degrees and then start with half of the cooking time and that's the beauty of an air fryer you can easily adapt and adjust any sort of recipe mistake number 11 not using your air fryer to reheat leftovers yo say goodbye to soggy leftovers reheating leftovers in the air fryer is the best way to bring food back to life yes it does take a little bit longer than the microwave but it's faster than reheating in the oven and so worth it i love reheating leftovers from a restaurant or french fries or leftover pizza so i usually just throw leftovers in air fryer at 350 for three to five minutes sometimes that's perfect other times i just add a couple more minutes easy peasy mistake number 12 not using helpful tools now you don't need to go out and buy more accessories for your air fryer you can if you want but there's other things you can use for example i love using foil to make a foil sling which helps with lifting delicate meats and cookies out of the air fryer or i do buy the parchment paper with holes it's great for foods like chicken parmesan or coconut shrimp they're a little bit messier in the air fryer do note that you should never ever ever put wax paper or paper towels in your air fryer they could melt or blow up into the heating element and start a fire so let's not do that if you're going to use foil make sure you don't go all the way to the sides you want to make sure you have room for the air to circulate since that's how it cooks you could put some little splits in the soil to make some more room for air but usually just the bottom grate of the airfryer basket works out great should catch that pun and remember if it's oven safe it's safe to go in your air fryer i've used ramekins cupcake liners silicone molds oven safe glass dishes and even small cake pans in my air fryer would you like more airfryer recipes and tips be sure to hit subscribe right here and let me know if you have any questions down in the comments below or tell me what kind of video you would like me to do next i have more airfryer recipes for you right here but i think you're gonna like this one as well thanks for watching i'll see you on the next video

Channel: Fabulessly Frugal

Views: 1,097,814

Rating: 4.9344134 out of 5

Keywords: fabulesslyfrugal, fabulously frugal, air fryer recipes, how to use an air fryer, air fryer, how to cook in an air fryer, air fryer tutorial, air fryer tips, philips airfryer, cosori air fryer, air fryer recipe, air fryer mistakes, use air fryer first time, how to use air fryer, how to use air fryer first time, using an air fryer, airfryer recipes, air fryer french fries

Id: c1MpZrOy0-A

Length: 10min 30sec (630 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 06 2020