Method · Hot and dry

Air fry

Get crisp food fast from a small box, without a pot of oil.

An air fryer doesn’t fry. It is a small, strong convection oven: a heating element and a fan in a tight space. That makes it very good at one thing, which is crisping small amounts of food fast. Treat it like a tiny oven and it makes sense.

This lesson is free, start to finish. So is every other one.

At a glance

Best for: Wings, thighs, cutlets, potatoes, vegetables, reheating anything crisp
Heat: 375 to 400°F for most things
Time: 8 to 25 minutes
Level: Start here

What you need

An air fryer: Basket or oven style. Bigger is better: the basket floor is what limits you.
Instant-read thermometer: Brown outside does not mean done inside.
Tongs: To turn and to get food out of a hot basket.
An oil mister or a brush: Not aerosol cooking spray. It can wear down a nonstick basket.

Why it works

Fast-moving hot air dries the surface of food quickly, and a dry surface browns and crisps. A big oven does the same thing more slowly because the air moves less and the space is larger. The air fryer’s limit is its size. Stack the food and the air can’t get around it, and you are back to steaming.

The rules

One layer, with gaps. Cook in batches.
Dry the food. Then a thin coat of oil. A teaspoon does a whole basket.
Shake or turn halfway through.
Preheat for 3 minutes if your model doesn’t do it for you.
From an oven recipe: drop the temperature 25 degrees and start checking at two-thirds of the time.

Chicken, step by step

Pat bone-in thighs or wings very dry. Salt them. A little baking powder in the salt helps the skin crisp.
Heat the fryer to 380°F.
Lay the chicken in skin side down, in one layer.
Cook 10 to 12 minutes. Turn skin side up.
Cook 8 to 12 minutes more, until the skin is crisp and the thickest part reads 165°F. Thighs are better at 175°F.
Rest 5 minutes. Sauce after cooking, not before.

Vegetables and potatoes

Cut even pieces. Dry, oil lightly, salt.
Broccoli, sprouts and green beans: 375°F for 8 to 12 minutes.
Potatoes: soak the cut pieces in cold water for 20 minutes, dry them well, then 380°F for 18 to 22 minutes, shaking twice.
Leafy things blow around and burn. Leave them out.

Reheating

This is the air fryer’s best trick. Leftover pizza, fried chicken, roasted potatoes and fries come back crisp in 3 to 5 minutes at 350°F. A microwave makes them soft. Reheat leftovers to 165°F.

When it goes wrong

Soggy, not crisp: Too much in the basket, or wet food. One layer, patted dry.
Dry and tough: Too long, or no oil at all. A thin coat of oil and an earlier check.
Brown outside, raw inside: Too hot for the thickness. Drop to 360°F and give it longer.
White smoke: Fat is burning in the tray under the basket. Put a tablespoon of water in the tray before fatty foods.
Breading fell off: It wasn’t pressed on, or it went in dry. Press the coating on firmly and mist it with oil.

Learn next

← Smoke Poach →