air fryer Cooks a lot of food well and does it quickly. We’re big fans of the little things. countertop appliances A few experiments with the air fryer in this house didn’t go as well as expected. There’s no other way, I’m going to cook wings, French friesyesternight pizza Or even the whole thing chicken. And as much as it may be a miracle machine, there are some foods that aren’t worth cooking in an air fryer, which is tempting in itself.
Leafy greens, certain lean meats, and other foods no longer fit in your air fryer basket. The most recurring problem is that the cooking speed of an air fryer can cause some foods that don’t have a lot of oil or density to dry out, burn, or turn crispy too quickly.
Here are 8 foods that should not be cooked in an air fryer.
1. Lean pork ribs or tenderloin
Boneless pork ribs dry out too easily in an air fryer.
Perfectly cooked pork chops are beautiful, but other thin cuts of white meat can dry out quickly. Bacon, bone-in pork chops, and meaty pork cuts can be used in the air fryer, but lean pork, boneless pork chops, and tenderloin tend to dry out when exposed to high heat. If you want to cook pork ribs in an air fryer, keep the temperature low and use a little fat to keep them from getting too dry.
2. Spinach and leafy vegetables
Crunchy spinach and kale don’t come out well when cooked in an air fryer.
Leafy vegetables are a definite no-no when cooking in the air fryer. Hot convection air makes most leafy greens, like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard, crunchier than you want to eat them. Firm vegetables like Brussels sprouts, squash, and zucchini work well in the air fryer, but leafy vegetables are best sautéed, boiled, or steamed.
3. Steak
Steaks cooked in an air fryer can become tough and tough.
steak It worked well when heated in an air fryer, but it didn’t work well at first. The air fryer basket will get hot, but not hot enough to properly sear the outside of the steak. I’ve tried cooking a steak using an air fryer. Even fatty, generous steaks don’t come out as good as when grilled on a hot plancha; cast iron skillet or grill.
4. Chicken breast without breadcrumbs
Unbreaded chicken breast is not the best candidate.
Chicken wings, thighs, and any bone-in pieces are perfect candidates for the air fryer. Boneless chicken breast doesn’t have a lot of fat, so it gets dry easily. Just protect it with a little egg batter and bread crumbs and you’ll be fine. However, chicken breast cooked in an air fryer often becomes dry or tough.
5. Cut the meat into large pieces.
Pot roasts generally require a low and slow cooking method.
Beef, pork and lamb are generally best cooked low and slow, such as stewing or stewing. smoking. When cooking large pieces of meat, avoid air fryers with hot convection air. Dutch ovenSlow cooker or pellet smoker.
6. Raw broccoli
An air fryer will scorch broccoli if you don’t cover it with foil.
If you wrap broccoli in foil, you can roast it (quickly) using an air fryer. Leaving it uncovered and exposed to hot convection air will leave you with sizzling broccoli tips that are not at all appetizing.
7. Shellfish
Clams and mussels are better cooked in a pot than in an air fryer.
Shellfish, such as clams and mussels, require liquid to cook without drying them out. It can also easily overcook, resulting in chewy, rubbery lumps that you don’t want anywhere near your plate. Do not use an air fryer to cook most shellfish.
8. Most baked goods
Cake and cookie recipes generally don’t translate well from the oven to the air fryer.
You can bake in an air fryer, but you have to be careful because the super-convection heat in an air fryer works differently than the convection heat in a regular oven.
Baking a batch of cakes or cookies in an air fryer using the time and temperature called for in the recipe often results in the dessert becoming overcooked, dry, or burned. When baking in an air fryer, use the following recipe. specific Don’t put it in the air fryer and assume the oven recipe will translate.
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