Tried making frozen chicken wings without preheating the air fryer

I tossed a bag of frozen wings in my air fryer at 400°F without waiting for it to heat up first. They came out unevenly cooked, some parts were dry and others were still cold near the bone. Learned you really need to let it run empty for 3-5 minutes before adding food, especially with frozen stuff. Has anyone else messed up their cook time by skipping the preheat step?

3 comments

3 Comments

hart.mark1mo ago

Uneven cooking is just part of the deal with frozen wings. Preheating helps but a good shake halfway through is what really evens things out. People act like 3 minutes is make or break but the air fryer recovers temperature in seconds anyway.

elizabethg181mo ago

Wait, people actually preheat their air fryers? I've never once done that and my wings come out fine.

park.robin8d ago

Yeah @elizabethg18 I used to skip preheating too until I had the same exact problem you had OP. The cold spots near the bone drove me crazy especially with frozen wings. What finally worked for me was letting it run empty for like 5 minutes while I tossed the wings in some oil and seasoning. Then I shake them halfway through like hart.mark said. Now they come out crispy all over no raw parts. Just takes that little extra patience upfront.