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Unpopular opinion: preheating your air fryer is a waste of 4 minutes, just add 2 to the cook time instead
I used to sit there and wait for my basket to hit 375 before anything went in, which meant standing around for 4 or 5 minutes doing nothing. Last Tuesday I got impatient with a batch of frozen wings and tossed them in cold, then just tacked 2 extra minutes onto the timer. They came out exactly the same, crispy skin and all, and I timed it at 24 minutes total instead of 20 plus the preheat. I have done this now with frozen fries, nuggets, and a salmon filet, and nothing has come out soggy or raw in the middle. The only thing I would not do this with is anything breaded that needs to set fast, like homemade chicken parm. Has anyone else ditched the preheat button, or am I about to ruin something I have not tried yet?
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troythompson9d ago
Get why you would skip it but the preheat actually matters for anything you want browned right away, not just cooked through. Cold start means the basket and food heat up together, so you get more of a slow bake in those first few minutes and stuff like fresh veggies or thin fish ends up steamed instead of seared. Two extra minutes works fine for frozen stuff since it is already par cooked, but try it with raw chicken breast or a steak and you will taste the difference.
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