I tried that whole 'preheat for 5 minutes' rule and it ruined my chicken last Tuesday

Everyone in this group swears by preheating the air fryer for exactly 5 minutes before adding food. But last Tuesday I did that with some chicken thighs and they came out dry as cardboard on the outside and still raw in the middle. I put them in at 375 for 18 minutes like always but the preheat just blasts the outside too fast. Ever since then I skip preheating completely and my food cooks way more even. Has anyone else had better luck just tossing food in cold?

2 comments

2 Comments

avery_roberts6724d ago

Yeah the whole "always preheat" thing gets treated like gospel around here. I did the same thing with chicken thighs and got that perfect outside but raw middle too. Cold start gang is where it's at for anything thick, you just gotta add a few minutes to the time.

nelson.gavin22d ago

See, I've actually had the opposite problem with cold starts... meat doesn't brown right and ends up steamed instead of crispy. Preheating gives you that instant sear that locks in flavor.