Why does nobody talk about preheating the basket separately?

I spent like 6 months wondering why my chicken thighs came out soggy on one side every time. Then I tried just running the air fryer empty for 3 minutes before adding the food. It made a huge difference, the outside gets crispy way faster now. Anyone else do this or am I late to the party?

3 comments

3 Comments

wells.christopher12h ago

Oh man, you're not late at all, I went through the same thing with pork chops for like two months. I was getting so frustrated because the bottom would come out all steamed and sad while the top was perfect. Then I read somewhere about the preheat thing and I was like "no way that's the fix." But sure enough I tried it and it's night and day. I even started timing it differently depending on what I'm cooking, like for wings I'll preheat a full 5 minutes because they take longer anyway and I want that initial blast of heat to really hit the skin. It's kind of funny how such a small step changes everything.

violag809h ago

Right, because waiting an extra 3 minutes for food that actually turns out crispy is clearly the downfall of modern civilization. Flipping halfway is cute and all but that initial cold start just lets the chicken steam in its own juices on the bottom like a sad little sauna. I'll happily waste a few pennies of electricity to avoid eating a soggy excuse for dinner.

fionafoster11h ago

4 minutes preheating for chicken thighs seems like overkill to me, I just toss them in cold and flip halfway through and they turn out fine. @wells.christopher I get that you're into the timing thing with wings but honestly soggy chicken sounds more like you crowded the basket than a preheat problem. Is the extra 3 minutes really saving your dinner or just wasting electricity?