That $40 silicone air fryer liner made everything soggy and ruined my chicken wings

I tried one of those cheap silicone baskets from Amazon to save on cleanup and now half my batch came out steaming instead of crispy, has anyone else had that issue with those things?

2 comments

2 Comments

tylerlane25d ago

Did you preheat the air fryer with the liner already in it? I made that mistake once and it basically trapped steam underneath the silicone, turned my wings into rubbery messes. Also check if the liner has holes in the bottom or if it's solid like a bowl.

skyler_fox7225d ago

Devil's advocate here - preheating with the liner in can actually help the air fryer come up to temp faster since you're trapping a little heat pocket around the food. The steam issue people talk about is real but only if you're cooking really wet stuff like frozen wings straight from the bag. If you pat your chicken dry first and use a liner with some little holes in it, that trapped steam actually keeps things from drying out too much. I've done it both ways and honestly got better results preheating with the liner for things like tenders and nuggets where you want a little moisture retention. The rubbery wing problem is more about overcrowding the basket or using too much sauce than the liner itself.