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The great debate: preheating the air fryer or just tossing food in cold?
I used to always preheat my air fryer like the manual said (you know, 3-5 minutes at 400F). But last week I was in a rush and just threw some frozen chicken wings in without preheating, and honestly? They came out crispier on the outside and still juicy inside. The preheated batch took longer and dried out a bit. So what's the real move here, does preheating actually matter or is it just a waste of time? Has anyone else tested this side by side?
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leobrown1mo ago
The preheated batch took longer and dried out a bit" sounds exactly like my life choices. I spent three years preheating my air fryer like I was a dutiful appliance parent, then one hungover Sunday I just chucked some tater tots in cold and they turned out perfect. Now I'm questioning everything I know about cooking, which is already pretty shaky since I once set a microwave burrito on fire. So yeah, I'm on team no preheat now. My air fryer can just wake up when the food hits it.
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mason_barnes1mo ago
Whoa hold on, you set a microwave burrito on fire? That's honestly impressive. But yeah, I'm with you on the no preheat thing. I think people overthink air fryers. They're basically tiny convection ovens, and nobody preheats a regular oven for frozen stuff. You just toss it in and let it do its thing. Makes me wonder what other cooking rules I've been blindly following that are just a waste of time.
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