I'm the odd one out on preheating air fryers

Everyone swears you gotta preheat for crispy food, but last week I tossed frozen chicken wings in cold and they came out perfect in 22 minutes at 380. Am I missing something or does preheating just waste electricity for most stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

milestaylor17d ago

Everyone swears you gotta preheat for crispy food" - yeah, but that's not really how air fryers work in my experience. The whole point is the rapid air circulation, not the initial temp of the basket. I've thrown in frozen chicken tenders and frozen french fries cold plenty of times and they came out just as crispy as when I preheat. Truth is, most frozen stuff is already par-cooked, so the preheat just adds time and electricity for negligible difference. Your mileage may vary on non-frozen things like fresh veggies or homemade fries where a hot start might help with browning, but for frozen wings at 380 for 22 minutes you're probably fine. Take this with a grain of salt, but I think the preheat crowd gets a little dogmatic about it when the science doesn't really back it up for most everyday use.

lopez.karen17d agoTop Commenter

Oh, I gotta disagree a bit here. I've tested it side by side with frozen fries and the preheat batch was definitely crispier on the outside while the cold start ones were a little soggy. It is not a huge difference, but I do think it matters for that first batch.