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My friend in Phoenix said she never preheats her air fryer
I was at her place and she just put frozen chicken strips straight in from the freezer. She said it saves time and the results are the same. I tried it with some Ore-Ida fries for 12 minutes at 400 degrees and they came out perfectly crispy. Does skipping the preheat actually work for everything, or just certain frozen foods?
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alexpalmer6mo ago
Yeah, that tracks. I mean, frozen stuff is already, like, super cold and the air fryer heats up so fast anyway. Might be a total waste of time to preheat for anything that comes out of the freezer.
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joelh296mo ago
Ever wonder if it wears out the heating element faster?
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williams.luna4mo ago
I get what you're saying, but I'd argue preheating still matters for frozen foods if you want that crispy outside. @alexpalmer, I've found that without preheating, frozen fries often come out unevenly cooked and a bit oily on one side. It might cost you a couple extra minutes, but the texture difference is worth it to me.
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the_julia6mo ago
Whoa, your friend is onto something! I totally do the same thing with my air fryer now. I never preheat for frozen stuff, like those exact fries or even frozen meatballs. They always come out fine. I did try it with fresh broccoli once though, and it was a bit soggy, so maybe it's just a frozen food hack. Saves a solid five minutes, so why not?
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