Showerthought: Is preheating your air fryer actually worth the extra 5 minutes?

Last Wednesday I was in a rush and threw my frozen chicken tenders straight into a cold air fryer. They came out fine, maybe a tiny bit less crispy on the outside. But the week before I preheated for 5 minutes and got that perfect golden crunch all over. I've been doing this for about 8 months now and I'm honestly torn. Does waiting for the preheat really make a difference with frozen stuff, or am I just wasting time for no real change in texture? Anyone else done a side by side test on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese_patel4d ago

five minutes for preheating" is just gonna be annoying to someone who's hungry, but I'd argue it matters with breaded stuff. My homemade zucchini chips get drenched in the air fryer if I skip preheat, they just soak up leftover moisture instead of crisping right away. Frozen stuff is already partially cooked so it's less picky, but even then, tenders come out a little sad and pale without that hot start. You do you though, I'm probably being extra.

blairm354d ago

Preheat shmeat, man. You really think soggy zucchini chips are a tragedy or something? They're squash slices with breadcrumbs, not a souffle. I've thrown frozen tenders in a cold basket more times than I can count and they come out golden and fine, maybe a bit less perfect but still edible and crispy enough. @reese_patel is probably timing air fryer preheats with a stopwatch while the rest of us just want dinner before 9pm.