Debate: Should you preheat your air fryer or not? My burnt wing story...

Okay so I was making buffalo wings last Friday and I got into this argument with my buddy Mark. He says you gotta preheat the air fryer for 5 mins before putting food in, like a regular oven. I never do that because I figure the whole point is fast cooking and why waste the time? Well I didn't preheat, threw 12 frozen wings in there at 380 for 20 mins, and they came out burnt on the outside and still cold inside... it was a mess. I had to toss half of them and start over with the preheat method. Now I'm wondering if preheating is actually the secret or if I just packed the basket too full. What do you guys think - preheat or no preheat? Anyone else have a similar fail story?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.alex1mo ago

Man, that exact thing happened to my buddy Dave with his air fryer last month. He ignored the preheat because he was in a rush before the game, threw in a bunch of those frozen battered fish fillets, and they came out all soggy and burned on one side. Had to scrape half the coating off just to salvage a few bites for a sandwich. Told me later he always runs it empty for 4 minutes now, and his stuff actually gets crispy how it's supposed to.

felix981mo ago

Have a buddy who did the same thing with chicken wings. Ruined his whole game day snack spread.