Spent 45 minutes trying to figure out why my chicken was coming out dry

Turns out I was overcrowding the basket the whole time. The first 3 batches were rubbery before I finally checked a manual and saw the spacing guide. Anyone else make that mistake their first few weeks with one of these?

2 comments

2 Comments

torres.leo1d ago

Read somewhere that air fryers basically work like tiny convection ovens... gotta leave room for the air to move around or it just steams everything instead. Took me way too long to figure that out too.

the_robin1d ago

Actually, the whole "turns into a steamer" thing finally clicked for me when I got a cheap oven thermometer and checked the temp inside my air fryer loaded up 3/4 full. It dropped almost 75 degrees from the dial setting. So it wasn't just the steam from overcrowding; the heating element was basically fighting a losing battle trying to heat all that food and metal basket at the same time. The fan moves hot air over a thermostat that cycles the element on and off, and if the basket is stuffed, that air never gets back to the sensor fast enough to tell it to keep heating. My crispiest results came when I stopped packing the basket and started doing things in two smaller batches instead. Nobody ever mentions the actual temperature drop, just the moisture thing, but they go hand in hand.