The Tin Foil Hack To Get A Better Sear On Air Fryer Steak
Everyone has their favorite kitchen appliance. If you're a professional chef, perhaps it's your chef's knife. Home cooks may like gadgets that help put dinner on the table quickly, like crockpots, or instant pots. If you're someone who can't live without your air fryer, you'll join 36% of American households who also own one. While an air fryer is great for crisping up frozen fries, it can be used to cook more unique things, like hard-boiled eggs. Air fryers can even cook raw protein, much like an oven, except with a crispier skin.
An entire chicken can be cooked in an air fryer and significantly cut down the cooking time. If you want to enjoy a fried fish taco, sans the oil, look to your air fryer. You can even cook steak in an air fryer, though there are some tips to ensure you don't wind up with a rubbery mess. Even acclaimed chef Gordon Ramsay cooks up steak that looks restaurant-worthy in his air fryer. Before you dive right in, you'll want to add some foil to the bottom of the fryer, but not for the reason you may think.
Crumple it up
If you accidentally reheat your tinfoil-wrapped food in the microwave, you risk a room full of smoke or even a fire. When it comes to an air fryer, though, tin foil can actually be your best friend. One of the best air fryer hacks is lining the basket with foil to ensure easy cleanup. When it comes to cooking a steak, you'll want to use your foil to help with the actual cooking of the steak.
A good steak should have a good, hard sear. Not only does the sear lock the juices in, but it also creates a crispy crust. If you want to obtain a great sear in the air fryer, you'll need to cook the steak atop crumpled-up foil. Instead of neatly laying the foil in the basket, you'll want to fold the foil very unevenly, or even a bit crumbled up, so that the steak gets closer to the primary heat source. The closer the steak gets to the heat, the more brown and crusty the outside becomes, and who doesn't love that?!
Before the steaks are put into the air fryer, they need to be oiled and seasoned to your personal taste. If you want a medium rare steak, aim for a 10-minute total cook time, flipping at the halfway mark. Just like with other steak cooking methods, you'll need to rest your steak outside the fryer. Resting meat ensures the juices stay locked in for the best texture and flavor.