Add This Extra Step To Make Air Fryer Food Extra Crispy

Food motto #1: The crispier the better. After all, who wants a soggy french fry or a dry piece of chicken? Luckily, achieving crispiness is easy with the help of a trusty kitchen gadget: the air fryer. Countless home cooks love this appliance for its convenience, affordability, and energy efficiency. As the name suggests, food is cooked to crispy perfection with the use of a fan that ensures hot air gets circulated evenly. The heat cooks the food's interior while the air dries out the surface, resulting in a browned, crunchy exterior. However, adding oil partway through cooking can take the crisp factor to a whole new level.

You don't need a deep fryer to achieve county fair-level crispiness. And since the air fryer requires little to no oil to begin with, you don't have to worry about your food getting overly oily or greasy. The key is lightly coating the food with a brush halfway through the cook time. The addition of oil allows for even heat distribution and coats the surface, keeping the moisture inside while still getting that beautiful golden-brown color and rich crispiness. Yet another great advantage of a little oil is that it keeps food from sticking to the air fryer.

Before adding just any oil to your air fryer, make sure to check the smoke point. An oil with a high smoke point can withstand higher temperatures before it breaks down and starts to — you guessed it — smoke. This is essential for kitchen safety and to prevent the food from developing a bitter taste. Refined avocado oil, refined peanut oil, and soybean oil can all reach 450 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, so all of these are excellent choices for nearly any air fryer food.

Avoid oils with lower smoke points such as extra-virgin olive oil, butter, and unrefined coconut oil, unless you're cooking at a temperature under 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For best results, apply oil lightly with a pastry brush or use an oil spray for even distribution. Reminder: Don't use nonstick cooking sprays (as distinct from oil sprays) in your air fryer, as these could damage the appliance's coating.

So, what foods could benefit the most from this hack? Pretty much anything that you want to be extra crispy or crunchy — allow us to recommend these 29 air fryer dinner recipes. Just imagine how good this air fryer cauliflower steak will be.