The air fryer is one of Ree Drummond’s favorite kitchen appliances. She may have jumped on the trend because air fryers make foods like fries that were once considered unhealthy healthier by cooking with rapidly circulated hot air rather than hot grease. Another important feature is the ease of cleanup! Every now and then, air fryers do require a thorough cleaning, just like any other kitchen appliance, which may lead you to wonder, how do you clean an air fryer?
To provide step-by-step instructions, we turned to the experts: chefs who use air fryers on a regular basis. We’ve put together the best tips for keeping your air fryer as clean as it was when you first bought it below. So you can make all your favorite air fryer recipes, such as chicken wings and chicken parmesan.
An Overview of Air Fryers
Deep-frying food submerges it in ultra-hot oil that penetrates every crevice, cooking the outsides at lightning speeds and leaving your food with a crackling-crisp crust. The workings of an air fryer are similar. With the same crispy crust as oil, but without the fat, they cook with scorching hot air instead of oil.
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Cleaning an Air Fryer
Different brands and models of air fryers use different cleaning protocols, but the basic cleaning steps remain the same. A submersion of the main unit is not permitted because it contains an electrical component.
Cool Down the Air Fryer
If you want to clean an air fryer that is still hot, let it cool down for at least 10 minutes before you try to clean it. After you’ve finished cooking, leave your air fryer basket or door open to speed things up. During this time, you should clean the rest of your kitchen.
Dispose of the crumbs
The basket-style air fryer is likely to have crumbs as an issue-small pieces of food can get trapped under the basket and burn, so you will need to clean them regularly. Dispose of the basket chamber by removing it and emptying it into the garbage. Crumbs should be disposed of in the garbage disposal, but large pieces should be thrown away in the trash.
To clean any errant crumbs from the door or hinges of your toaster oven-style air fryer, remove the crumb-catching tray from the bottom, shake it off over the sink or trash can, and use a brush.
Prepare the Basket, Tray, or Pan for Cleaning
When it comes to cleaning an air fryer basket, it’s just like cleaning any other dish, with warm water and soap. Hester has good news if you are too lazy to wash it by hand: Most removable baskets can fit into the top rack of a dishwasher, making cleaning a breeze.
The instructions manual for your particular air fryer should assure you that the pieces are dishwasher safe, although most pieces are dishwasher-safe. Have you noticed food crusting on the pan or basket? Soak the parts for 20 to 30 minutes in hot soapy water before throwing them in the dishwasher. You can then remove the softened gunk with a scrub brush.
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Interior Cleaning
Cleaning the inside of the air fryer is simple once the basket, tray, and pan have been removed. Using a damp kitchen sponge, wash the entire interior of the refrigerator with a little dish soap.
Cleaning your Air Fryer is Essential
The fan inside your air fryer not only circulates air and crumbs around your food, but also grease, moisture, and small, lightweight parts. There is a big mistake with air fryers: not cleaning them between uses. Food particles and grease can get into the fan’s mechanism and build up greasy build-up, which slows it down. It takes longer for food to air fry, and if the fan isn’t operating smoothly, the food won’t be as crisp.
Is it possible to deep clean an air fryer?
Essentially, it’s the same process as your light clean-up after cooking, just with a couple more steps. As an air fryer has a nonstick drawer, you can treat caked-on food as you would a nonstick pan if it is caked on. You can easily remove cooked-on grease and debris by adding water to your air fryer basket, turning it on high, and leaving it alone for a few minutes. Opening the drawer will reveal that debris and gunk have been effortlessly removed without any scrubbing or cleaning.
Does your fryer still have gunky removable parts? Using a soft-bristled toothbrush, gently scrub them for 30 minutes after they have been submerged in hot, soapy water. Toothpicks can be used to reach places that are difficult to clean, such as holes in the grate. Nevertheless, you should never immerse the whole air fryer in water.
Does the basket need a layer of parchment or foil?
If you layer too much parchment or aluminum foil on top of the recipe, it can prevent the air from circulating. In the event that pieces of small sizes are thrown around, they can get caught and burn on the heating element. You might want to use air fryer paper liners with holes if you are making messier recipes.
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What should you avoid when using an Air Fryer?
In order to maintain your air fryer’s nonstick coating, West advises taking extra care. It’s important to avoid using metal utensils inside your air fryer while cooking and preparing as well as using nonabrasive cleaning tools. It is best to be careful not to damage the coating because it causes food to stick even more to the components after it has been damaged.
Using a recipe as a guide for timing and temperature will always work better with air fryers because they work differently. You will be able to avoid burnt-on messes that require deep cleaning if you take this step.
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