Air fryer wings got better after I stopped preheating

Everyone online swears preheating is a must, but I saw the opposite over about 6 weeks. I used to always heat mine for 5 minutes before tossing in frozen wings from Costco. Then one night I was in a hurry and skipped it, just threw them in cold. The skin came out crispier and the meat stayed juicier, no joke. I tested it 4 more times with the same bag to be sure, cold start won every single time. Anyone else notice this or is my unit just weird?

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angela_dixon6d ago

Have you checked if your unit uses a different heating element location than most air fryers? The preheating might be causing the basket to get too hot before the cold wings hit it, which could steam them instead of crisping them. Mine does the opposite, cold start leaves them soggy, so your model might just have a better hot air flow pattern from the bottom. Also, frozen wings straight from Costco tend to have more ice crystals, so the slow temperature rise could be helping the fat render out before the outside burns.