Just realized my air fryer basket was the problem all along.

I heard a guy at the hardware store last week complaining his chicken always came out dry, and I thought about how my own results changed after I switched to a silicone liner (bought it for $8 on a whim). Has anyone else noticed a big difference with different basket types or accessories?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_bailey26d ago

The $8 silicone liner is probably not the real reason your chicken got better. Air fryers work by circulating hot air fast, and a silicone liner blocks some of that airflow. You might have just been cooking at a lower temperature or for less time without realizing it. The real problem with dry chicken is usually overcooking it. Get a good instant read thermometer and pull the chicken at 160-165F internal temp. That $15 gadget will fix your dry chicken more than any liner will.

charlie_roberts8726d ago

Came here to defend my $8 silicone liner purchase but @kevin_bailey just roasted me and my chicken. I mean look I'll be honest I barely know what I'm doing in the kitchen most days so maybe you're right. I just saw the liner on TikTok and thought oh that'll keep my air fryer clean and somehow my chicken came out less dry but correlation isn't causation I guess. But a meat thermometer though? That actually sounds like a solid plan because I've been cutting into my chicken to check if it's done and losing all the juices. Maybe I'll buy one and actually learn something instead of buying more random gadgets.

wright.drew7d ago

Does it feel like half the stuff we buy for our kitchens is just fixing problems we didn't have before? @kevin_bailey makes a good point about the airflow, that liner is probably trapping heat more than anything. I see this all the time with people buying extra racks and trays when the way the basket was made is fine on its own. Most of the time the simplest method and a decent thermometer is all you really need.