Stopped preheating for 6 months, finally realized I was wrong

I used to always preheat my air fryer. Every single time, 3 to 5 minutes. Thought it was required, like a oven. Then I tried a recipe that said to skip it. Put frozen chicken tenders in cold, set to 400 for 12 minutes. Came out perfect, crispy outside, juicy inside. Now I only preheat for stuff like fresh dough or when I'm doing a quick sear on steak. Saves me about 10 minutes a day across multiple batches. Took me way too long to test it. Anyone else still religious about preheating or did you figure this out sooner?

1 comments

1 Comment

christophermurray3d ago

Honestly I'm the opposite, I preheat every time and I've noticed a real difference with stuff like frozen fries or anything breaded. They just come out way more even for me, but hey, your results are your results and mine are mine. I'll probably keep doing it since my batches are quick anyway, but it does make me wonder if my unit just runs cooler than yours.