The air fryer cooks the bacon up really quickly and nice and crisp. It also it much less messy than frying it on the stove top. And I've found that air fryers are really easy to wipe or rinse clean and move on.
Unlike pan frying bacon, there's no splattering with air fryer bacon. I also add just under 1 cup of water to the air fryer basket to keep smoking at bay and to prevent any chances of splattering. Plus, clean up is easier with the water in the air fryer preventing any grease from baking on.
Bacon is safe to cook in the air fryer, but you need to make sure that you use the proper temperature and that your air fryer is clean before you begin. The best bacon air fryer temperature is 350 degrees F. This will crisp the bacon without causing it to smoke or burn.
Since the splatter is contained inside the kitchen appliance, air frying doesn't make nearly as much of a mess in your kitchen as a deep fryer. Yet food particles and burnt-on bits can easily build up in the nooks and crannies inside of the main unit and air fryer basket.
At their core, air fryers are essentially smaller-sized convection ovens. For this reason, commercial businesses don't benefit from them. Convection ovens may find uses in the food industry for certain items but have many limitations for broader service menus.
To keep the machine free from debris and prevent any greasy build up, the machine should be cleaned after every use or every few uses. When cooking in batches, try to remove any debris by letting the machine cool a bit and carefully wiping out with a paper towel in between batches.
Preheat an air fryer to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C) according to manufacturer's instructions. Lay bacon in the air fryer basket in a single layer; some overlap is okay. Fry for 8 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until bacon is crisp, about 7 minutes more.
It's less messy.
Cooking bacon on the stovetop can be a greasy mess, as fat pops and splatters around the frying pan. Bacon cooked in the oven is far less messy. If you line the baking sheet with aluminum foil, you should be able to wrap up the grease, and throw it all away.
Since food is suspended in the air fryer basket, most of the excess fat from the bacon will be rendered off during cooking. This makes air-fried bacon significantly healthier than bacon cooked in the oven or on the stovetop, because it isn't cooking in its own grease.
Yes! Aluminum foil can be used in the air fryer. Sometimes I like to line the outer basket in foil to catch the drippings.
Cooking bacon in a microwave isn't much better. You can cook bacon in a hot oven on a wire rack so that the fat drips onto a sheet pan. I think the air fryer might actually be the best and healthiest method for cooking bacon. The fat drips to the bottom of the bucket or tray, depending on your type of fryer.
In an air fryer, it's not uncommon for grease from cooking foods to splatter and circulate onto the heating element and result in fumes.
As the hot circulates inside the air fryer, this can cause hot liquids to splatter, which can be dangerous and messy.
Tips for Getting the Perfect Fried Egg in an Air Fryer
Preheat your air fryer to 370 °F (187 °C) for 3 minutes and don't forget to place the egg dishes inside. Once you crack the eggs into hot ramekins, the eggs will start cooking immediately. Cook your eggs on air fry mode (air crisp setting).
Here's why: Bacon doesn't require any excess oil or butter to cook because it's so full of fat. So when hot air is circulated around the bacon, your air fryer will fill up with rendered bacon fat, which will then burn and maybe even release smoke from your machine.
However, it's pretty tempting to throw a little foil in there to catch any drips and make clean-up even easier, but is that allowed? The short answer is yes, you can put aluminum foil in the air fryer.
Why Does Cooking Bacon in Water Work? The addition of water keeps the initial cooking temperature low and gentle, so the meat retains its moisture and stays tender as the fat renders. Plus, since the water helps render the fat, there will be significantly less splatter as your bacon finishes in the pan.
Luckily, cleaning an air fryer is easier to spruce up than some other gadgets, like cleaning an oven. All it takes is warm soapy water and a dishcloth to remove food buildup. The most time-consuming part is allowing the basket to soak if it has an excess amount of sticky residue.