When roasting, your air fryer will default to a higher temperature and cook for a shorter amount of time than air frying, which makes it suitable for cooking beef or poultry (hello, chicken wings!) like you would in a traditional oven.
Oven-baking brings a whole host of benefits that can be incredibly helpful to your health: No oil needed: Unlike an air fryer, you do not need to add an extra drop of oil to oven-bake your food, unless the recipe calls for it. This reduces the chances of harmful contaminants seeping into your food from the cooking oil.
High heat is the best for cooking steak, because the less time it spends cooking, the more tender it will be. That makes the air fryer GREAT for cooking steak. The air fryer cooks food by blowing intensely hot air down and around it—an ideal way to make juicy, tender steak that will have your family oohing and ahhing.
Frying and roasting are two popular cooking methods that both use high, dry heat. Frying describes the preparation of meat, fish and vegetables with oil or fat in a pan, while roasting is particularly popular for larger cuts of meat and is done in the oven.
It is safe to cook raw meat in the air fryer if it is fully defrosted, seasoned, and monitored. Some fully cooked foods, including chicken tenders or fries, can be placed frozen in the air fryer. However, with raw meat, it's recommended to thoroughly defrost to allow more even cooking and a tasty final product.
Oil is a saturated fat and is therefore, high in calories. The addition of oil in frying adds to the calorie count of the food. However, baking does not add any additional calories and fats to the foods you cook and is thus, always preferred over frying.
Roasted chicken is a healthy choice, especially compared to fried chicken. The rotisserie method drains the fat, while fried chicken absorbs it.
Air frying is a quick roasting method, so it's ready in about half the time it would take in a regular oven. This stops the meat from drying out, and because the meat sits in a basket rather than in a pan of oil, it absorbs less oil but still retains the moisture making it tender and juicy.
You can use it for anything you'd bake or roast. I've air fried salmon, chicken, and whatever else I've needed to cook easily and quickly with little mess.
As with all dry-heat cooker methods (grilling, broiling, pan frying and oven roasting), tender beef cuts perform best in the air fryer. Those cuts include Top Sirloin, KC Strip, Ribeye, Tenderloin and Tri Tip. Ground beef also can be easily prepared in an air fryer.
Thin steaks are prone to overcooking quickly and becoming chewy. To enjoy the best flavor and texture, allow the steaks to come to room temperature at least 30 minutes before cooking them in the air fryer.
An air fryer is simply a small oven that runs on convection heat. The heat is circulated around a tight space by a powerful fan that lies just below or behind the heating element. Just as in a standard oven, it is perfectly safe to use aluminum foil in the air fryer.
Air fryers don't use a lot of electricity, with most requiring between 800 and 1800 watts (W) to run, though some large models need more. Air fryers also use less electricity than electric ovens, which typically use around 2,200 W to 5,000 W, and therefore cost more to run.
Fried chicken might taste delicious, but frying chicken increases the fat content. Roasted chicken is a better option because it has lower saturated fats and cholesterol. It's also packed with protein, vitamin B12 and iron. If you're looking to increase protein in your diet, roasted chicken is an excellent source.
The name of the dish can be referred to as either 'roast chicken' or 'roasted chicken'. There isn't a difference. It's more normal to use the 'roast' version, though. For example, you might say 'For Sunday lunch, we usually have roast beef with roast potatoes.
You can successfully roast a chicken at pretty much any oven temperature, though the timing and results will vary. Go low and slow for a very tender, falling-off-the-bone flesh and softer skin (say, 300 to 350 degrees for 1 ½ to 2 hours or so).
In my (humble) opinion, the best method for cooking vegetables is to roast them. From Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Broccoli to Garlic & Parmesan Roasted Carrots, roasting vegetables is an easy process that yields deliciously crispy results. Plus, roasting requires minimal hands-on effort (and who doesn't love that?).
Using oil in an air fryer is perfectly fine and helps the meat to remain moist and come out looking golden brown. However, a little oil in an air fryer does go a long way. With most cuts of pork, simply rubbing some oil into the meat will be all you need. You can use either regular olive oil or a spray oil.
Converting oven recipes for your air fryer
When taking a recipe from oven to air fryer, the general rule is to reduce the temperature by 20ºC – 30ºC, and cook for 20% less time.