The trick to making the fries perfectly is to blanch them first. I know this is an extra step, but it is worth it. Blanching the potato sticks for 4 minutes helps par-cook the fries to just the right stage so that the air fryer can crisp up the exterior, but keep the interior moist and tender.
Do you need to parboil homemade chips? For a quicker fry, and to gurantee extra crispy fries, we'd recommend parboiling your cut potatoes until a fork goes into them easily (not to the point where they break easily once you check doneness with a fork).
There is no need to parboil potatoes before air frying. You can if you want to, and you may get slightly crispier potatoes. However, I find that pre-soaking them is enough to get them crispy (without the added effort).
Firstly, if your potatoes are still wet before being placed into an air fryer, this can cause your potatoes not to crispen up. You can avoid this by thoroughly patting dry your potatoes before you place them in the air fryer. Secondly, you might be putting in too many potato chips so they aren't cooking evenly.
Soaking the potatoes after they're cut draws out some of the starch which is naturally present in potatoes. This will result in a crispier fry. A thirty minute soak in cold water does the trick but you may soak them longer if you want. After soaking, be sure to dry the potatoes before you fry them.
What sets them apart from other crispy potatoes you might have encountered is the cooking process, which involves parboiling the potatoes before crisping them in a skillet. This allows for some of the starch to cook off, while also adding a big dose of flavor thanks to the salted water.
The most important part here is that you use cold water instead of boiled – if you boil the water first, the outside will cook faster than the inside resulting in an uneven texture. Cubed spuds will take around 15 minutes where larger chunks or whole new potatoes will be 20-25 minutes.
Don't fry fresh-cut potatoes
Soaking peeled, washed, and cut fries in cold water overnight removes excess potato starch, which prevents fries from sticking together and helps achieve maximum crispness.
Oil temperature
If the oil isn't hot enough, this sealing process takes longer. Meanwhile, the moisture that's meant to stay in the body of the chip is excreted, making what is supposed to be a crispy outer layer, damp and steeped.
Tip the chips into the bottom of an air fryer (the part with the paddle), add the oil, and toss the chips in the oil so they are evenly coated. Program the fryer to cook for 30 mins using the paddle. After this time, check that the chips are tender and cooked through. If they're not, cook for a further 5 mins.
Chop the potatoes into finger-sized chips, leaving the skin on, then tip into a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil and a pinch of sea salt and toss to coat. In batches, place the chips in the air-fryer* in a single layer and cook at 200°C for 30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, turning halfway.
If you want your fried foods to be crispy, you'll want to make sure you don't overfill the basket. The greater the accumulation of food that can heat up and melt, the more likely it will stick in the air fryer. It will also prevent food from becoming crispy and browned.
By using an air fryer, you can make delicious and perfectly crispy chips without having to heat up the oven or use a lot of oil, meaning healthier chips!
If your air-fryer chips are soggy, throw them back into the fryer to cook a little more. Because air-fryer temperatures vary, so do cook times. That's why our air-fryer recipes have wide time ranges. You may need to cook your chips a little longer than suggested.
Boiling your potatoes for a little bit before roasting helps make sure that you get that beautiful crisp crust on the outside. If you don't parboil your spuds, the outside skin will remain quite tough, meaning that whatever fat you use will not be able to get inside the cracks.
You Don't Season the Water
As with pasta water, there's a reason to liberally salt the water in which the potatoes will cook: As the starches in potatoes warm up, they open up and absorb water (and salt if you season the water). When they're finished cooking, the cells close off.
As if better flavors and saved time were not enough to convince you to parboil, you can even prep your potatoes early this way. Parboiled potatoes are good for up to one to two days after you remove them from boiling.
If your homemade fried potatoes are soggy rather than the crispy potatoes you crave, or raw rather than tender, or even burnt rather than golden brown you are probably doing (or not doing) one of the following: You're using the wrong oil. You're using very starchy potatoes and not soaking to remove some of the starch.
Purpose of Blanching
Blanching potatoes have a number of benefits which helps to remove the skin, keeps them fresh and colorful, maintains color, remove starch from potatoes and preserve them for freezing.
Lining your air fryer with parchment paper is the best way to keep your appliance clean and your food delicious. Nothing beats cooking with an air fryer to get you crispy, tender food with a fraction of the oil.
Cooking your meat in the air fryer frees up your oven for more delicious side dishes. This provides the perfect juicy pork roast, regardless of which joint you use. If your joint has a rind on it, the air fryer makes the easiest and crispiest crackling!