Air fryers have been more and more popular in recent years, and I know my air fryer is here to stay. But lately I’ve been thinking of cooking with foil, since foil is supposed to add crispiness to what you’re cooking and speeds up cleaning time. But can you put foil in an air fryer?
Unlike the microwave, it is perfectly safe to put foil in an air fryer. However, if you wrap the metal tray in foil, part of it must be uncovered so that the air can flow through the basket.
Do not pile food into the air fryer. If each piece of food does not touch the metal tray, then there is too much food in the air fryer basket. It is safe to put metal skewers in the air fryer basket, but the skewers must lay on the metal tray.
Can You Use Aluminum Foil in an Air Fryer?
It is safe to use aluminum foil in an air fryer. The air fryer does not use the same technology as microwaves, so the foil will not catch fire like it would. Just make sure to not block the vents with the foil.
If the foil blocks the vents, then the air fryer can overheat. Some air fryers will make a warning sound before it overheats, so you can fix the placement of the foil.
If aluminum foil is safe to use in the air fryer, can you use metal skewers, metal toothpicks and other metal objects?
Although you should always be careful when using metal skewers and metal objects, it is safe to use metal skewers and toothpicks in the air fryer.
In order to use metal skewers and toothpicks safely, put the skier flat on the metal basket tray.
The skewer should not stick up into the air and the tip of the metal skewer should not be able to touch the top of the air fryer.
Depending on the size of your air fryer, around three to seven metal skewers of food can lie flat on the metal tray, but don’t put skewers on top of each other. Each skewer needs to touch the metal tray or the food will not cook evenly.
Some pieces will cook faster, while others will take longer. Uneven cooking will dry out the smaller pieces of food attached to the skewer.
Where Do You Put Aluminum Foil in an Air Fryer?
There are three ways to use foil in an air fryer. The foil can go on the metal basket tray, around the food like in the oven, and at the very bottom of the frying basket.
Wrapping the foil around the metal tray will improve the crispiness of foods like potatoes, vegetables, freezer foods, and pizza.
The metal tray inside the air fryer basket helps foods crisp, but foil will keep the fat on the foil, which will produce a more even fry.
Do not wrap the entire tray in foil. Air needs to flow through the tray. Make a few small holes in the foil so the air can flow.
You will know if the air is not flowing through the air fryer basket correctly if there is a low whirring noise and movement coming from the air fryer.
Lining the bottom of the air fryer basket will catch the grease that falls down from the fry tray. This will make cleanup faster and easier, as all you have to do is throw away the foil.
The foil will also catch crumbs and tiny pieces that are difficult to scrub away.
Wrapping food in foil will trap the heat around the food and cook it faster. Many home cooks like to create foil packets to cook small pieces of chicken, servings of salmon, baked potatoes, and more.
If you are air frying baby potatoes, coat 4-5 baby potatoes in butter and seasonings and wrap them in foil. When the potatoes are finished cooking, you can eat them whole or you can make them into mashed potatoes.
What Should You Not Put In an Air Fryer?
An air fryer is far more versatile than the microwave and much faster than the oven. Placing thin metal in the air fryer is fine.
As long as the oil allows air to flow through the air fryer basket, you can wrap the basket tray with foil. But which items of types of food should you never place in an air fryer?
Any Food Dipped in Wet Batter
Although an air fryer seems like the perfect tool to make homemade chile relleno or shrimp tempura, placing wet battered foods in the air fryer could be a disaster.
Wet batter means a batter that drips off of the food. If you place a shrimp that is coated in egg and breadcrumbs, the bread crumbs will soak up most of the moisture, which will make it fine to place in the air fryer.
So cooking breaded shrimp is fine, but shrimp tempura is not, because tempura is made with a wet batter. A dripping wet batter will splatter batter all around the air fryer basket and up into the vents.
Any recipes that involve dipping a food and batter, just place it in flour or bread crumbs and it will be air fryer safe.
Large Amounts of Food or Meat
Unless you have an air fryer designed for whole chickens and ducks, placing an entire bird in an air fryer is a terrible way to cook it.
Because most air fryers are not made for large amounts of food, it cannot cook the whole chicken evenly.
Also, do not carve a whole bird into pieces, and place all the pieces in the air fryer. It is much better to carve the chicken and place each section of the bird into the air fryer one at a time.
This will allow for faster cooking, better browning, and an improved flavor.
Conclusion to Putting Foil in the Air Fryer
It is safe to place foil in the air fryer, but the foil shouldn’t cover the entire metal tray. Foil at the bottom of the air fryer basket makes cleanup a breeze. Only use aluminum foil and do not use any other type of foil.
Happy cooking!
