Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (2024)

FAQs

What is the key to crispy bacon? ›

Tried and true, this is the way I learned to cook bacon: Lay the strips in a cold skillet, place over medium-low to medium heat, flip and fry until you reach your desired doneness and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lightly oil a non-stick tray then lay the bacon over (streaky or back) in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 mins, using tongs to flip the bacon halfway, until cooked and the fat is crisp around the edges.

An equal amount of all-purpose flour and cornstarch provides both structure and crunch to the batter. Cornstarch is a go-to ingredient for many fried foods (think crispy chicken wings), and using it to bolster the crisping power of flour resulted in a thinner, crispier, and sturdier (yet still delicate) breading.

You take strips of bacon and place them on a baking sheet, then sprinkle all-purpose flour on top and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes. I was surprised to find out how great this worked. The flour definitely helped to give the bacon a crispier texture and nicer color than the other methods I tried.

Bacon should always be put into a cold pan and heated from there. In addition, draining the fat is a requirement. It's difficult to get bacon crispy if it's sitting in liquid bacon fat. In a microwave or in an oven this isn't a problem (I put bacon on a draining pan in the oven), but you have to remove fat from a pan.

Cook It In Water. This counterintuitive, yet highly effective method of cooking bacon in water produces a perfect product, every time. Published May 13, 2022.

As with other meats, allow some room between strips, about an inch, when placing bacon in the pan. Crowding creates steam and prevents the bacon from cooking evenly, giving you limp bacon instead of crispy strips. Cook in batches if needed.

He cooks it in a frying pan, starting out from cold with a little drizzle of olive oil and gradually bringing the temperature up to medium-high so the fat renders out, placing something flat and heavy on top to ensure super-even crispy bacon.

Crispiest: Wright Applewood Thick Cut Bacon

While some folks are fans of thick-cut, hearty bacon, others are looking for rashers that cook up thin and crispy. If the latter sounds more like your preferred bacon style, try Wright Applewood Thick Cut Bacon.

Tastin' Bacon

You then smell and taste them, which is why bacon smells so good when cooking. The Maillard reaction also contributes to bacon's delicious flavor. This chemical reaction occurs between amino acids and sugars when meat is cooked. It gives bacon its characteristic brown color and crispy texture.

How do you get food Crispier in an air fryer? ›

However, a small amount of oil is usually necessary to achieve a crispy texture. A drizzle or a quick oil spray is all you need for restaurant-quality fries and golden brown fried chicken, while other foods don't need any oil, like pizza or leftovers you might reheat.

The foods are too wet

Deep fryers can expel moisture from foods like batters, but an air fryer isn't capable of that, Mumford says. “Don't put in limp, wet veggies and expect a miracle. Instead, an air fryer should be used to quickly crisp up already breaded or crunchy foods,” he says.

Place a sheet of parchment paper over the chicken skin and a flat ceramic plate to keep the chicken skins flat (if you are ok with them curling up, you can omit this step). Air fry at 350F for 15 minutes or until the skin is crispy. Season the Chicken Skin Chips (Cracklings) with your favorite seasonings!

During the air frying process, if you pull out the chicken and notice any dry flour spots on the chicken, spray those spots lightly with oil. The breading will never crisp up if it doesn't have a tiny bit of oil to hydrate it.