How to Defrost With an Air fryer (Step by step)

Air fryers are popular for making crispy foods and snacks. But you can use an air fryer to defrost food as well. If you are planning to use an air fryer to defrost food for the first time, knowing how to do it properly is a must. You don’t want your food to start cooking when you only want to thaw them. So, how to defrost with an air fryer properly?

You just have to take the frozen food from the freezer and put it in the air fryer for a couple of minutes. However, defrosting all kinds of food is not always possible with an air fryer. 

In this article, I will tell you how to use an air fryer to defrost foods. Before that, you should know which foods are best for defrosting with an air fryer as not all foods will thaw properly using this technique. So, without further ado, let’s get right to it.

Which Foods Can be Defrosted with Air Fryers?

Air fryers heat the air that goes inside the food and softens them. As a result, you get soft yet crispy food. Unlike deep fryers, air fryers don’t really fry food. Instead, they use the air surrounding the food to sort of cook them which makes them great for thawing. But due to the size limitation, you cannot thaw just any food with them. 

Here is a list of frozen foods that you can defrost with air fryers: 

• Chicken Nuggets 
• Chicken Wings
• Fish Sticks 
• Fish fries
• French fries
• Hot pockets
• Pizza
• Pizza Bagels 

In short, you can defrost or fry any food or snacks that are already fried and suitable for frying. On the other hand, you should not put frozen food like a raw steak and put it directly in the air fryer to thaw it. If you want to cook a steak with an air fryer, you have to either thaw it in the refrigerator or keep it at room temperature for a few hours and then use the air fryer to thaw properly. 

Besides, you should use air fryer-proof dishes to defrost and cook frozen food that is cooked with butter and oil. It will help you to keep the air fryer clean. 

Steps Of Defrosting Food With An Air Fryer

An air fryer has multiple functions, and it can be used to defrost frozen foods like a microwave oven. 

So, if you do not have a microwave oven, you can use an air fryer instead. Using them to thaw and prepare snacks like fries and nuggets for parties is also a good idea because guests will love the extra crispiness. Moreover, it will take you a few minutes to melt the frozen foods with an air fryer. 

Follow these simple steps to defrost your frozen foods and snacks in an air fryer: 

Step 1: Preparing the frozen food for thawing

The first step is really simple. You get your frozen food from the freezer, remove the plastic bag or warp and just put it in the air fryer.

But sometimes, it is better to let the frost melt for a while outside the air fryer. It will help you to thaw the food faster and evenly. Extreme frost can build up around the food. So, you should put it in the refrigerator for 10 to 20 minutes and then put it in the air fryer. 

You can also put the food in normal water. It will help you to separate frozen food if they get stuck with each other. 

Step 2: Placing the food 

You should place the food or snacks on the air fryer tray properly. Put the fries, strips, or nuggets leaving space between the pieces. Do not overload the air fryer. 

Put the food directly on the air fryer tray and clean the tray later. However, you may put the food on-air fryer-proof dishes like porcelain, ceramic, or glass plates. When the food melts, the defrosted water will stay on the plate. So, you can clean the air fryer easily. 

When you thaw and cook buttery or oily food, the air fryer pan gets greasy and sticky. Putting this kind of snack on a separate tray or plate will save you from the extra cleaning process. Your air fryer will stay clean and safe. 

Step 3: Operating the air fryer

Now, this is the crucial part of defrosting food with air fryers. You have to set the right temperature. Choose the lowest temperature of your air fryer to defrost them. You cannot always be sure how much temperature and time is needed to melt frozen food. 

For example, if you are thawing 500g chicken nuggets or fries, you should set the timer for 4 to 8 minutes. After 4 to 5 minutes, you should open the air fryer tray to check the state of the food. If the food is defrosted, take it out and clean the tray.

However, if the food is not defrosted evenly, you have to set the time for another three to four minutes. You can check the tenderness of the food with a toothpick. 

Tips for Defrosting with an Air Fryer

An air fryer is not the most conventional tool for defrosting food. So, it is easy to make mistakes when thawing food using these devices. So, to help you out here I’ve mentioned a few tips that you should consider before defrosting using an air fryer. 

• Make sure to remove the plastic wrap or packaging of the food. Never put the food inside the air fryer with plastic. It can contaminate the food and cause cancer. 
• You may use foils to wrap the food if necessary but it can be dangerous for health if done too often. 
• Do not overlap or overcrowd pieces of food in the air fryer tray. Thaw the food in single layers. It will ensure fast thawing. Thus, you will also get crispy food when you cook the food. 
• When you are defrosting food, keep the temperature set to the lowest. Thawing at a high temperature can make your food brittle which will cause problems in further cooking. The same goes for setting time. 
• If the food is thick, you can flip it. After a few minutes of defrosting, open the air fryer tray and flip every piece of food inside. Then, start reheating again. This way the food is thawed from the inside properly.
• If you need to defrost the food outside the fryer for a while, you can pre-heat the air fryers. It will take less time to thaw frozen foods covered with layers of ice. So, run your air fryer empty for some time before putting the frozen food inside. 
• Do not put frozen food in a cup, plate, or bowl with water and put it in the air fryer. 
• Similarly, do not put frozen food in hot water before you put it in the air fryer. The water may defrost the food faster, but it can also cook the outer layer of the food. So, if you want your food to come out raw after defrosting, avoid submerging in hot water.
• Use separate air fryer-proof dishes to thaw food in the fryer to keep it clean and hygienic. 

Conclusion

Hopefully, you have learned how to defrost with an air fryer properly from this article. They aren’t the most popular when it comes to defrosting food. And to speak the truth I’d rather recommend that you transfer your frozen foods from the freezer to the refrigerator and keep it overnight to defrost. 

But if you really need a quick method to thaw food, an air fryer can work wonders.