How to defrost the frozen food in air fryer? Important notes

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How To Defrost The Frozen Food In Air Fryer? Important Notes When Defrosting

Do you need to defrost the frozen food? And in your kitchen, there is only air fryer, and you can defrost frozen food in air fryer instead of having to buy an expensive microwave.

Air fryer can help you do that quickly and easily. You need to take out the food, put it in the air fryer, and set the temperature and time for each, that’s all.

Let’s experience how to thaw frozen food in air fryer quickly and effectively in just 4-12 minutes while still ensuring the deliciousness of the food. That will save you the most time in the kitchen.

frozen food in air fryer

1. Can I thaw frozen food in air fryer? How to do that?

Unlike a microwave oven, thanks to advanced Rapid Air technology, the air fryer can soften food from outside to inside, from top to bottom, helping to defrost food quickly from 4 to 12 minutes.

Rapid Air is a technology that uses hot air convection to cook and soften food from top to bottom, from outside to inside.

This amount of hot air is generated by the heating resistor wire, the convection fan will help the hot air circulate evenly at all points to heat the food inside the air fryer.

The heating resistor wire: is the part that generates heat, providing heat for the whole pot. Maximum temperature up to 250 degrees Celsius.
Convection fan: creates a convection airflow up and down, helping to distribute heat throughout the air fryer compartment
As a result, food is exposed to more hot air, helping to “defrost” faster. Based on this mechanism, you can completely defrost frozen food in air fryer conveniently and quickly.

Defrosting in an air fryer is no less than a microwave oven.

2. How to thaw frozen food in air fryer safely and effectively

To melt frozen food in air fryer safely and effectively, follow these 5 easy steps below:

Step 1: Take food out of the freezer

If your food is in a plastic bag or plastic wrap, it may stick together. At this time, you need to put it in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes before or put it under cold water several minutes to defrost the surface quickly

Do not leave the plastic tray and plastic bag intact when thaw frozen food in air fryer , because high heat will cause the plastic to produce toxins and cause cancer.

Step 2: Put food into air fryer

Then place the food on a porcelain plate or foil and place in the air fryer.

Thus, after defrosting, the water that comes out will not stick to the bottom of the pot. Make the air fryer cleaner and more hygienic.

Should choose good heat-resistant cups and dishes such as ceramics, porcelain, glass, heat-resistant pads to put in the pot.

However, if you don’t have any liners in the meantime, you can also place them directly into the frying pan of the air fryer.

Step 3: Turn on the air fryer

Close the pot, plug in the power. Set the temperature at 80-90 degrees Celsius (choose the lowest temperature) and time set about 4 – 8 minutes for a 400g piece of meat is suitable.

A small note here is that you should not choose a temperature that is too high (over 100 degrees Celsius), nor set the time too long when thaw frozen food in air fryer.

Because of that, it will make the food always soft, it will be difficult for the next stage of processing and the dish will be less delicious. You can open the air fryer to check in between the set time to ensure the food quality.

Step 4: Check

When the time is up, open the frying pan, use a fork or a sharp stick to check if the food is soft? If not, you can turn the food over and defrost it in an air fryer at 80-90 degrees Celsius for another 3-5 minutes.

Each type, each brand of air fryer can be different in terms of capacity and heating speed. Therefore, you should observe and adjust to get the defrosted food as you want.

Step 5: Cook

Cook food immediately after defrosting to ensuring deliciousness as well as keeping the nutrients of the food.

3. Things to avoid when defrosting frozen food in air fryer: Safe thawing

bacteria

It is recommended to defrost in the refrigerator compartment as it ensures food is kept at a safe temperature
Meat can be defrosted in cold water if the meat is tightly packed. Change the water every 20-30 minutes so the water doesn’t get too warm. Leave for about 2-3 hours in cold water for a 3-4 pound piece of meat.
Never put frozen food gets warmer than 40 degrees or is at room temperature for more than 2 hours, it’s in the danger zone that bacteria multiply quickly.
All defrosted food should be processed. If your food’s still frozen and you change your plan, it’s safe to put it back in the freezer for another day.
Don’t thaw food in hot water. Hot water melts meat quickly but also cooks the surface and starts a favorable environment for bacteria to grow.
Don’t put frozen food in a slow cooker because the meat will spend too long in the bacteria danger zone before it’s fully cooked.
Absolutely do not refreeze when not used up. And also should avoid leaving it out in the air for too long without processing because that will create conditions for harmful bacteria to enter the food, which can harm the digestive system when eaten.
Some foods have been cut into small pieces when freezing. After defrosting, you can ultimately add some seasoning to the air fryer and continue to turn the heat up, and set the right time to cook.

4. Defrost frozen food in air fryer with some daily foods

Defrost whole pieces of meat or chicken thighs in an air fryer

Food: meat weighing from 0.3 to 1kg. Perform defrosting as follows:

Prepare porcelain dishes or containers
Place the meat on a plate and put it in the air fryer
Set the temperature to 80-90 degrees Celsius for 4 to 12 minutes.
At the end of the time, turn the food over and check to see if the meat is tender.
If not, turn the food over and set more temperature and time for defrosting to continue

Defrost pureed meat in an air fryer

Food: Minced meat weighs from 0.2 to 0.8kg. The operation is the same as above.

Take porcelain, glass, or heat-resistant containers
Set 80-90 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes
When the time is up, you turn/return the food. Turn or separate food if possible (to help defrost faster)
Keep the original temperature and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Check if the meat is tender then remove
Finally, it can be cooked.

Defrost fish in an air fryer

Food: Fish from 0.2 to 1kg, including 4 steps below:

Place the fish in a porcelain dish, and place it in the frying pan of the air fryer.
Or use foil to wrap the fish and place it directly in the air fryer’s tray
Set the temperature to 80-90 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes.
Check the food and turn the face
Continue heat 3-5 minutes more is okay.

NOTE: The fish is inherently very soft, with a lot of protein inside. You should not set it for too long or at too high a temperature when defrosting. Because it will make the fish easy to burn the surface, pale in taste, and lose the inherent protein in the fish.

5. Proper freezing will make defrosting frozen food in air fryer convenient and processing faster

Should be cut into bite-sized pieces before frozen
For chicken pieces, beef and ribs, freeze each piece separately or divide into small boxes for one serving. Click here to know how to cook frozen chicken nuggets in air fryer.
Shrimps that need to be neatly arranged in layers will be easier to defrost
Chips need to dry before putting in the freezer
Types of broth, soup needs to be divided into enough portions for one meal

6. When to defrost frozen food in air fryer

When you want to bread and fry it in a pan
When you want to grind meat to create a shape for grilled dishes
When roasting a whole turkey or large chunks of meat, the outside will cook, dry, and burn before the insides if it hasn’t been thawed before roasting.

Conclusion

Although not a dedicated defrost device like a microwave, defrosting frozen food in air fryer is also extremely easy and convenient.

In particular, you can ultimately continue to cook food in the air fryer right after defrosting, then you just need to add a little seasoning and the air fryer will take care of the rest.

However, remember to adjust the temperature and time to suit your food amount. You should also check mid-fry while the fryer is operating to ensure the food doesn’t burn or cook unevenly.

Always remember the defrosting notes above to ensure maximum nutrition in food.

I hope the sharing in this article will help you turn your air fryer into a great helper for cooking. Air fryer was born to save you time and make your meal more attractive than ever.

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