How Do You Air Fry Fish?

In a time and age where everyone is getting more and more health-conscious, people try their best to steer away from fried foods. However, let’s face it, as much as are all aware of how unhealthy fried foods are, no one can deny how amazing they taste. Take fried fish, for instance, throw on some seasoning or dip it in a batter and fry. They taste fantastic.

But you don’t have to give up of fried fish any more thanks to the air fryer. This amazing kitchen appliance will fry your fish with a little to no oil whatsoever. Don’t know how you air fry fish? We will talk at length about an air fryer, its benefits and give you some top tips for air frying fish.

What Exactly is an Air Fryer and How Does it Work?

While air frying seems to be a fairly new trend, it has been around for about a decade now. This is a small kitchen appliance that can fry food by using little to no oil and hot air. This helps in creating a texture that is very similar to deep-fried food but with significantly less oil.

Air fryers are great whether you want to fry veggies, fish, chicken, fries, or more. In a deep fryer, you typically submerge your food in a pool of oil that is bubbling hot. Air frying, on the other hand, uses rapidly circulating air.

This technique is called convection. This is the same process that is used by a convection oven which cooks food evenly and quickly. By adding a little oil to your food in the air fryer, your food will be crisp on the outside and cooked on the inside just like deep-fried food.

How Do You Air Fry Fish?

Air frying is a surprisingly simple process. You just apply a seasoning of your choice and place it in an air fryer. For crispy skin, we recommend spraying some oil to the air fryer basket. Turn it once and you are all done.

It is also important to turn down the temperature on your air fryer when frying fish. While we agree that air fryers are known for their intense blast of heat, that applies only to certain foods. Fish requires a relatively lower temperature and more time to cook properly.

This method ensures that the fish is cooked gently and will give its crust a bit more time to brown. If you are cooking a delicate fish, then we recommend that you use a foil sling. This is because delicate fish tend to break easily or stick to the bottom of the basket. Using a foil sling will facilitate easier removal.

Lastly, if you want to get creative with cooking seafood in your air fryer, you can skewer bacon-wrapped prawns or scallops. Not only does this make it easier to remove from the air fryer but also makes a great dish for a party

Top Tips for Air Frying Fish

• We recommend using high-quality frozen fish fillets or fresh fish fillets for air frying. Make sure that the fillets are not too thin.
• While spray oiling is optional, a bit of it will enhance the taste of the fish and even give it a crispy skin.
• Avoid using over the counter misting sprays in the air fryer. These tend to have certain chemicals that damage the coating of the air fryer basket. We recommend that you purchase a good oil mister.
• Never overcrowd the basket in the air fryer as this will result in the fish get steamed instead of frying.
• Just like any other fried food, air fried fish should be consumed right away, else it will not taste as good.

Benefits of Cooking with an Air Fryer

There are countless benefits of using an air fryer for cooking food. Let us list some of the top ones.

• Quick

Air fryers are smaller than ovens which means that the air circulates faster and in turn leads to the food cooking faster. A regular oven requires up to 20 minutes of preheating. An air fryer, however, requires only a couple of minutes to preheat.

• Healthier Food

Since an air fryer uses no oil or only a little of it, you can fry potato fries, wedges, onion rings, chicken wings, and more and still get the same crispy results minus all of that unhealthy oil.

• Versatility

There is often a misconception that air fryers are only meant for frying food. However, you can do so much more with it. An air fryer can be used to broil, grill, roast, stir fry, and even bake cakes.

Depending on the size of the air fryer, you can choose from a bunch of accessories. Kebab skewers, steamer inserts, pizza and cake pans, are just a couple of the popular ones on the market. You can also find several recipes online or buy a recipe book specifically for cooking with an air fryer.

• Saves Space

Air fryers are the best option for people who have a small kitchen or for those who live in a dorm room. These units are roughly the size of a coffee maker or just a little bigger. They can be easily kept on top of a counter without occupying too much room. Furthermore, they are not the heaviest either, which makes them easy to move around and store.

• Energy Efficient

Air fryers are much more energy efficient in comparison to an oven. Also, they do not heat the kitchen up either.

• Easy to Clean Up

Cleaning up is a part of cooking that none of us enjoy. Thankfully, with air fryers, all you need to clean up is its basket and a majority of them are even dishwasher safe. They also have a non-stick coating inside which does not allow the food to stick to it.

Conclusion

We hope this article answers your questions on how to cook fish in an air fryer. As you can see, the whole process is extremely simple and takes very little time. With an air fryer, you are guaranteed to have a delicious meal that is healthy for you.