Kale Chips & Air Fryer Tips

Several have asked about temps and times I use when cooking with the air fryer. There’s a blurb on that towards the bottom of this post.

I’ve already done a post about kale chips in the air fryer and I’ve already shared this picture from a previous meal but of all the things I fix in the air fryer, kale chips may be what impresses me most. I’ve always liked kale chips and was satisfied with making them in the oven using convection but they are totally amazing done in the air fryer.

 

It’s so much nicer to be able to use the air fryer than to have to pull all my cast iron pots out of the oven, then heat up the house using the propane powered oven, when I am paying nothing for electricity on a sunny day (solar panels for anyone who doesn’t know).

But here’s another thing. Did you known that if you have wilted greens – lettuce, kale, collards . . anything – you can soak them in cold water and revive them.

I wish I had taken a “before” picture but I didn’t. I bought kale a couple of weeks ago and kept thinking “I need to use that!” and never got around to it. When I pulled it out of the fridge, I really thought it was hopeless. They were so limp and had no crispness at all. I figured I had nothing to lose by trying to soak the kale and see what happened. After about 10 minutes of soaking, they were perky and crisp again.

All I did was spin it in the salad spinner, drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle a little Slap Ya Mama over it, toss it and dump it in the air fryer.

For those who have been asking about the time and temp I use on recipes . . I’m not trying to be evasive or rude but you seriously need to experiment with your own air fryer. I’m saying this because I want you all to be confiding fixing anything you want to fix in your air fryer. I want you to be able to make things without  having a specific air fryer recipe.

Having said that, here are some things to think about:

• Not all air fryers are created equally. Some have narrower, deeper cooking baskets, some have wider, shallower baskets. If I have french fries layered 3 deep in my basket, it’s going to take longer for them to cook than if there was a single layer.
• Also, there’s a pretty good variety in watts of the fryers I was looking at before getting mine. One with less watts is probably going to take longer than one with more watts.
• If I’m wanting something done in 10 minutes, I’m probably going to turn it up to 390°. If I’m cooking other things and dinner isn’t going to be done for 20 minutes, I might cook at 320° for 20 minutes. If I’m cooking fries and have the temp set at 390° and the rest of the meal isn’t going to be done for 10 minutes and I see the fries are getting brown, I will turn it down to 275° or whatever seems right at the time.
• If I’m baking 2 small potatoes I may cook them at 390°. If I’m cooking one big potato, I may turn it down to a lower temp and cook it longer. 

The best advice I can give is to experiment and use your judgment.