Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Stuffing - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to flip bacon when air frying? ›

You only have to try cooking bacon in the Air Fryer once for it to become your new favorite way to cook bacon. It's perfectly crisp every time and since the air circulates, there's no need to flip the bacon halfway.

Place bacon in air fryer

If you're using an oven-style air fryer, you'll want to put the bacon on an air-fry basket (basically a mesh rack) with either a solid pan or a piece of aluminum foil folded up on the edges underneath to catch any bacon grease drippings.

Unlike pan frying bacon, there's no splattering with air fryer bacon. I also add just under 1 cup of water to the air fryer basket to keep smoking at bay and to prevent any chances of splattering. Plus, clean up is easier with the water in the air fryer preventing any grease from baking on.

Why does bacon shrink in an air fryer? Bacon is a fatty food and cooking it at high temperatures in your air fryer will allow all the fat to drain off, so you're left with leaner strips, packed with flavor.

Preheat an air fryer to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C) according to manufacturer's instructions. Lay bacon in the air fryer basket in a single layer; some overlap is okay. Fry for 8 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until bacon is crisp, about 7 minutes more.

Foil is safe to use in an air fryer so long as you follow three basic rules: never let foil touch the heating element; make sure the foil is weighted so it doesn't blow around the basket; and avoid contact with acidic ingredients, which can cause the foil to leach onto your food.

To reduce smoke when cooking bacon in the air fryer: Water. Put a little bit of water in the bottom pan/basket of the air fryer. You put some water in it, you put the bacon on the rack/grill part of the basket, and you have at it.

Excess oil ends up in the drawer under the grate, but if there's too much buildup, it might smoke. Generally speaking, if there's already fat on the food (skin-on chicken, for example, or frozen fried food), you might not need to oil the food at all.

Because the air fryer is compact and uses powerful convection cooking, it cooks foods more quickly than they bake in the oven. No Grease Splatters. One of the best parts of making bacon in the air fryer is the quick clean up.

Speaking previously to HuffPost, recipe developer Brenda Peralta, of FeastGood.com, urged people to think twice before rushing to throw a handful of rashers in the air fryer. According to the food expert, “bacon is a fatty food, and when it is cooked in an air fryer, the fat can drip down and cause smoke or splatter”.

What happens to bacon grease in air fryer? ›

It doesn't sit in grease.

Unlike bacon that is cooked on a sheet pan in the oven, or in a skillet on the stovetop, the air fryer allows the bacon grease to drip into the pan below as it cooks, so the bacon strips will be less greasy when they are done.

Bacon is a high-fat food and releases a lot of grease as it cooks, which can coat the bottom and inside of your air fryer (and isn't fun to scrub out). Too much grease can also start smoking in the fryer, which is never what you want to see when you're cooking.

SHAKE OR FLIP FOOD

Most air fryers require you to shake the basket at least once during the air fry process to ensure every bit is crisped and browned to perfection. Some recipes call for flipping or shaking every 5 minutes, so don't stray too far from your air fryer while cooking.

Nope! You don't have to flip it while cooking. You just lay the bacon on a baking sheet, stick it in the oven, and set a timer. The strips of bacon bubble away in the oven (no splattering!) and gradually become the crispy, golden-hued, irresistible bacon we know and love.

I recommend flipping the bacon halfway through, in my experience it makes a better looking and crispier bacon. However, if you are in a hurry or cooking a lot of things at once, you can skip flipping the bacon.