It’s fair to say air fryers have pretty much redefined how we cook at home. It’s never too late to join the air fryer cult but if you’re new to these nifty kitchen gadgets, it can be a little daunting.
One person who is no stranger to the miracles of the air fryer is Air Fryer Guy (aka Jake). Air Fryer Guy’s TikTok page has racked up millions of views thanks to his combination of unique recipes paired with iconic jingles.
To help newbies get a handle on their new cookware, we asked Air Fryer Guy for his top do’s and don’ts for cooking with an air fryer.
Choose versatile ingredients
Air frying is all about the ingredients and there are a few Jake swears by:
“Puff pastry is my pick! You can wrap basically anything in a piece of puff pastry, and it will come out golden and crispy. My chicken pesto lasagne pockets are a prime example, loosely based off a traditional lasagne, wrapped in some puff pastry and air fried in the Westinghouse Oven with Built-In AirFry – absolutely delicious.”
For a sweeter treat, you can also check out his recipe for deconstructed s’mores which involves an iconic Aussie Caramello Koala wrapped in puff pastry and air fried with some marshmallows.
I’m getting an air fryer for this alone.
Trial and error
Cooking can go so very wrong when you diverge from a recipe, but air frying is a different game.
Air Fryer Guy recommends applying the trial and error rule to your frying:
“It can be so easy to get overwhelmed with a new appliance, but the best thing to do is use trial and error. I think a common mistake is overthinking the cooking time, but you will get the hang of it very quickly as air fryers are super easy to use.”
It’s also a great time to get experimental and no one knows that better than Air Fryer Guy:
Air frying is the perfect excuse to whip up some wild food hybrids. Lasagne wrapped in pastry. Carrots crumbed using a spicy mayonnaise sauce. Egg on toast (As literal as it sounds. Just crack an egg on top of toast and air fry away). The crazier the better!
There’s no telling the number of weird things you can put in your air fryer – some find more success than others. So what’s the weirdest thing Air Fryer Guy has put in his?
“Probably the weirdest thing I have cooked in an air fryer was my wedding ring. I don’t really know why I did it. My wife loved it,” he said.
When it comes to food, however, there is limitless potential:
“I’ve tried to cook an abundance of weird things like Fairy Floss, a crumbed subway sandwich, a meat frisbee, spicy crumbed carrots (these were actually amazing), sour worms, potato bake sandwiches and the list goes on. I just can’t help myself.”
Also, don’t forget to pre-heat your air fryer before cooking. Jake recommends 2-3 minutes to get that extra crispiness.
Not everything belongs in an air fryer
Jake has put basically everything under the sun into an air fryer but not everything is worth the effort.
So what is one thing you should never try air frying?
“Batter. Definitely batter. Don’t bother trying it, it just won’t work. I tried to cook a whole battered broccoli once. It was a disaster. I ended up with batter all over my kitchen windows and floor. Probably because I threw the broccoli across the room when I realised it didn’t work. Broccoli is really easy to throw. Who knew?”
Aussie air fryer creations
All this experimentation has lead to some truly epic creations from Air Fryer Guy. Many of these have a distinctly Aussie flavour, such as recreating the iconic Sizzler Cheese Toast.
His TikTok page is filled with Aussie inspired recipes: Tim Tam brownies, Babybel meatballs, Wagon wheel pie, you get the idea. Jake also cites cheese sticks crumbed in Jatz crackers as an experiment gone right in the air fryer.
When it comes to more Australian food recipes, is there anything on Air Fryer Guy’s list to try?
“I might have to make an air fried deconstructed Bunnings snag!!”
It doesn’t get more Aussie than that.
If you’re looking to try some of Air Fryer Guy’s recipes you can find them over on his TikTok page or check out his new recipe series with Westinghouse.
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