Expert says you should never cook bacon in an air fryer - as it can be dangerous (2024)
Air fryers have revolutionised the way we cook our meals, but one food expert has warned people not to cook bacon in the appliance, as it could lead to food poisoning
There's nothing better than a fresh bacon sandwich - just don't cook it in an air fryer.
Air fryers have become a mainstay on our kitchen counters since they took the world by storm a few years ago, and many of us now rely on the appliance to cook many of the foods we'd normally do in the oven. But a food expert has warned Brits that there's one common food item you should never cook in an air fryer - bacon.
Dietitian Brenda Peralta explained bacon is extremely fatty, and when you cook bacon in an air fryer, it can lead to an accident in your home and produce unpleasant odours. She told Yahoo: "It is a fatty food, and when it is cooked in an air fryer, the fat can drip down and cause smoke or splatter."
She added: "This can make the bacon difficult to cook evenly, and it can also produce a lot of smoke and odours." If you serve bacon that has been cooked unevenly, you run the risk of some parts not cooking all the way through - which could lead to food poisoning.
Air fryers can also become hazardous due to the build-up of bacon grease which leads to smoke. The bacon fat could splatter out across the air fryer's heating element, causing the gadget to start smoking before a smell of burnt food fills the air. Brenda continued: "A bacon strip is a small and delicate food, and it can be difficult to flip or remove from the air fryer basket without breaking it."
Another expert said it's important to wash your air fryer as regularly as you can to avoid putting yourself at risk of food contamination. According to Candess Zona-Mendola, editor of a food safety blog and a paralegal for a food safety law firm, if you make food in a dirty air fryer, and don't clean "between uses", you "put yourself at much higher risk of food contamination."
A version of this story was first published on 1st November 2023.
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“When using an air fryer, exercise caution as bacon contains high levels of fat, which can lead to smoking or even flames in certain air fryer models," according to the pro. "To prevent this, you can work in smaller batches and ensure to drain the grease regularly during cooking in an airfryer.”
Bacon is a high-fat food that 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.
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”. “This can make the bacon difficult to cook evenly, and it can also produce a lot of smoke and odours,” she explained.
So technically, you can cook bacon in an air fryer. But I'd argue it's not the best way to cook bacon for a few reasons. First of all, if you need more than a few pieces at a time, you're going to have to cook the bacon in several batches.
Air-frying equipment is not known to cause cancer, but the process of air frying does result in the formation of certain compounds, like acrylamide, that are linked to cancer development. Acrylamide is classified as a probable human carcinogen.
What are Disadvantages of Using an Air Fryer? Air fryers vary in the amount of foods they can hold, but usually do not have a large capacity. Air fryers may not be convenient when cooking for large groups. Foods that are air fried have different sensory characteristics than foods that are deep fried.
Pro chefs love to say (with noticeable derision) that an air fryer is "just a miniature convection oven," and that's more or less true — but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing.
THIS IS IMPORTANT! Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of your air fryer basket before you cook the bacon. This will prevent the rendered bacon fat from creating smoke. As long as they don't overlap in the air fryer basket, you may be able to cook more than 4 strips of bacon at a time.
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.
What happens to the grease from bacon in an air fryer? It drains! Unlike stovetop or oven-cooked bacon, the air fryer allows the bacon grease to drip into the pan, leaving you with crispier, healthier bacon.
Getting rid of the bacon fat can help prevent your air fryer from smoking when the next batch of bacon cooks. Add more bacon to the air-fryer basket, and repeat the process. If you want to reduce the mess you have to clean after air-frying your bacon, place a parchment paper liner in the bottom of your air fryer.
It is a close second to the air fried, if only it had a tiny bit better texture! Last but not least, is the grilled bacon. Although it is super crispy, the bacon turned out pretty dry. A little too dry.
In one study, air frying of fish raised the amount of a substance called "cholesterol oxidation products" (COPs). COPs form when the cholesterol in meat or fish breaks down during cooking. Studies connect these substances to coronary heart disease, hardening of the arteries, cancer, and other diseases.
While air fryers are popular, the most expensive models can start to get a little pricey which could undermine their status as a budget item. Many people came out for halogen ovens as the better option. One person said: "I treated myself to a halogen oven to help with Christmas; I only have one shelf in my oven.
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.
I cooked bacon using my stove, oven, air fryer, and microwave to see which had the best results. A pan on the stove may be the classic approach, but it was messy and extra greasy. The oven is great for big batches of bacon, but the air fryer created the perfect taste and texture.
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