Why does nobody talk about how air fryers ruin fish texture?

I tried cooking salmon in my air fryer at 375 for 8 minutes last week and it came out like dry sawdust. Found a video from a chef in Seattle who said anything over 350 ruins the moisture, which explains a lot. Has anyone actually gotten flaky fish out of one of these things?

2 comments

2 Comments

danielmason27d ago

...so my buddy actually had the exact same problem and he's got this theory it's all about the thickness of the fish, not just the heat. He tried some cod from the freezer section at 330 for like 12 minutes and it came out actually flaky, not dry at all. @the_piper is totally right about watching it like a hawk though, my friend said he almost missed the window by two minutes. I think he got the trick from some guy on YouTube who said to pull it when the center still looks a tiny bit raw and let it sit for like 3 minutes, the carryover heat finishes it off. Have you tried that with your salmon?

the_piper28d ago

...and it's the same thing with every kitchen gadget that promises to do everything. People crank it up to max heat thinking that's the way to get results, but air fryers are basically tiny convection ovens, they cook differently. I've had good luck with tilapia at 325 for like 10 minutes, flipping halfway, but you have to watch it like a hawk. It's the same pattern I see with instant pots and sous vide setups, everyone dials it to the highest setting and then wonders why it comes out terrible. The trick is just backing off the heat and checking it early.