Talked to my neighbor about why her air fryer chicken always comes out dry and it changed how I prep mine now

So I was grilling burgers last Saturday in my backyard here in Denver and my neighbor Linda comes over with some sad looking chicken thighs she tried making in her new air fryer. She said she just tosses them in raw with some seasoning and hits 400 for 20 minutes. I told her I've been doing a quick brine with salt and a little baking powder for 30 minutes before cooking and it keeps the meat juicy. She looked at me like I was speaking another language but tried it the next day and texted me a photo of perfectly crispy thighs. It hit different because I always thought air fryers were just set and forget but that conversation made me realize how much prep matters before the machine even turns on. Has anyone else had a neighbor or friend show you a trick that completely changed your air fryer game?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade22115h ago

i mean i get that brining helps but i feel like people overthink air fryers honestly. i just toss stuff in with a little oil and it comes out fine most of the time, not like restaurant quality but good enough for a tuesday night. the whole baking powder thing just sounds like extra steps for something that might not even matter that much in the end.

wesleyjohnson3h ago

Jade what kind of stuff are you tossing in there without brining? Like are we talking frozen chicken tenders or actual raw chicken breasts? Because I tried doing boneless skinless breasts straight from the package with just oil and pepper once and it came out with that weird rubbery texture on the outside and dry on the inside. Linda was doing the same thing with her thighs and they looked like shoe leather before I told her about the baking powder trick. Have you ever side by sided it with something like wings or thighs where you actually paid attention to the texture difference?