I’m totally not getting why these things can’t be made to clean in a dishwasher. I understand that the surfaces are coated with a non-stick substance that will wash off in a dishwasher, but why?
It’s not as if the non-stick surface actually prevents gunk from sticking to the surface. Mine has all sorts of nasty and stubborn grease spots sticking to it after repeated scrubbing with a non-stick safe sponge. It’s hell to get clean, what with all the tiny food particles sticking to the surface, even after I coated it with oil as per the instructions.
If it were non-stick, I’d just run it through the DW a few times, plus some elbow grease, and eventually it would get clean. Or if the non-stick actually worked, then I wouldn’t need to.
The other thing I’m trying to get straight is: wouldn’t there be grease all over the inside of the air fryer, the part you’re not supposed to clean? Part 1 is the non-stick-coated surface to place food on, that rests on part 2, the retractible cooking basket, both of which are hell to clean, but part three is the actual cooking part, the part that generates heat, that I’m suspecting gets grease all over it. Yesterday I cooked some bacon in the basket, on the nonstick surface, but how in hell did I avoid getting some grease spattering all over the heating element? I suspect I didn’t, and it has grease all over it, more or less permanently.
I use my air fryer a couple of times a week. I never try to scrub it to perfection, I just use a few paper towels to wipe surfaces a bit. IMHO you are being too meticulous in trying to clean your tool.
My favorite thing to do with bacon is to sous vide the entire package at 147 F for 24 hours. Then I snip open a corner and pour all the fat out into a container (to use for cooking other foods).
Then I open the package and remove one strip at a time, laying it on a long sheet of parchment or waxed paper, folding once after each slice. The precooked bacon gets put in a bag in the refrigerator. When I want bacon, I remove a strip and heat it up in a pan (or air fryer) for a minute.
Normally, I’d match my slobbiness with anyone’s but the instructions about cleaning are rather adamant. Besides, I can see the food particles sticking to the surface, which is usually a sign (visible food particles) that I need to clean something further.
I spray the basket with that Dawn Power Spray, let it sit for 5 minutes, wipe off, and rinse. The little slats I agree get gunked up, I give them a scrub after soaking in hot water with a soapy dishwashing brush, or use Q-tips and get the majority off if it looks like a lot… As for the heating element, I unplug, of course, hold it upside down and wipe the element with a sponge, wipe any other part I can reach, and let it dry… There are youtube videos going into depth on how to meticulously clean an air fryer with the Q-Tips. Some machines are easier to clean than others… As long as the majority of grease and gunk are removed in an ordinary washing up, the ‘deep cleaning’ isn’t vital. Maybe once a month if you use it cooking messy stuff every single day.
I think part of the air fryer that keeps grease from splattering upward onto the heating element is the fan. Anyway, I do wipe down the inside once in a while but it is surprisingly not very dirty in there.
For the basket/strainer, as soon as food is removed I usually put a few drops of dishwashing liquid and run some water in there and swish it around, then let sit while I am enjoying whatever just came out of it. The basket is still hot and sudsy, and after things are cool it cleans-up good with a normal sponging.
So far it hasn’t really been a problem for me in my air fryer/pressure cooker combo that I got last year. I mostly use it for potatoes and rice, though–not much meat. And I never use oil (because my stomach slows down a lot if I eat much fat).
I do know that you’re not supposed to use spray oils or anything with (soy) lecithin in it, as that will cause the non-stick coating to deteriorate. I’ve been rather fastidious about that, even when recipes call for spraying the pan. When I absolutely need it, I have a margarine spray I use that doesn’t have lecithin in it.
I just set the whole basket (inner and outer) in the sink and fill with hot water and dish soap. Let it soak for a while, then wash it in hot water and soap again, rinse, and let dry. It gets very clean this way and is not at all annoying. Maybe it’s the brand. Mine is a Cosori.
Toss in a wet towel, crank it up and let the steam clean it… that is a joke, although I have been tempted to try. It is teflon coated so you can wipe the stuff off by hand. Soap is fine if you rinse it thoroughly. Bacon would be a total mess though, I think that is your problem. A previous poster does have a suggestion on how to cook bacon in an air fryer but it is not what they are for and if you own a pan or an oven you are much better off using those. Or buying precooked bacon. That thing must be a mess. Air fryers are great for french fries and onion rings.
I am sorry are people shoving raw bacon, or any meat into their air fryers regularly? Don’t do that. Its not for cooking meat at all really. Im sure you could but the convenience aspect of the thing would be totally lost. And the meat wouldnt be very good.
Of course. I clean mine every time I use it, unless I use one of those liners. But yeah, as I said before I just soak the whole basket (inner and outer) in hot water and soap for at least 30 minutes. Then everything washes away very easily. It takes just a couple minutes to clean and rinse.
I’ve recently come across this guy. YouTube channel named Pro Home Cooks. He is a very interesting watch. Every video is about 20 minutes. I’ve learned a whole lot. He has a whole category of air fryer videos. This one is called “5 foods I only cook in the air fryer”, and it shows chicken wings and salmon as two of them: