How to Choose an Air Fryer: 4 Questions for the Right Pick

Both produce excellent air fry results consistently rated in the same tier. Ninja AF101 advantage: slightly crispier fries due to element placement and fan speed. Cosori Max XL advantage: square basket holds more food at the same quart rating than Ninja's round basket; digital controls include 11 preset functions. For strictly crispiest fries and a simpler interface: Ninja. For more food per cycle and more presets: Cosori. For most households: either model is an excellent choice, buy whichever is on sale or at the better price. Full comparison: [Cosori vs. Ninja Air Fryer](/cosori-vs-ninja-air-fryer).

Chicken: cook to internal temperature of 165 degrees (use a meat thermometer, color and crunch are not reliable indicators of doneness for raw chicken). Pork: 145 degrees internal. Fish: 145 degrees or until flaky. Beef: 145 degrees for medium-rare, 160 degrees for medium. Air fryers reach 400 degrees quickly and circulate heat evenly around the food, cooking times for raw meat are comparable to conventional oven times or slightly shorter. Bone-in chicken pieces at 400 degrees: 20 to 25 minutes depending on size. Chicken breast: 15 to 20 minutes at 380 degrees. Always check internal temperature, not just time.

Smoking in an air fryer has two causes: fat dripping from food onto the heating element (produces smoke at high temperatures), and non-stick coating damage (produces chemical-smelling smoke). For fat smoke: place a small piece of bread or a tablespoon of water in the bottom tray under the basket, the bread absorbs dripping fat before it reaches the element. For high-fat foods (bacon, skin-on chicken): cook at 350 to 370 degrees rather than 400 degrees to reduce the rate of fat rendering and dripping. For coating damage smoke: stop using the air fryer immediately if the smoke has a chemical or burning plastic smell, the coating is damaged and the basket should be replaced. Normal fat smoke: white or gray, smells like cooked food. Coating damage smoke: blue or acrid, chemical smell. Never use aerosol cooking sprays (PAM) on air fryer baskets, the propellant damages the non-stick coating and contributes to premature smoking.