Quote:
Originally Posted by srvy
I've done both ways not much difference other than time. Honestly, a couple of minutes on defrost in the microwave will save you some time in the air fryer.
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Over time, you get a feel for how quickly the convection moves through food.
The key is thickness, particularly with meats/proteins.
Wings and bone-in pork chops are usually fine freezer-->done in the fryer, same for a hamburger if you like it med-rare in the middle.
Something like big chicken breasts or center-cut thick pork chops need a defrost at the beginning or a heat up at the end or it'll be done on the outside and still lukewarm in the middle.
Air fryer and microwave are a good combo, because air fryers crisp quickly and efficiently, and microwaves heat all-over quickly and efficiently. So you can kind of fine tune how much time you spend heating the inside or crisping the outside.
Also, a probe thermo is useful for thick meats. I regularly find those long pork tenderloin products [sometimes marinated, sometimes bacon-wrapped, etc] as a good deal, then I section them at 1" thick planks, enough for a single serving. Since I section them frozen, they keep their portion of the bacon or marinade with each serving. Then I jab the probe in and air-fry along with some form of potatoes or squash or asparagus etc, next to it on the rack [in oven bags to keep the butter/spices from making a mess]. When the probe hits safe for pork level ~145, most everything is done to perfection.
Thicker than 7/8-1" on pork loin frozen, and you'll need to microwave a minute or two at the end to make sure the inside is temp-safe.