The most difficult thing about cooking chicken is getting the inside cooked all the way through without burning or drying out the outside.
If it’s frozen, that’s much more difficult.
So yes - you can cook it from frozen, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, the odds are that it’s going to end up cooked on the outside and raw on the inside or cooked on the inside and burnt on the outside.
This is why air fryers or a sous vide are perfect for frozen foods. Air fryer chicken is super simple and pretty quick. Sous vide even easier but takes a bit longer.
Edit: because you lot seem to not understand that an air fryer is just a convection oven…
No they are not. The thing that separates them is how efficiently they take moisture away from food by moving air around with methods that are not convection.
It’s the reason you can get soggier fries in a regular oven when compared to an air fryer.
That said, a lot of air fryers are close to convection ovens because they either missed the concept or were designed poorly.
Even America’s test kitchen compares air fryers to mini convection ovens from what I recall. I’d trust them over someone random that seems to just want to be technically correct. The main advantage they have is the small area which can heat up quicker, but the way the function is equivalent for most definitions.
A convection oven is an oven with a fan to induce convection currents. A conventional oven is a hot box. Air fryers are ovens with fans in them to induce convection currents, ergo air fryers are convection ovens.
I came to that conclusion further down this thread, and tldr same same but different, so it’s still different. In the way that a CRT TV is different than LED TV.
They both have their strong suites and do different cooking styles better than the other, much like CRT/LED.
What??? They’re literally convection ovens. They pull in fresh air and blow out moisture with the element very close to the food. Your own link further down pretty much says the same thing.
I honestly don’t know, I want to say moisture still boils out, just not at the rate of having something dedicated pulling it out.
I’d recommend looking into it. This is just me remembering talking about it with another person on Lemmy a year or two ago, and then looking into it myself.
If I remember right, fries get crispiest in deep fryers because of the density of steam/oil almost immediately getting the moisture away from the outside of the food. Air fryers do their best to imitate that function by manually pulling air.
This article says that some but not all convection ovens use fans for circulation, but air fryers have way more air movement.
The one in my kitchen has a fan on the side that pulls air out right where the basket is, and I think fresh air comes from the opposing side but I could be wrong there.
I guess this could be compared to a cheeseburger being a hamburger, but a hamburger is not always a cheeseburger analogy. Technically an airfyer can be classified as a convection ovens, but a convection oven isn’t always an air fryer. It has a different function, cooks quicker, and moves more air closer to food producing different results.
Yeah, plus it’s like 10x more flavor and faster to cook if it’s room temp and has a light coat of olive oil and seasoning. Just night/difference in texture and flavor. That’s one thing all the cooking videos never mention, let it get to room temp for superior everything. Not cold, not frozen.
I’m also confused as to why. I use a commercial connection oven a lot. From my experience, convection decreases cooking time (obviously) and gets a better crisp. I don’t see how that helps the issue of preventing overcooked outside and/or undercooked inside. If anything, I’d think it makes it more of a problem. Isn’t it the conduction through the food that the determining factor?
Not saying you’re wrong, just that I didn’t get it
It doesn’t work. Too much heat on the outside, but not enough time for that heat to get to the inside of an even slightly thick cut, especially if it’s frozen. Phase changes take a lot more energy to cross than simply heating through the same temperature change. That’s also why those fake ice cube things that aren’t water (stone, metal, etc.) really suck at actually chilling a drink as well as plain old ice.
It’s just a faster way to cook, because the moisture which is basically the cold, is removed from the air. Plus the super hot air is circulated around the food.
I will say I don’t know the entire science around it, but it completely works just fine and I use my sous vide and air fryer constantly.
The trick is to submerge the bag in water before sealing it. It’s not a perfect vacuum, but the water pressure still helps squeeze out the air out of the bag.
The most difficult thing about cooking chicken is getting the inside cooked all the way through without burning or drying out the outside.
If it’s frozen, that’s much more difficult.
So yes - you can cook it from frozen, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, the odds are that it’s going to end up cooked on the outside and raw on the inside or cooked on the inside and burnt on the outside.
This is why air fryers or a sous vide are perfect for frozen foods. Air fryer chicken is super simple and pretty quick. Sous vide even easier but takes a bit longer.
Edit: because you lot seem to not understand that an air fryer is just a convection oven…
https://foodess.com/air-fryer-frozen-chicken-breast/
https://realsimplegood.com/air-fryer-frozen-chicken-breasts/
https://www.reddit.com/r/budgetfood/comments/13ez0io/frozen_chicken_breasts_can_be_delicious_without/
https://savaskitchen.com/frozen-chicken-breasts-in-air-fryer/
Are you all putting the air fryer on broil at 450 or something? Lol
Air frying a frozen chicken is like the perfect way to burn the outside while keeping the inside raw.
https://foodess.com/air-fryer-frozen-chicken-breast/
No just no… it’s completely fine.
Lol fucking down voting me doesn’t magically make you correct. Frozen chicken breast in the air fryer will make it juicy inside.
Have any of you ever cooked anything before? Lol air fryers are just convection ovens. Lol
No they are not. The thing that separates them is how efficiently they take moisture away from food by moving air around with methods that are not convection.
It’s the reason you can get soggier fries in a regular oven when compared to an air fryer.
That said, a lot of air fryers are close to convection ovens because they either missed the concept or were designed poorly.
Even America’s test kitchen compares air fryers to mini convection ovens from what I recall. I’d trust them over someone random that seems to just want to be technically correct. The main advantage they have is the small area which can heat up quicker, but the way the function is equivalent for most definitions.
You’re confusing convection with conventional.
A convection oven is an oven with a fan to induce convection currents. A conventional oven is a hot box. Air fryers are ovens with fans in them to induce convection currents, ergo air fryers are convection ovens.
I came to that conclusion further down this thread, and tldr same same but different, so it’s still different. In the way that a CRT TV is different than LED TV.
They both have their strong suites and do different cooking styles better than the other, much like CRT/LED.
What??? They’re literally convection ovens. They pull in fresh air and blow out moisture with the element very close to the food. Your own link further down pretty much says the same thing.
I disagree. Keep reading down the thread
From your own link… it’s a convection oven. Period.
I still disagree, I don’t know what else to tell you.
Also in your own quote it is like, not is and has a ,but
It’s like calling a fighter jet and a commercial jet the same thing. Yeah they’re both jets, but they have different capabilities and purpose.
What methods are those? I thought it was just way stronger convection, would love to learn more!
Usually a fan from my experience, pulls air and it’s moisture out and pulls fresh air through a heating mechanism or near one
Ah I see, and normal convection just circulates air inside the oven without removing the moisture?
I honestly don’t know, I want to say moisture still boils out, just not at the rate of having something dedicated pulling it out.
I’d recommend looking into it. This is just me remembering talking about it with another person on Lemmy a year or two ago, and then looking into it myself.
If I remember right, fries get crispiest in deep fryers because of the density of steam/oil almost immediately getting the moisture away from the outside of the food. Air fryers do their best to imitate that function by manually pulling air.
https://homekitchtech.com/convection-oven-vs-air-fryer-is-a-convection-oven-the-same-as-an-air-fryer/
This article says that some but not all convection ovens use fans for circulation, but air fryers have way more air movement.
The one in my kitchen has a fan on the side that pulls air out right where the basket is, and I think fresh air comes from the opposing side but I could be wrong there.
I guess this could be compared to a cheeseburger being a hamburger, but a hamburger is not always a cheeseburger analogy. Technically an airfyer can be classified as a convection ovens, but a convection oven isn’t always an air fryer. It has a different function, cooks quicker, and moves more air closer to food producing different results.
Mmm, nice pink center
I like my chicken rare
Can I have your stuff?
Please explain how you think frozen chicken in an air fryer would turn out ok. I’m curious.
Got a hunch that their idea of air frying chicken is pre-cooked and frozen chicken tenders
Yeah, plus it’s like 10x more flavor and faster to cook if it’s room temp and has a light coat of olive oil and seasoning. Just night/difference in texture and flavor. That’s one thing all the cooking videos never mention, let it get to room temp for superior everything. Not cold, not frozen.
https://foodess.com/air-fryer-frozen-chicken-breast/
The fuck? Literally tons of recipes online for it.
Its actually better than thawed. It keeps the center super moist.
I’m also confused as to why. I use a commercial connection oven a lot. From my experience, convection decreases cooking time (obviously) and gets a better crisp. I don’t see how that helps the issue of preventing overcooked outside and/or undercooked inside. If anything, I’d think it makes it more of a problem. Isn’t it the conduction through the food that the determining factor?
Not saying you’re wrong, just that I didn’t get it
It doesn’t work. Too much heat on the outside, but not enough time for that heat to get to the inside of an even slightly thick cut, especially if it’s frozen. Phase changes take a lot more energy to cross than simply heating through the same temperature change. That’s also why those fake ice cube things that aren’t water (stone, metal, etc.) really suck at actually chilling a drink as well as plain old ice.
That’s how I see it
It’s just a faster way to cook, because the moisture which is basically the cold, is removed from the air. Plus the super hot air is circulated around the food.
I will say I don’t know the entire science around it, but it completely works just fine and I use my sous vide and air fryer constantly.
I feel fundamentally uncomfortable with sois vide using plastic.
You can sous vide in silicone bags. You just won’t be able to vacuum seal it, but you can squeeze most of the air out.
The trick is to submerge the bag in water before sealing it. It’s not a perfect vacuum, but the water pressure still helps squeeze out the air out of the bag.
I don’t even vacuum seal my plastic bags, so I can confirm this approach should work.