The Oil Mistake You're Probably Making With Air-Fried Mushrooms
While your air fryer is ideal for preparing a wide range of dishes, mushrooms often remain overlooked. Typically, mushrooms are swiftly sautéed in a stovetop pan with butter or oil before being set aside, while the air fryer takes on more complex recipes. Surprisingly, the air fryer is an excellent choice for heating up mushrooms, creating a delightful contrast between a crispy exterior and a tender interior. However, if you've tried cooking mushrooms in your air fryer previously, you may have found the results less than satisfying. Although it might seem intuitive to coat your air fryer basket with a bit of oil, it's a step you should skip.
The common mistake many make when preparing mushrooms in their air fryer is adding oil, and the same applies to butter and fat. While these ingredients typically contribute both crispiness and flavor when used in cooking most foods, mushrooms benefit from a different approach. Simply place the mushrooms into your air fryer, heat them, then add oil, fat, or butter for additional flavor if desired. Let's delve further into how to successfully achieve this.
Making mushrooms in the air fryer
Adding oil to the air fryer before heating your mushrooms will turn them limp and soggy, due to the added moisture. Mushrooms are porous, meaning they contain tiny air pockets that absorb oil while releasing moisture which greatly slows down the process of browning and crisping the mushrooms' exterior. You'll want to place them into the air fryer dry and on a single layer to allow the hot air to heat the sides of the mushrooms. When you heat them, make sure to shake the basket a couple times so that both sides of the mushrooms will cook evenly.
Once cooked, you'll observe crispy, brown mushrooms that are as visually appealing as they are delicious. However, they can get even tastier. Remember when you wanted to add that oil, fat, or butter before making the mushrooms? Now is the time to add some to give them that extra delicious flavor and smooth texture creating a multi-dimensional appeal to your mushrooms. What's better than this? Incorporating your air fryer mushrooms into some inspirational dishes.
More ways to improve the texture of mushrooms
There are quite a few ways to keep your mushrooms from turning soggy when using your air fryer. When you first take mushrooms out of their package, your first inclination is probably to rinse them before cooking them. Due to the porous nature of these fungi, the same way they'll soak up that oil is the same way they'll soak up water. So, if the types of mushrooms you have call for thorough washing, then be sure to dry them off well before cooking. Wild mushrooms require a nice wash and towel dry due to all the harmful natural elements they can be exposed to in the forest. You can also lay them on paper towels so they can dry out longer. Cultivated mushrooms should also be cleaned, but only require a good wipe down.
Another thing you can do is make sure you don't add salt too early. Adding salt to mushrooms before heating will make them take longer to heat which will lead to that soggy, gross texture. If you salt them, wait until after air frying them so they can come out crispy and tender. Once you try these methods, your mushrooms will improve and you'll have some amazing dishes you can make.