To cut the faff out of my midweek dinner making process I've been turning to Jamie Oliver's Easy Air Fryer cookbook for a dose of inspiration.
As well as being filled with simple recipes to use in one of the best air fryers, it's also opened my eyes to a totally different method of air fryer cooking: removing the shelf from the basket altogether.
One of my favourite cooking hacks from last year was Jamie's tip to cook above and below the air fryer shelf, which is not only a great space saver but ideal for maximising flavour. Now, in the course of using his air fryer-specific recipes for myself from his cookbook (which is currently on sale for £13 via Amazon), I've discovered that using my air fryer basket as a stand-in baking dish (without the tray) is another hack that goes a long way in my kitchen. Here's how it works.
Jamie Oliver's air fryer method
In the foreword to Easy Air Fryer Jamie Oliver does a great job at breaking down in simple terms what an air fryer is and how to change your thinking around using one. Thinking about these appliances as small, countertop ovens with removable drawers is the first step to finding better ways to use them day-to-day.
Jamie goes to great lengths to explain that while each air fryer comes with removable shelves inside each individual basket, these don't always have to sit in your air fryer. Instead, taking them out can open up a whole new set of recipes for you.
Some examples from Jamie's cookbook where removing the air fryer shelf is essential to the recipe includes teriyaki pork ribs, cauliflower cheese pasta and Sicilian aubergine pasta.
In many of these recipes, removing the air fryer drawer allows ingredients to cook in oil (usually olive oil) when roasting, rather than allowing the oil to seep away (due to the gaps in the shelves). I've found this method supremely helpful for mastering my roast potatoes in the air fryer too.
The other reason this method can be so helpful is for quick 'all-in-one' meals. One recipe calls for removing the shelf, roasting onions and herbs and then adding a sheet of puff pastry on top for a quick sticky onion tart for dinnertime.
If you want to try out this method for yourself but don't like the idea of extra air fryer drawer clean-up, there are accessories you can pick up to make the process less messy. These silicone air fryer liners from Amazon (£6.65) are the right shape for those with Ninja air fryers with two drawers while this Astonish spray for kitchen appliances (£7.39 at Amazon) can help rid your air fryer of excess grease.
In adopting the 'take the shelf out altogether' attitude, there'll be loads more recipes you can try out in your air fryer, especially with all things sweet. Jamie's cookbook even features an Eton mess trifle all made in one air fryer drawer.
It might sound simple but this method of cooking in my air fryer has definitely helped me to broaden the number of cooking tasks I use it for. Or, if you've resisted the pull of an air fryer thus far, now is a great time to invest thanks to Black Friday deals. Here's a selection of some excellent ones running right now.
This is the exact model that Jamie uses in his air fryer meals cookbook. It features a unique uneven drawer design which our tester loved in our review of it. Now on sale at plenty of different retailers for Black Friday, it's cheapest at Amazon at the time of writing.
I'm amazed this in-demand Ninja deal at Argos hasn't sold out already. This is a bargain price for this ever popular air fryer which earned five stars in our review.
Is this hack something you're already doing in your kitchen or is it a method you might give a chance to?
