This Is the Secret to the Best Deep-Fryer Steaks.
Air frying bite-sized pieces of steak can be one of the easiest ways to eat pure protein (thanks TikTok). It’s quick, easy, and you can toss or dip the pieces into any number of sauces. However, like most good ideas born on social media, there is room for improvement. Yes, you have to cook some meat for popcorn, but here’s how to cook the best steaks in the air fryer. This includes not digesting them.
When I first encountered air-fried steak slices, my mind jumped with an “ooh!” to “oh no”. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem eating overcooked steak; actually there are several ways to make it better . However, I’d rather prevent overcooking in the first place. The original method of steak bites involves taking the boneless, mostly lean portion of a steak, such as a fillet, and cutting it into bite-sized pieces. (More on what that size is in a moment.) The meat is then seasoned and thrown into a 400°F preheated deep fryer and cooked on an “air fry” setting for seven minutes. The pieces of steak are exposed with beautifully browned edges and are tossed into garlic butter or some other sauce for serving. The problem is they are overcooked.
After tasting the batch the way you can see above, I ended up with flavorful but damn tough steak pieces. In most of the photos of the recipes that I came across, the steak was well done. Very good, actually. No wonder the steak oven is set to a high temperature, the convection is strong, and the steak pieces are small. The first batch was sad. My second batch, however, was phenomenal. The steak was tender, slightly crispy and browned around the edges, flavorful, juicy and pink in the center. This is what I did.
It’s never too late to buy an air fryer. Come on in, the water’s fine
Don’t cut them too small
I know they are steak pieces , but don’t cut them into individual pieces. This is too little. It’s just like that. It takes time to get nice browning around the edges of these pieces and create the interesting depth of flavor that the Maillard reaction gives to a steak. If you pulled the steak out after three minutes to preserve the tender middle of medium rare, the outside would be gray and soft. It’s fine and edible, but there are no toasty edges and we deserve to have it all.
Cut the steak into two-piece-sized pieces—that’s about an inch and a half, or a two-inch cube. Don’t worry: the fun of eating steak as an appetizer is still there, it’s still small, and when you think about it, it’s about the size of chicken nuggets. This larger size will protect the center from overcooking and retain much more of the steak’s natural moisture. The second step is no less important.
Freeze steak slices
It’s a clutch for our purposes, and as Claire told us, air-frying a frozen steak is totally worth it. Bringing the center of the steak to freezing point buys time in the fryer. As convection cooks from the outside in, your pieces will begin to sizzle and brown on the outside while the center is still heating up. When the timer rings after seven minutes, the outer part of the piece is browned around the edges, and the inside becomes juicy, tender and pink.
How to cook the best steaks in the air fryer
After you cut the fillet into portions, pat them dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Season them generously with salt. Maybe with a little more salt than you think .
Spread them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet so they don’t touch, and place the entire tray in the freezer for 45 minutes to an hour.
Pieces of meat must be completely frozen. Heat up the airfryer. Arrange the steak pieces in the deep fryer so they are not crowded and cook at 400°F for seven minutes. Serve with platter sauce, chimichurri or as is in their meaty splendor.
You can even cook steaks in batches and store them in the freezer. After freezing them on a baking sheet for an hour, place the frozen pieces in a freezer bag or container. Whenever you want to pack in some protein, heat up your air fryer and toss in a handful of frozen steak chunks.
Perfect slices of steak in the deep fryer
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces fillet steak, cut into 2-inch cubes
- ½ tablespoon salt
Pat the steak cubes dry with paper towels. Salt generously. Lay the steak pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Freeze the pieces for 45-60 minutes. Preheat fryer to 400°F on air fry mode. Boil 7 minutes. Serve with sauce or enjoy as is.