Easy Air Fryer Steak Recipe | How to Cook Steak in the Air Fryer (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to put oil on steak in an air fryer? ›

Pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Season both sides generously. Let the steaks sit for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to penetrate the meat. To prevent the steaks from sticking to the air fryer basket, lightly grease it with olive oil or cooking spray.

Preheat a 3.5-quart air fryer to 400 degrees F. Season the steak on both sides with a generous pinch of salt and several grinds of black pepper. Place the steak in the center of the air fryer basket and cook until desired doneness, about 10 minutes for medium-rare, 12 minutes for medium and 14 minutes for medium-well.

The best way to ensure a juicy steak is to use high heat to cook the steak quickly, which will bring it to the proper temperature without drying it out. Remember to rest your steak after air frying to allow the meat to reabsorb juices and complete its cooking time without direct heat.

Your steak will cook through, if left on just one side. However, because flipping can place a different part of the steak closer to the heating element (for an air fryer, this is at the top), a steak will cook more evenly if flipped halfway through.

what type of beef is best in the air fryer. As with all dry-heat cooker methods (grilling, broiling, pan frying and oven roasting), tender beef cuts perform best in the air fryer. Those cuts include Top Sirloin, KC Strip, Ribeye, Tenderloin and Tri Tip. Ground beef also can be easily prepared in an air fryer.

Quick Preheat and Season

First, preheat your fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes while you season your steak with salt and pepper on both sides.

There are many spices available for seasoning a steak, with salt and pepper topping the list. However, other spices, like thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and minced onion, are also good options to enhance your steak's flavor. Or, use a one-and-done approach with Chicago Steak Seasoning.

I made steak using my stovetop, oven, and air fryer to find the best cooking method. My air fryer created a juicy steak, but I was pretty disappointed with the overall results. The stovetop method was seamless, and the dish tasted like it was from a high-end steak house.

Air fryers circulate hot air to quickly brown the the steak's exterior for golden brown edges that mimic a hard sear.

No. You don't need to sear your steak before putting it in the air fryer. The air fryer will take care of the good sear on your steak. While cooking an air fryer steak, you just need to prepare your steak according to your recipe, rubbing or marinating, and preheat the air fryer.

Why is my steak chewy in the air fryer? ›

If you opt for a cut with subcutaneous fat around the outside of the meat, it will be done cooking long before that fat has a chance to melt off. You'll be left with chewy chunks of fat you'll have to gnaw your way through.

Using oil in an air fryer is perfectly fine and helps the meat to remain moist and come out looking golden brown. However, a little oil in an air fryer does go a long way. With most cuts of pork, simply rubbing some oil into the meat will be all you need. You can use either regular olive oil or a spray oil.

Air fryer steak is all done in under 15 minutes, and that's time when I can do something else - like prep a side salad, or have a shower. It's also less greasy since we don't need to add a lot of oil and butter, and super juicy.

Preheat the air fryer so the basket gets hot. For a 1-inch steak, air fry 400F 10 minutes turning halfway, for medium rare, for medium, cook 12 minutes, flipping halfway.

While steaks traditionally get their crisp exterior being seared on a grill or pan, steaks made in the air fryer achieve the same results through the circulation of hot air. This is a particularly helpful method of cooking if your grill is finicky, your stove heats unevenly, or you're just a newbie at cooking steaks.

Foil is safe to use in an air fryer so long as you follow three basic rules: never let foil touch the heating element; make sure the foil is weighted so it doesn't blow around the basket; and avoid contact with acidic ingredients, which can cause the foil to leach onto your food.

While, yes, you can absolutely cook steak in an air fryer, doing so is not necessarily your clearest path to a juicy, medium-rare piece of meat.

But the reality is that flipping a steak repeatedly during cooking—as often as every 30 seconds or so—will produce a crust that is just as good (provided you start with meat with a good, dry surface, as you always should), give you a more evenly cooked interior, and cook in about 30% less time to boot!

Coat both sides of the steak, and its sides, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, so a visible layer of seasoning exists on every surface. The salt shouldn't pile up, but it should coat the meat. The steak is essentially putting on a t-shirt made of salt and pepper.

Heat the air fryer for 2 mins on 200C. Put the steaks in the basket and cook for 6 mins. Turn the steak and cook for a further 2 mins. At this point, your steak should be rare to medium rare.

How to air fry cooked steak? ›

Allow your steak to come to room temperature (about 30 minutes on the counter). Preheat the Air Fryer to 350°F. Place the steak into the Air Fryer basket to reheat the steak; check every 2 minutes. The cook time will depend on steak thickness, so ensure the internal temperature reaches around 110°F–130°F.

The secret: Placing the steaks in a cold nonstick skillet with no oil. This counterintuitive technique was developed by former Cook's Illustrated staffer Andrew Janjigian, who discovered a well-marbled cut doesn't need extra oil; enough fat comes out during cooking to help brown the beef.

Oil in air frying is typically beneficial when cooking dry, breaded foods or fresh, non-fatty proteins. The oil aids in achieving a golden-brown color and a crispy texture. In addition, lightly oiling can prevent food from sticking to the fryer basket. However, remember that moderation is vital.

Don't Use Any Oil

As well as being unnecessary, oil tends to add a hint of flavour that doesn't sit well with good beef.

When cooking steak on a pan, oil and fat splatter all around, which can be a pain to clean. The air fryer contains all of the splatter within the device. So, for less experienced cooks, the air fryer perfectly crisps the outside of the steak, which is sometimes more difficult to achieve on the pan or grill.