How to cook Bacon Chops in air fryer
Bacon chops cook really well in an air fryer but its up to you to ensure you don't over do it, because drying out bacon chops in an air fryer is easy to do.
How you air fry Bacon Chops (also called steaks) would involve imitating flash frying which means you need a well preheated air fryer. Cook most size bacon chops at 200°C/400°F, with how long to air fry bacon chops will be approximately 8 minutes for thin slices - with up to 10 minutes for thick chops.
DIRECTIONS:
Cooking any size or thickness standard bacon chops - meaning with no special coatings or sauces - would simply involve placing the chops directly in the air fryer basket, then heat at a high temperature for approximately 8-10 minutes.
In this instance I air fried 8mm to 10mm thick bacon chops which were cooked all the way through in just 8 minutes; that's 2 minutes less than recommended grilling/broiling and pan frying.
I don't think additional minutes would of done my thinly cut bacon chops any good but certainly 10mm to 14mm bacon chops would need that extra two minutes.
How long to cook bacon chops in an air fryer will vary but with hardly any difference in look, taste and texture.
Do expect air fried bacon chops to be a little pale as they mostly cook to a pink finish; as oppose to a golden texture with a crispy bacon rind as you would want on regular thin cut bacon - with no beautiful grill marks on the flat surface of the chops.
By cooking bacon chops in an air fryer you can expect white foam to bubble up during cooking, which isn't anything to worry about as it just water escaping, and it will eventually evaporate as you come to the full 8 minutes of cooking time.
Little preparation goes into air frying bacon chops but it does help to bring them to room temperature; in a way to cook them to a time which would otherwise see a delay if they're cooked from chilled.
Consider lining the air fryer basket in parchment paper or foil to keep the basket clean, with an option to add a drop of oil onto both sides of all chops to ensure a golden finish along with a juicy centre.
Did you know you can air fry a whole gammon steak which is easy enough to do, thus cooking similar bacon chops should be easy in comparison.
STEP 1: Prepare Bacon Chops
Preparing bacon chops is as easy as pie where you only need to make sure to bring all chops up to room temperature; as cold chops can delay the air frying process which risks under cooking each chop. In this time, remember to preheat the air fryer while pat drying the chops, to help air fry bacon chops the best they can be.
- STEP 1: Allow chops to sit at room temp. - We don't want to air fry bacon chops right out of the packaging as they'll still be cold. To by-pass the cold you'd need to sit the bacon chops at room temp., out of the packaging for up to 30 minutes
- STEP 2: Preheat 5 Minutes - Do be sure to preheat the air fryer for a minimum of 5 minutes, with 10 minutes a better option. Like pan frying bacon chops, we need to cook from a very high temperature of 200°C/400°F, which is what preheat is set to
- STEP 3: Pat dry bacon chops - Moisture is likely to sit on the surface of the bacon chops which is water from defrosting or condensation; thus we can quickly pat it dry with paper towel to ensure the chops are air fried as they should be
- STEP 4: Optional line air fryer basket - I usually like to use parchment paper or foil to line my air fryer basket which I haven't this time around. And you don't have to either, it just helps with the clean up when you are done air frying
After pat drying oil into both sides of the bacon chops, consider rubbing oil into the chops which will help to crisp up the bacon fat while delaying any drying out if you over do it, which most people will.
STAGE 2: How to air fry Bacon Chops / Steaks
Air frying bacon chops aren't all that difficult I can assure you, but we will try to imitate flashing frying the bacon chops, as you'd normally be recommended to cook in a frying pan. We don't want to slow cook them which will dry bacon out, and so the name of the game is to air fry as quickly as possible - beginning with a preheated air fryer.
- STEP 1: Space out in air fryer basket - Let's allow for a little air flow between each bacon chop - if air frying more than one - which will help to crisp up any bacon fat, while avoiding raw spots if chops press against each other
- STEP 2: Set time 8 Min / Temp 200°C/400°F - You've already set time/temp to preheat the air fryer - which is needed to imitate flash pan frying - thus we are now going to set the time/temp once again to 200°C/400°F, for a total of 8 minutes
- STEP 3: Cook for 4 Min, flip over - Allow the bacon chops to cook in the air fryer basket, undisturbed for 4 minutes, until you open the basket to flip mid way
- STEP 4: Continue to cook until time, Remove - Once flipped over half way through, allow bacon chops to cook for the final 4 minutes, bringing the total cooking time to a full 8 minutes - with an option to cook a minute less or more
It is possible to set timer on air fryer for an initial 4 minutes which should help to remind you to flip the bacon chops mid way through air frying; its important to remember to set the temp to 200°C/400°F again, but only air fry for an additional 4 minutes, thus you will cook thinly cut bacon chops/steaks for 8 minutes in total.
STAGE 3: Bacon chop thickness timing
Unfortunately there isn't an exact time how long to air fryer bacon chops for which is why you will always be second guessing.
To play it safe you can set the time and temperature on the air fryer exactly as its instructed to on the packaging to cook in the frying pan or under the grill/broil; yet this does risk cooking the bacon chops for too long which will only result in dried out chops.
Alternatively, you can think about following the frying, broiling/grilling cooking instructions exactly, then reduce the time for 2 minutes when air frying.
Why you'd need to pay attention to pan frying or grilling/broiling instructions on the packaging is because the set time will be different; which is based on how thick your bacon chops are - thus naturally thicker chops will need additional minutes.
With the whole air frying time longer for thicker chops and shorter for thinner chops; I would always set the timer to a high of 200°C/400°F which is needed for bacon chops.
STEP 4: Rub in oil optional
Bacon chops which are usually grilled/broiled or shallow pan fried will always risk drying out when you cook them for to long.
When it comes to unknown air frying time though its natural for you to cook them a little longer to be sure they're cooked.
Air fried bacon chops don't produce grill marks as you'd expect thus the pale surface can trick you into cooking a few extra minutes. Its these additional minutes that will force you to cook the bacon chops until basically they are impossible to eat.
Play it safe by rubbing any cooking oil into your bacon chops to ensure a golden texture, which is likely to be produced on the fatty part of the bacon in particular.
Bear in mind cooking bacon chops with oil is optional but can help to imitate frying bacon chops/steaks in a pan, which has always been a favourite way of mine.
Air fried vs. grilled/broil vs. pan fried
How does air fried bacon chops stack up to the traditional way of cooking these chops in what will be the frying pan or under the grill/broil.
Well, when it comes to air fryer verses frying pan to cook bacon chops in, I will say the frying pan does produce a better texture and colour. I would also say pan fried is a little sweater too, which has a taste that can't be beat with other cooking methods.
What about air fryer versus grilled/broiled versus pan fried then; well again I think pan fried bacon chops are best, followed closely by under the grill/broil, and finally air fried.
While air fried bacon chops come third overall, that isn't to say these taste bad or have a weird texture, absolutely not.
In fact, the only reason air fried bacon chops come last is because its hard to produce a crispy bacon fat along with a golden surface which is flavour in itself.
To Summarise
How to cook bacon chops in any thickness and size in an air fryer would involve cooking the chops from a very high heat, where a 5-10 minute preheat will be needed.
Ensure individual bacon chops are spread out in the air fryer basket without touching to ensure air can pass in between each slice to either crisp up the fat on the bacon; as well as making sure touching areas don't produce uneven air frying.
You will add each bacon chop to the bottom of the basket - lined with optional foil or parchment paper - and cook as long as its recommended to for frying or grilling/broiling.
Regardless of thickness, you will want to air fry the bacon chops up to 2 minutes off the original grilling/broiling and frying pan cooking instructions.
I air fried 8mm-10mm bacon chops which are thinly cut, but I believe any thicker will only need an additional 2 minutes.
Consider rubbing oil onto both sides of your bacon chops to keep them juicy, but not before pat drying the bacon chops to help produce a crispy bacon rind.
So we're all on the same page, in this instance I cooked three M&S dry cured bacon chops weighing 100g each. I would of cooked four but because four was too many for my air fryer basket, I decided to cook three only to avoid over stuffing.
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