Medium lamb rump steak in air fryer basket

JUNE 4, 2024

How to cook Lamb Rump Steak in air fryer

I used to think air fryers couldn't get hot enough to air fry any steak in the short time it normally takes, yet this air fried lamb rump steak completely changed all that.

Air fry a Lamb Rump Steak at 390°F/200°C which is a high heat similar to pan frying. Time it takes to air fry a Lamb Rump Steak between 14-16mm thick, is 8 minutes. Suggested time isn't random, its the pan frying time repurposed for air frying - which resulted in a super juicy and tender 'medium' done steak.

If I'm honest, I didn't know what to expect when air frying a single lamb rump steak in the air fryer for the very first time.

But what I did end up cooking, was a super tender, very juice lamb rump steak that simply melted in my mouth. Oh my was it good... and while its possible to do it yourself, the quality of your lamb rump steaks can drastically change the taste and texture.

Whilst these two Tesco British Lamb Rump Steaks, weighing 150g each - and where I air fried just the one on this occasion - provided pan frying instructions only, which wasn't hard to modify the time and temperature for air frying.

Pan frying was expected to take 8 minutes, which you can imagine is a long time for pan frying a steak of any kind, but because this was a lamb rump steak, additional time is expected.

Medium cooked air fried lamb rump steak on plate

Done to a perfect medium, on this occasion I air fried this lamb rump steak to a medium, which resulted in a melt in your mouth, super juicy and tender steak.

The 8 minutes of pan frying time was suppose to render a 'well done' rump steak, when it fact the 8 minutes in an air fryer produced a perfect medium.

Little red was seen in this medium cooked lamb rump steak, which produced extra basting fat that rendered out over the course of the 8 minutes.

I recommend you smother your lamb rump steak in olive oil to produce extra fat, which will mix in with the lamb juice and thus, used to pour over the air fried lamb rump steak.

Be sure to turn your lamb rump steak over at the halfway point - about 4 minutes in - while bearing in mind, this short cooking time is expected to air fry a perfectly marbled steak.

Prepare Lamb Rump Steak

Picture directions for preparing a lamb rump steak for air frying

Time is of an essence, so its vital you preheat your air frying to a max, in an effort to get it as hot as possible, to air fry lamb rump steaks as quickly as possible.

STEP 1: Sit steaks at room temperature - Thaw the lamb rump steak by letting it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes
STEP 2: Season with Salt & Pepper - Will be a bit bland with no seasoning, so do add a little freshly ground black pepper and sea salt

STEP 3: Blast both sides in spray oil - I had the opportunity to spray the steak in spray oil, although regular bottled cooking oil will be fine to use
STEP 4: Preheat air fryer for 10 minutes - Now let's get the air fryer nice and hot, as we want to replicate flash frying steaks but in a super hot air fryer

How to air fry Lamb Rump Steak

Picture directions for how to air fry a lamb rump steak

Be sure to air fry your lamb rump steak - or two if you like - directly on the bottom of the basket, as direct heat will hopefully help to char the lamb rump steak a little.

STEP 1: Set temp to 390°F/200°C; time to 8 minutes - With lamb rump steak normally cooked in a hot pan, let's air fry at the very highest
STEP 2: Air fry for 4 minutes; turn over Steaks - Allow lamb rump steak to cook for a full 4 minutes, before turning over with tongs

STEP 3: Continue to air fry for final 4 minutes - The rump steak can continue to air frying for the remaining time, and not a second longer
STEP 4: Remove Steak; pour over access juices and oil - Place lamb rump steak onto a waiting hot plate; pour remaining juices out of the bottom of the air frying container and over the steak

Air fry according to instructions

Pan fry instructions according to packaging is shown as 8-10 minutes

Instructions on back of lamb rump steaks indicated 8 to 10 minute pan frying time for a well done steak; this translated to a medium cooked steak when done in an air fryer.

I will admit, this was a tricky one when attempting to figure out how long to air fry a lamb rump steak, until I realised the answer was right there in front of me.

Solution was, and I believe will be for your too, is to air fry your one or two lamb rump steaks, for the time indicated for pan frying. Which was suggested for 8-10 minutes on my packaging - although 8 minutes was more than enough.

So 8 minutes which was suppose to pan fry to a 'well done' in fact, air fried to a 'medium.'

How long to air fry a lamb rump steak in an air fryer was easy to work out, and that was a high of 390°F/200°C.

No need to heat on a high heat for the first minute on both sides as instructed to for pan frying, which doesn't apply to air frying.

Air frying will call for 4 minutes on both sides with no change in temperature.

I have successfully air fried lamb leg steaks which actually air fried half the time, but cook to a medium rare - so it isn't one time suites all kind of situation.

Difference between air fry and pan fry

Pan fried lamb rump steak in pan next to air fried steak in air fryer basket

Difference between an 8 minute pan fried lamb rump steak seen on left provides more marble; whilst the air fried steak is more pale with little to no char as seen on the right.

Well, what a difference between air frying and pan frying a lamb rump steak. Whilst I air fried one steak, I reserved the other to pan fry as instructed to on the packaging.

The idea was to compare between pan frying and air frying, so I can really demonstrate to you the difference between doneness of the surface.

The air fried steak resulted in a more pale surface with little char or marbling, as I expected it. The pan fried lamb rump steak produced a lovely marbling, which cooked the fat cap up a little more.

What I wasn't expecting, and I do feel a little guilty from saying this, the air fried lamb rump steak produced a juicier, more tender steak. With that in mind, I will now be more willing to air fry lamb chops due to the enormous success I've had here.

Pan fried lamb rump steak was good, but it did produce a crispy crust, which did make it just a tad more lean.

Air fried lamb rump steak was the clear winner on this occasion, simply because air frying in such little time, didn't produce a crispy crust but instead kept the steak to a pale, soft outer finish - yet the air fried steak was more to a medium - and therefore juicy and heck of a lot more tender.

Summary

How to air fry your lamb rump steak to a medium will first involve preheating the air frying for 10 while minutes, to get the internal basket nice and hot.

To prepare the lamb rump steak, you will want to spray it in cooking oil, or why not rub oil on all sides of the steak, to produce extra lamb infused juice to pour over the steak once they're ready to be pulled out of the air fryer.

Set the temperature on your air fryer to 390°F/200°C, and air fry for a full 8 minutes.

Do turn the lamb rump steak over at the halfway mark, so 4 minutes in, whilst cooking directly on the hot naked basket - with use of parchment paper and foil to be avoided.

I chose to air fry my lamb rump steak at a high of 390°F/200°C because steaks are normally pan fried on a high heat.

Time of 8 minutes wasn't a random time at all, as I decided to replicate the pan frying time of 8-10 minutes as shown on the packaging. I went with 8 minutes as 10 seemed far to long, and while 8 minutes seems long for a steak, that isn't the case when air frying - or even pan frying - a lamb rump steak which needs more time versus a beef rump steak.